Herodotus Flashcards
Tim Rood
“It is often claimed that Herodotus thought that the Greeks won because they were poor and tough, and that the Persians lost because they were rich and weak.”
This is popular because it feeds into “an image of eastern decadence and western superiority that became popular layer in antiquity”
Cartledge
Herodotus’ attitude to Xerxes was “hugely untypical”
“Herodotus did not love either all barbarians or all things barbarian”
Llewellyn-Jones
“Herodotus did not have knowledge of what was said in the Privy Council of the Great King, let alone what Xerxes saw in his dreams”
Herodotus “was intent on creating a vivid portrait of the immensiry of power which he imagined the Great King had at his disposal”
“Herodotus used the spectacle of Xerxes’ racially diverse army to emphasise the effect of inquality between the overwhelming forces of Persia and the paucity of men who make up the Greek troops”
gathering troops from Greece was “a psychological victory for Xerxes” “a smart propaganda move”
Herodotus claimed that Xerxes ordered the construction of the canal out of hubris but the king had simply recognised the importance of ensuring that his army had a swift and safe passage into Greece”
The Greek story of Xerxes whipping the water has a Persian version “King of Nature, Xerxes propitiated the Hellespont with prayers and hymns”
“in sending his fleet against Themistocles’ ships, Xerxes made a devesting mistake” (he should have carried on on land and then he would have won)
“Xerxes defeat occurred because of a trick”
“bow and arrow gave way to spear and sword”
Flower
“is as much about Persia as about Greece”
“the Persians are the driving force of the history”
in the wake of the Persian wars, ‘barbarian’ became the term of the generic opposite to Greek
“if Herodotus’ contemporaries shared a stereotype of the barbarian as weak, effeminate and servile, he employs various narrative strategies to undercut it, challenge it, modify it and subvert it”
“the distance between Greek and barbarian was not so great after all - human suffering binds all peoples”
“narrative seems to be based on a core of hard facts”
the speech and dialogue in the history are Herodotus’ own invention although he did have access to some eyewitness accounts
“the seemingly positive qualities of the Persians will actually contribute to hr subsequent defeat of Xerxes’ grand expedition” - confidence, pleasure, luxury
Xerxes behaviour “falls short of the high standard of Persian ethical norms described in Book 1” - been told that they hold rivers in reverence for example
“Xerxes is not wholly devoid of human feeling nor entirely unsympathetic character. This marks a sharp difference between Aeschylus’ Persians”
“weakness inherent in autocracy”
” the political and social influence of women emerges rather in the course of the narrative”
Persians failed to conquer Greece due to acquiring wealth, luxury and empire
“the theme of hard and soft peoples runs through the histories”
“no single Persians in the Histories puts on a greater display of boating and hubris than Mardonius”
“the dramatic power of the Histories […] depends on the enemy being worthy opponents of the Greeks”
Persian defat cannot be explained as divine punishment
“Persians, and Xerxes in particular, made gross strategic errors that cost them the war”
Themistocles = reason for defeat sue to skill and wit
“hints that the Persians are in some ways more admirable than the Greeks”
