Historiography

Two early figures stand out: Hippias of Elis, who produced the lists of winners in the Olympic Games that provided the basic chronological framework as long as the pagan classical tradition lasted, and Hellanicus of Lesbos, who compiled more than two dozen histories from civic records, all of them now lost.

Understanding the past appears to be a universal human need, and the "telling of history" has emerged independently in civilizations around the world.