Heroadotus : Primary Source Analysis : Herodotus Of Halicarnassus

The most distinctive feature of Greek political culture lay in the extent of popular participation in political life that occurred within the city-states. This participation was based on the unique ideas of “citizenship,” of free people running the affairs of state, and of equality for all citizens before the law. Political participation in Greek city-states was much wider than in Persia, but it varied considerably between city-states and over time. Early in Greek history, only the wealthy and wellborn had the rights of full citizenship, but middle- and lower-class men gradually obtained these rights in some city-states.

Herodotus’s superb writings help explain these war dealings in detail, which can warn of the indomitable Spartans and the overconfident Persians. Overall, Herodotus has created The Histories, a magnificent token of western history; the famous battles of the Greeks and Persians, will always be remembered because of Herodotus’s brilliant elucidations.

One of the running themes across the ancient Greek world is that man is not in control; there are forces beyond the grasp of the human condition in which man must endure helplessly. In Adler’s piece on the prominent ideas of history this is referred to providence. Adler states that certain schools of history adhere to the belief that history is an unending and unchanging cycle, sometimes at the gods’ hands. This concept of providence, or lack of free will, is the most significant parallel between the works of Herodotus and Thucydides.

Because Greek city-states were largely independent of each other, multiple forms of power were able to

Herodotus' writes his Histories for Greeks. Specifically for Greeks living in Herodotus' own time. The statement of purpose which begins the work seems to contradict this hypothesis. Herodotus claims to wish to "prevent the traces of human events from being erased by time, and to preserve the fame of the important and remarkable achievements…" [Herodotus, 1.0]. The underlying assumption here is that the author is preserving these events and achievements for future generations and perhaps even future civilizations. The text however does not does not follow these guidelines. Herodotus assumes that his reader will have certain amount of common knowledge.

During the late Archaic Greek and Classical periods, two particular city-states were in existence with significant similarities as well as differences. These two city-states, Sparta and Athens have unique formations of government, histories, goals, as well as societies.

In Chapter 1, the author assesses the unique and eternal achievements of 5th century BCE Athenian culture. She introduces several basic dichotomies that define her understanding of the writers and events of the period in the later chapters.

Athens is a major Greek city-state in European history. It was a great center of cultural and intellectual development, and thus home to philosophers. Socrates and Pericles, two of these philosophers, had polarizing opinions about the city-state and its citizens. While Pericles chooses to praise the Athenian citizen, Socrates criticizes Athens’ people. Pericles gave his opinion at a funeral during the first battles of the Peloponnesian War, while Socrates gave his during the trial that ultimately led to his death. The Athenian city-state has become a model for today’s systems of government and a hearth for western philosophy, so Pericles’ opinion seems to be the one that is more accurate.

Herodotus marked a new way of recording and interpreting history: conducting research. He recorded what he saw, heard, and experienced as he traveled around places like the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, and as far up as Babylon. He went on expeditions and encountered much of his information through in person exchange, an accomplishment surely to be considered great. Martin believes Herodotus explored an extensive amount of history and peoples and showcased a spectrum of topics like “war, politics, religion, commerce, geography, climate, ethnography, and individual human motivations” (Martin 7). In his writings called The Histories, Herodotus begins with The Story of Croesus and

Sometime around 750-600 B.C.E., the Greek poet Hesiod produced what is generally thought to be the oldest surviving Greek poetic works. During this time, Greece was near the middle of its Archaic period, a period of technological, social, political, and cultural innovations. This was the period in which the first true alphabet system arose, the system which allowed Hesiod and other poets like him to record permanently the oral stories and lyrics so important to Greek culture. This was also the time in which the Greek polis emerged – what is today translated as “city-state” – as a result of increases in population size. Hand in hand with the increase in population and formation of political bodies like the polis comes the colonization of

Rivers In Herodotus’s Inquiries: The Positive and Negative Tendencies of Man In his Inquiries, Herodotus utilizes the interactions of his characters with other mortals and with their environments to describe the nature of humans. In these instances, characters express qualities about themselves that can easily be overlooked. Such interactions of humans are often with rivers, which appear frequently throughout the anecdotes. Within his stories concerning rivers, Herodotus outlines the polarity present in human attitudes throughout their journeys in life.

In this section, Herodotus begins by telling the story of how the slaves of Scythia had formed a new generation with the Scythian women left behind while the Scythians dominated Asia. Herodotus writes that upon return, the men went to war with the slaves, but stopped, saying “when they saw us armed, they naturally felt that they were as good as we are, and were meeting us on equal terms; but when they see us coming with whips instead, the will remember they are slaves. Once they admit that, they will never try to stand up to us” (241). This passage reinforces the notion that

Although Solon is recognized as an eminent figure in developing the early stages of Athenian democracy, writings and other accounts of the life and beliefs of the Athenian statesman and writer are relatively sparse. As a poet, Solon merged political theory with forceful expression to craft poems centered on the role of justice and the state. Of the scarce secondary descriptions of Solon, Herodotus’s account in The Histories ranks most significant, in which Solon emerges as a sagely but transient advisor to the myopic monarch Croesus. While Solon’s appearance is short-lived, the pith of his words echoes throughout the parable of not only Croesus, but The Histories as a whole. In juxtaposing these connected works, a clearer image of Solon comes into focus. He is a man obsessively concerned with complex, interrelated social paradigms- authority, happiness, and prosperity, particularly as their manifestation in society conflicts with his own understanding of justice and morality.

When we think of the word “history” we automatically think of the past. History comes from the Greek word “historia” meaning “inquiring, knowledge thru investigation.” This is exactly what Herodotus did, he wrote what he investigated. This is why Herodotus is known as “The Father of History”, he was the first author to investigate and write his findings. He was thirsty for knowledge like many of us. He wanted more and he got it. Although he was named “The Father of History” he was also named “The Father of Lies”, I will investigate and find why he was named the two.

Herodotus did his very best when he wrote “The Histories” at staying in a neutral view of everything he recorded. He did this in order to try and record with the best accuracy what events were occurring around him and the ones that had occurred in the past. With this in mind, it is very difficult to offer which way Herodotus may have viewed Polycrates while writing about the tyrant and his story. This was also the reason why he avoided passing judgment on Polycrates himself, or at least attempted to. Herodotus may have actually passed his judgment indirectly while writing about Polycrates. In the texts, Herodotus gives hints that may have shown that he possibly admired Polycrates’ overall goals for the state of Samos and even sympathized with