Ancient Greece

==Historiography==
{{Main|Greek historiographers}}
[[File:L'atleta di Fano.jpg|thumb|upright|The ''[[Victorious Youth]]'' ({{Circa|310 BC}}) is a rare, water-preserved [[bronze sculpture]] from ancient Greece.]]

The historical period of ancient Greece is unique in world history as the first period attested directly in comprehensive, narrative [[historiography]], while earlier ancient history or [[protohistory]] is known from much more fragmentary documents such as annals, king lists, and pragmatic [[epigraphy]].

[[Herodotus]] is widely known as the "father of history": his ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'' are eponymous of the entire [[history|field]]. Written between the 450s and 420s BC, Herodotus' work reaches about a century into the past, discussing 6th century&nbsp;BC historical figures such as [[Darius I of Persia]], [[Cambyses II]] and [[Psamtik III]], and alluding to some 8th century&nbsp;BC persons such as [[Candaules]]. The accuracy of Herodotus' works is debated.<ref>{{harvp|Marincola|2001|p=59}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Roberts|2011|p=2}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Sparks|1998|p=58}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Asheri|Lloyd|Corcella|2007}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Cameron|2004|p=156}}</ref>

Herodotus was succeeded by authors such as [[Thucydides]], [[Xenophon]], [[Demosthenes]], [[Plato]] and [[Aristotle]]. Most were either Athenian or pro-Athenian, which is why far more is known about the history and politics of Athens than of many other cities.
Their scope is further limited by a focus on political, military and diplomatic history, ignoring economic and social history.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Grant |first=Michael |title=Greek and Roman historians: information and misinformation |publisher=Routledge |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-415-11770-8| page = 74 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IUNxvi0kbd8C}}</ref>