A question about Herodotus esp for Greeks speakers

[Gladius Hispaniensis]

Hello

I wonder why Herodotus wrote in the Ionic dialect if Halicarnassus, where he hailed from, was a Doric colony. Any input? Thanks in advance.

Imad

[Jona Lendering]

A very brief answer may be something like this:

Halicarnassus was influenced by its culturally dominant northern neighbors, the Ionians, at a very early stage. Until the fourth century BC, there remained a Dorian (and a Carian) element, but inscriptions and graffiti show that the town wrote Ionian. This was not only because the Ionian Greeks (e.g., Ephesus, Miletus) were culturally dominant in the sixth century, but also because Halicarnassus belonged to the Delian League in the fifth century.

Note that the distinction between Ionian and Dorian became more pronounced during the Peloponnesian War. Until then, it was probably not considered an important politico-cultural marker.

That's the brief answer. Every line I wrote is subject to debate.

Your question, BTW, is a good one. The author of the biography in the Byzantine dictionary known as Suda, also thought Herodotus' use of Ionian needed an explanation.

[Gladius Hispaniensis]

Thanks for that. Is it possible that the Doric dialect survived there in everyday speech and the Ionic just used for writing?

[Jona Lendering]

Is it possible that the Doric dialect survived there in everyday speech and the Ionic just used for writing?

Yes, that is certainly possible.

[Michael J. Taylor]

I wonder if it may be that the Ionian dialect had become the established "scholarly" dialect of the Eastern Mediterranean, given that Herodotus' most influential scholarly predecessors all hailed from Ionian communities: Hecataeus of Miletus, Pythagoras (b. Samos), Heraclitus of Ephesus, Hippocrates of Cos, etc. It may be that even if you spoke a Dorian dialect, you wrote in Ionian simply to be recognized as legitimate. (Much the way, say, that a professor at the University of Alabama might write in a formal, academic English, even if he says "y'all" when he speaks). It may be relevant to note that, in exile, Herodotus himself is reputed to have spent time in the Ionian community of Samos, although like many aspects of his biography this is difficult to confirm.

[hoplite14gr]

Spent a lot of time Athens too.
He is reputed to have been supported by the Alkmeonides to and even got a place as a wealthy colonist in Thourioi.

A good reason to flatter his employers I guess.

Kind regards