This edited collection looks at two of the most important ancient Greek historians living in the 5th Century BCE who are considered to be the founders of the western tradition of historiography. examines the relevant relationship between these historians which is considered, especially nowadays, by historians and philologists to be more significant than previously realized.

The volume includes an introduction by the editors which addresses our changing view of how the historians relate to one another, and twelve papers written by leading experts in the field of ancient history and philology. Nine of the papers discuss either comprehensive issues pertaining to the historians' relationship or their common themes and practices, while three further papers discuss the ancient reception of Herodotus and Thucydides and investigate the historians' debt to Homer.