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Introduction

/his/-tan consists of two individuals, Herodotus and Historia. While some have argued that only one of them is actually /his/-tan, their inseparability renders the argument a moot point.

/her/odotus

Gender/Physical Description: An animated marble statue of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, known as the Father of History for pioneering historiography in the Western World. He is usually clad in nothing but a traditional Greek Himation, and is almost always found holding a book or scroll which he is either reading or writing. In the rare times where he is seen without Historia, he can appear significantly more laid back, sometimes sporting a T-shirt and sunglasses with more unkempt hair. He is quite strong, being an animated marble statue.

Personality/Habits/Hobbies/Behavior etc.: A crusty old man, Herodotus can generally be found tending to Historia and/or arguing with her over her newest interpretation of history. Herodotus has a very rigid, fixed view of history, and it is often up to him to slowly and painstakingly convince Historia that /pol/ or /lit/'s interpretations of history are not always completely objectively correct. While he has quite a lot of patience, Historia's obstinate nature almost always gets the better of him, and he often ends up shouting (though Historia does not appear to mind). While generally correct on historical maters, Herodotus still occasionally voices some archaic opinions or beliefs, including (but not limited to) a belief in the existence of supernatural creatures such as Griffons and Cyclops, and a rather lenient view on pederasty.

In what off time he has, Herodotus enjoys speaking with other board-tans, namely /news/, about recent events and recording them in his many books. He enjoys reading on and discussing history, philosophy and religion with anybody interested in chatting with him, though his fervor renders him vulnerable to being baited by /pol/ and /sci/.

Relationships: Naturally, Herodotus' closest relationship is his grandfather-granddaughter relationship with Historia. Though they bicker constantly, they clearly care deeply for each other; while he enjoys time apart, Herodotus worries for Historia constantly and always cuts shorts engagements to check on her. He enjoys debating with /pol/ and /lit/, though he fears that their views on history are a bad influence on Historia and her understanding of history. He gets along very well with /news/.

Meta: Herodotus represents both the older understanding of history and the "Humanities" side of /History & the Humanities/ as a board. As history is constantly reevaluated and revised, it conflicts with an older and more historical narrative that may often hold viewpoints and biases of the past. Herodotus himself was referred to by contemporary critics as "The Father of Lies" for his often fanciful stories, some of which did include supernatural creatures and places which we now know not to have existed. Sometimes it is the old narrative that is faulty from lack of information or bias, and Herodotus' obstinate view of history also reflects problems with a rigid adherence to older views of history in light of new evidence.

/his/toria

Gender/Physical Description: A little girl fond of wearing historical clothing, generally military uniforms. She has mid-length, slightly unkempt hair kept into position by a headband, though this is often concealed by a hat or helmet. She will wear other clothes if coaxed, but often damages them.

Personality/Habits/Hobbies/Behavior etc.: A tomboy who loves history, but only the "Exciting" parts a child would like (i.e. wars, historical mysteries, disasters). Though the scope of her understanding is limited to the areas she enjoys, she is quite knowledgeable in those areas. She gets easily bored by philosophy and religion outside of its relevance to the parts of history she likes. She is very trusting and impressionable, immediately taking anything she hears from anyone who is not Herodotus as fact. Since she often hangs out separately with /pol/ and /lit/, she often develops strange and contradictory narratives on history (i.e. Adolf Hitler being a Black Jewish Socialist Hero) before Herodotus painstakingly corrects her. The type of person who often says something so clearly wrong that even a layman with little to no knowledge on the subject will feel the desire to correct her.

Relationships: Since she and Herodotus live near /pol/ and /lit/, she often visits them. /pol/ and /lit/ often use her to bait or provoke the other. Historia's love for wars and "exciting" history also leads her to engage a number of boards, namely /k/ (about weapons), /tg/ (about war-related tabletop games) and /v/ (about war-related video games).

Meta: Historia represents the portion of /his/ only interested in history threads and the ever-changing reinterpretation, reinvention and revision of history. While there may be some truth to the overstated paradigm that History is Written by the Victors, History is continually challenged and changed by other aspiring victors. Revisionist views of the far right in Japan, the continual debate on the causes of the Civil War, We Wuzism, changing views on the relative contribution of the Allies to victory in World War II and the continued debate over the Holocaust all show that our view of history is constantly changing and being revisited. Even from a theoretically objective academic standpoint, new discoveries, sources and research techniques constantly bring in new information that can change our understanding of history. As such, Historia represents all these new and continued developments; while many prove ultimately fallacious or biased, some of it may truly change the conventional understanding of our past.