Herodotus often reported truth even though it seemed outrageous to his contemporaries, or even modern scholars. Between discoveries of "impossible" giant man-eating ants and "improbable" lost armies, I'd be only mildly surprised to find out Atlantis was real, or that there really was a tribe of people with their faces in their chests. In my experience, if Herodotus said it, there's probably a grain of truth we just haven't found yet.
Well, some people think that the Atlantis legend was inspired by the eruption of Thera c. 1500 BC, which sounds nice to me (although I'm not sure if there's any real evidence supporting it). That would have been a thousand years before Herodotus, so it would have been a lot harder for him to get actual facts on that one (I haven't read what he actually said about it, though).
Actually, I don't believe that Herodotus ever mentioned Atlantis. I believe it was first mentioned by Plato, some years after Herodotus had died. Now Herodotus did refer to a "Mount Atlas" (in West Africa) where a people known as "Atlantes" lived.
Well, the story of Atlantis (and it's destruction) was possibly based off of the destruction of Thera (as dscotton noted) and the effect that had on the Minoan civilization. But Herodotus did write down all kinds of stories, many of which were probably traveler's tales.
Oddly enough, it seems one of his stories (about gold digging ants) may have a kernel of truth to it.
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Date: 2009-11-10 04:04 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-10 05:29 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-10 06:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-10 08:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-10 09:51 am (UTC)Oddly enough, it seems one of his stories (about gold digging ants) may have a kernel of truth to it.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-10 07:37 am (UTC)Once transported to a modern metropolis, The Scorpion King's SKELETON ARMY will reassemble itself and cause havoc.
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Date: 2009-11-10 02:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-10 03:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-10 07:37 pm (UTC)