>>the proto histories written by Herodotus were layered in mythical tales and supernatural stories

Herodotus set out with the goal of setting down 'what happened' from people who actually saw events - or people who spoke with those people, so, yeah, he probably should have filtered a bit better - beyond warning his listeners (the Histories were mostly performed, not read) that he was repeating some other story, well beyond second-hand.

Compare that with Xenophon's Anabasis. He was there as it happened. It's also quite an adventure tale.