Writing about five centuries before Christ, Herodotus accurately describes the pyramids of Giza, just across the Mediterranean for him. But he makes up stories of giant ants digging up gold in India, where he had never been. Vercingetorix won a major battle but lost the Gallic Wars to Caesar and was executed in 46 BC. Another famous ethnographical work, which is a mix of Herodotus and Caesar, is Tacitus’ Germania, on the Germanic people. But the image that Tacitus created of Germans had a lasting effect.

Source: The Hindu June 03, 2022 11:16 UTC