Herodotus

Question 1

Background

Answer 1

• Born in Halicarnassus in Asia Minor
• Work was published in Athens, most like in 420s
• Work read aloud, maybe in Athens and/or Olympia

Question 2

On Freedom and Rule

Answer 2

• freedom from slavery:7.102.2 (subjection to the will of another), 7.38-9, 103.4 (constraint (by fear or beatings) and a lack of independent purpose), 1.126 (condition characterised by a life of toil); cf. easy life as route to slavery, and freedom achieved through hard work: 6.11-12; cf. 9.122.
• political strength: 5.66.1, 5.78, 6.109.6 (made Athens strong)
• constitution debate: framed as the rule of one or the rule of many

Question 3

Cyrus

Answer 3

• A kind king in many ways, in comparison to Deioces and Astyages; shows him as a father and benefactor; spoke freely; bravest and most loved; offered Persians freedom instead of ; has divine pretensions and fortune as signs of his divine right to rule;
• Croesus’ advice: 1.207.2 “If you think you are immortal and command such a strong army then it would make no difference for me to give my opinion. But if you recognise that even you are a mortal and those you command are too, understand this first of all that there is a circle in the affairs of men, and as it turns it does not allow the same people to prosper.”

Question 4

Cultural Relevancy

Answer 4

“There is plenty of other evidence to support the idea that this opinion of one’s own customs is universal, but here is one instance. During Darius’ reign he invited some Greeks who were present to a conference, and asked them how much money it would take for them to be prepared to eat the corpses of their fathers; they replied that they would not do that for any amount of money. Next Darius summoned some members of the Indian tribe known as Callatiae, who eat their parents, and asked them in the presence of the Greeks, with an interpreter present so that they could understand what was being said, how much money it would take for them to be willing to cremate their fathers’ corpses; they cried out in horror and told him not to say such appalling things. So these things have become enshrined as customs just as they are, and I think Pindar was right to have said in his poem that custom is king of all.”

Question 5

Rise and Fall of Empires

Answer 5

“I will cover minor and major human settlements equally, because most of those that were important in the past have diminished in significance by now, and those that were great in my own time were small in times past. I will mention both equally because I know that human happiness never remains long in the same place.”

Question 6

The Happiest of Men: The Croesus and Solon Story

Answer 6

• the concept of a “good death” (“If, in addition to this, he dies a heroic death, then he is the one you are after- he is the one to be described as happy.”) and how Solon cannot say who is the happiest of men until the happiest of men is dead
• “and how in his case everything had turned out as Solon had said it would, although his words applied to the whole of mankind- and particularly to those who saw themselves as well off- just as much as they did to him.”

Question 7

Xerxes Ignoring Omens

Answer 7

• “they were just setting off on their journey when a really extraordinary thing happened: a horse gave birth to a hare. Xerxes dismissed it as insignificant, though its meaning was transparent. It meant that although Xerxes would walk tall and proud on his way to attack Greece, he would return to his starting point, running for his life. There had been another omen for him in Sardis: a donkey had given birth to a foal with both male and female genitals, the male set above the female ones.”
• “Xerxes dismissed both these omens as unimportant and carried on his way.”
• the sun disappearing from the sky omen
• the Hellespont bridge breaking