Keywords
Anna Komnene
Herodotus
Metrica
How to Cite
Abstract
This article aims to conduct a comparative analysis between the structures of the prologues of Herodotus' Histories and Anna Komnene's Alexiad, a Byzantine historiographical work dating from the 12th century CE. This analysis aims to elucidate the similarities and differences between the texts, emphasizing marks of female authorship in the prologue to the Alexiad. In this prologue, we can find the ways in which the author seeks to establish her authorial voice, which will be developed in the Alexiad, the most significant being the intense expressions of lamentation, which can be understood as a complex negotiation between the historiographical norm and the female voice. In contrast, the prologue to Herodotus' Histories presents an investigation into the causes and events of the Persian Wars. Although based on accounts from the archaic hexametric tradition, Herodotus presents his work as a prose counterpart to epic poetry, inaugurating a new discursive genre that calls for rational investigation in place of myth.
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