HERODOTUS, whom Cicero first called, “the Father of History,” was born in Halicarnassus (modern-day Bodrum, Turkey), sometime around the year 484 BC, or perhaps 480 BC. He came from an aristocratic family and was the nephew of the epic poet, Panyassis. Because of political involvement, Herodotus was forced into exile in 460 BC, and thereafter became a dedicated traveler, visiting most of Asia Minor, parts of the Persian Empire, Scythia, and Egypt. He stayed the longest on the island of Samos, and then went to Athens around the year 445. From there he journeyed to southern Italy (Magna Graecia) and helped establish the Athenian colony of Thurii, in the year 443. He returned to Athens often and gave public readings of his writings, which may have been versions of his Histories, a work that he completed sometime in 440. Herodotus died in Thurii, around 425 BC.