Semantic Transformation of the Conception of “Ἱστορία” in Ancient Greece
Semantic Transformation of the Conception of “Ἱστορία” in Ancient Greece
Khorikyan Hovhannes,
Manasyan Lusine
Summary
Key words: Homer, judge, Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, muse, Aristotle, Movses Khorenatsi
Initially, it was not the word “ἱστορία” that arise, but its cognate words “ϊστορ” and “ιστορέω”. The word “ϊστορ” indicated someone who collected, analyzed, evaluated and retold certain information. The verb form “ιστορέω” means to see, to gather evidence or information (news), to tell one about what has been seen or to retell the information received. In short, this word has two main meanings: a) “to ask”, “to interrogate”, “to search”, etc., b) “to tell one about what one has seen oneself, being an eyewitness”.
The term “ἱστορία” in Ancient Greece referred not only to historical research, but also to myths, poetic plots and, in general, to various acts of human thinking and cognition.
For Homer, the judge was called “ἴστωρ”, who had to investigate and resolve the dispute, that is, the judge was considered a versed, knowledgeable, well-informed person, and also a witness.
The word “ἱστορία” as a separate literary genre was first used in ancient texts by Aristotle in the middle of the 4th century BC, who calls Herodotus a “historiographer” in the meaning of “author of a historical work”. This meaning spreads already in the Hellenistic period, when historiography becomes almost the main prose genre in Greek literature.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58726/27382915-2025.2hs-108