Thukydides en die Griekse en Romeinse historiografie in die lig van historiese kritiek

Inaugural lecture--Department of Classical Languages, Rand Afrikaans University, 30 September 1976@@The Greek and Roman historiography, which -following the tradition -started with Hecataeus of Miletus and Fabius Pictor respectively,continues in the East until the fall of the East-Roman or Byzantine Empire, and ends with Sphrantzes and Chalkokondyles. The author shows how the study of Ancient History -with Th. Mommsen -has developed to an independant discipline, separate from classical philology. The method of the historian is the so-called historical criticism, but in fact the manuals of this criticism are written by and for historians who study the Middle Ages and/or the modern and contemporary periods. The Problematik of "Ancient History", however, is so different that the research-method must also differ. In fact, the ancient authors still remain our main sources. In order to know and appreciate these authors' authority and historical reliability, the ideal would be to examine the historical method of each author separately. Then, the results of such studies can furnish a basis for a critical guide to the method of the Althistoriker. As an example, Thucydides among others, and especially his introduction,is examined.