Herodotus - On This Day
Welcome to the official documentation for Herodotus, a WordPress plugin that lets you create recurring "On This Day in History" events.
What is Herodotus?
Herodotus is a specialized WordPress plugin that introduces a dedicated Custom Post Type for historical events. You assign a day and month to each event, and it automatically appears on your site every year on that exact date.
Perfect for:
- History blogs and educational websites
- Museum and archive websites
- Birthday and anniversary calendars
- Music, art and cultural timelines
- Any site that wants a "This Day in History" section
Quick Start
Key Features at a Glance
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Custom Post Type | Keeps events separate from regular posts |
| Annual Recursion | Set "May 15" - appears every May 15 |
| Three Free layouts | List for pages, Compact for sidebars, Text for a plain list |
| Shortcode & Block | [herodotus] or Gutenberg block |
| Year Badge | Shows the historical year on each card |
| Category Filtering | Filter by custom taxonomy |
| SEO Ready | Open Graph, Twitter Cards, Schema.org |
| Multilingual | WPML, Polylang, 8 included translations |
| Caching | Built-in transient caching |
Requirements
- WordPress 5.6 or higher
- PHP 7.4 or higher
- The 1.6.8 package declares compatibility up to WordPress 7.1
Free and Pro
This documentation covers version 1.6.8 of both components. Pro is an add-on and requires the free plugin to stay active.
| Available in Free | Added by Pro |
|---|---|
| List, Compact and Text; shortcode and Gutenberg block | Grid with 2-4 columns, carousel with 1-4 cards, timeline |
| Recurring dates, BC/AD, year badge and anniversary counter | Around today, fixed dates, upcoming announcements and countdowns |
| Categories, Quick Edit, query caching and SEO markup | Multiple categories, tags, exclusions and Priority Events |
| Random events, related events, RSS and Dashboard widget | Appearance controls, sources, locations, JSON/CSV/TXT import and public read-only API |
Find a Guide
- Shortcode attributes and date modes
- Layouts and image settings
- Settings and Appearance
- Import, export and data removal
- Dates, sources and locations
- Developer hooks and REST API
The native block has fewer controls than the shortcode in 1.6.8. See Gutenberg Block for the exact list.