Herodotus was born in 484 B.C. and is regarded today as the “Father of History.” Born and raised in ancient Greece, Herodotus, a very intelligent and sophisticated historian, went on expeditions all around the Mediterranean, observing the ways of other people and nations. His most renowned work entitled the Histories includes detailed information about the geography, religious practices, secular traditions, politics, and the most critical historic events of many different cultures and peoples in the Mediterranean and Asia, including the Scythians. The Histories has actually been questioned for its validity many times. In the past and in the present, other historians have found that Herodotus may have decided to omit certain details or blatantly write fallacies. Even with possible discrepancies, the Histories has been used widely as the basis for the history of many civilizations.
Herodotus: On the Scythians, found in the book titled From The Lands of the Scythians, begins with four accounts of what may explain the origins of the Scythians. In the first account, Targitaus, a son of Zeus, descended from the heavens and had three sons. Colaxais, the youngest of the three, became ruler of the kingdom and was said to be the first king of Scythia. In the second account, originating from the Greeks, Heracles traveled what is now ancient Scythia, but as he slept, his herd wandered off. When in search for them, he met a creature that was half-woman and half-serpent. The creature agreed to give him his herd back, so long as he slept with her. Heracles agreed, retrieved the herd, and conceived three children with her. Scythes, the youngest, successfully completed a task set by his father and became the first ruler of Scythia.
In the thir...
... middle of paper ...
...upply enough information to entirely formulate and rewrite what happened on this Earth thousands of years ago. Everything that is found today from the past is left for interpretation and used as just another piece of a puzzle. With that being said, Herodotus and his accounts can only be treated as such. Herodotus, the world’s first historian, has provided today’s society with a great deal of information on what may have happened in ancient years; it is now up to society to decide on how to use such a gift.
“Ancient History Sourcebook: 11th Britannica: Herodotus,” Fordham University, accessed November 26, 2013, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/eb11-herodotus.asp.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, Vol. 32, No. 5, From the Lands of the Scythians: Ancient Treasures from the Museums of the U.S.S.R. 3000 B.C.-100 B.C. (1973 - 1974), pp. 97-149.
The origins of historical consciousness begins with the Jews, Greeks, and early Christians according to the author. Comparing the Jewish belief in Yahweh with Greek mythology, Gilderhus states that, “Religious myths, legends, and fables preserved in oral traditions satisfied the need of ancient people to know about their origins and predecessors.” (13). Other records, such as those of ancient Egypt, Sumer, Assyria, and Hittite Empire, were reserved to bloody accounts of war and brutality. After accusing the Jewish accounts of ignoring rationality for religiosity, Gilderhus continues to comment on the historical thinking of the nation who believed in mythology. Gilderhus accredits Greece with establishing critical thinking as an important part of historical analysis in order to filter the truth from the fiction. He writes about Herodotus and Thucydides, and Polybius, honoring them as quality historical writers before moving onto Christian historians. As Christians gathered the gospels and other writings to compile the New Testament, the study of the Old Testament became very important. In order to prove Jesus as the Messiah, in depth reading of the ancient Hebrew texts was
J. Boardman, 1975, Athenian Red Figure Vases, The Archaic Period (London: Thames and Hudson), 121, ill. 170
In “Epameinondas, the Battle of Leuktra (371 B.C.), and the ‘Revolution’ in Greek Battle Tactics,” Victor Hanson argued that Epameinondas’s battle tactics at Leuktra were not revolutionary and thus his brief battle record reported by Herodotus was justified. Hanson broke down his argument into five parts. First, he considered Epameinondas’s innovations of considerable value. Second, he compared Leuktra and Mantineia for similarities. Third, he reviewed Xenophon’s version of the Theban battle plan. Fourth, he reviewed other historic accounts for their reliability. Finally, Hanson provided an explanation of the victory at Leuktra that required no revolutionary tactical maneuvers and followed the narrative of Xenophon.
When reading the two excerpts from Thucydides it is clear that his book, The History of the Peloponnesian War, was written to memorialize Athenian history. Although it is considered to be the first textbook it was still written by an Athenian so analysis of the excerpts are still required. But while analyzing the two excerpts will provide information about the reliability of the document, it will also provide insight to answer the question “What is the author trying to say about his native city of Athens?”
However, Heroditus’ Histories briefly detail the major events of the war, and relays them as if they were historical fact. Heroditus’ account of the war differs slightly from Homer’s version, and he is well aware of this. After relating the tale of Alexander (Paris) carrying off Helen, Heroditus writes:... ... middle of paper ... ...
Herodotus was an interesting historian. His way of displaying a historical event such as the Persian War is different from how I expect a modern day historian to write it. He does not try to focus only on the Persian war but he goes into detail some times of the lineage of the rulers of the city-states even though that serves little relevance to the actual war. The accounts of history I am used to reading are more focused on the bigger issue and the historians do not deviate on long trains of side thoughts such as Herodotus does. Herodotus style of writing had me confused because he often would start on one topic and in the next couple of sentences move on to another topic before coming back to his main point about a paragraph down. I had to
born to uncover the errors of antiquity, but to substitute his own” . Which show him...
Herodotus references Athenian democratic ideology throughout his work, sometimes directly but other times through the words and happenings of his historical figures.When Herodotus talks about the Persian political debate he discusses a man named Ota...
I found “Herodotus on the Scythians” to be really cool!! At first, I did think of this reading to have a bit of a slow start, but once I got into the middle of the reading, that was when the Scythian customs began to show. At first, I thought that Herodotus was insulting their culture a bit. For example, when the two elder siblings “agreed together, and made the whole kingdom over to the youngest born” (pg. 130) after the fire extinguished from the gold. Usually, when it comes to kingdoms, one would think that handing it to the eldest sibling would be the right thing to do. Especially since the eldest sibling has the most experience. The fire extinguishing could have happened because of nature and the fire so happened to be cooperative with the youngest brother. What if the youngest
Herodotus and Sima Qian were undoubtedly great historians due to their substantial advancements in history writing. Thomas R. Martin concludes that the link between Herodotus and Sima Qian is their common goal to create history as a guide to the past, and that the history they create is left up to individual interpretation. Although the time period, backgrounds, and situations between the two historians were vastly different, comparing both of their work is an opportunity to view the writing of history across cultures and around the world. Their ability to write intricate and lengthy histories during the time in which they lived and under the circumstances they faced make them great historians. The way they composed their material and shared it with the world should be recognized and accounted for.
Peck, Harry T. "Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898)." Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Twelve Tables. Web. 16 May 2014.
The development of an empire is a change strongly emphasized in the Archeology as a radical departure from the Hellenic tradition, and consequently a major source of conflict among the Greeks. Prior to the adven...
The Oriental Institute featured an exhibit focused on the development of ancient Middle East Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East 1919–20 January 12 - August 29, 2010. And this was the exhibit I found most intriguing and most i...
Conlin, Diane Atnally. The artists of the Ara Pacis: the process of Hellenization in Roman relief sculpture. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1997. (P. 4)
Richardson, Seth. "An Assyrian Garden of Ancestors: Room I, Northwest Palace, Kalhu." State Archives of Assyria Bulletin 13 (1999): 145-216.