The History
Herodotus, in his book The History, tells us a good deal about how, in the course of the 5th Century, the Greeks came to define themselves by casting "barbarians" as a negative foil for those traits which they admired in themselves. By "barbarians", Herodotus means the "Others", those who were not Greek or European. The Persian Wars marked something of a watershed in this regard. Prior to the 480s the Greek view of their eastern neighbors did not seem to have been excessively negative or hostile. Following the Persian Wars, however, Easterners came to be portrayed in pejorative terms. According to Herodotus', they were seen as decadent and effeminate, in large part due to their excessive wealth and "soft" living. Their slavish lifestyles, particularly in their willingness to serve absolute despots and their grotesque use of eunuchs, the practice of circumcision, and their strange gods further distinguished them from the Greeks. By contrast, Herodotus' viewed the Greeks as virile and independent, proudly fighting in defense of their cities, their families, their gods, and for their own freedom and dignity. Thus, the theme of The History of Herodotus is the struggle between the East and the West. The East, represented by the Pers
Herodotus does not consider Greece as a single unified country. The position of Sparta often serves as a sort of internal Greek "Other." The burial customs of Spartan kings are explicitly linked to barbarian practices. The court stories, especially those concerning Leotychides' and Demartus' births and inheritances, are similar to those practiced in the East (The History of Herodotus, Grene, Book 6, chapters 58-89). Herodotus also associated Spartan military tactics, for example the shuffling of the Spartan troops before the Battle of Plataea, with those of barbarians (The History of Herodotus, Grene, Book 90). The Greeks had always been aware that foreign, barbarian peoples worshipped different gods and had customs different from their own. The rise of ethnographic studies, however, encouraged a systematic examination of the nature of human culture and society. To the Greeks this suggested that customs which they had always taken to be founded in immutable divine power, sanctioned by the Olympian gods, were in fact merely human inventions which other societies either ignored or directly contravened. Herodotus' framework, in The History, is that of Greek interest. He provides a series of assumptions of Greek practice that can be contrasted with barbarian modes of behavior. ian Empire, signified tyranny and oppression. The West, represented by the Greek city-states, signified freedom. As Herodotus interprets the Persian Wars we see the beginnings of Western Civilization and the association of that tradition with freedom. In some cases, however, both the barbarians and the Greeks act similarly. The sworn agreement between Alyattes and Cyaxares, were made in the same manner Greek agreements were made, by cutting the skin of their arms and licking one another's blood Gods (The History of Herodotus, Grene, Book 1, chapters 74). When both sides are discussing their strategies for battle in Book 8, the Greeks as well as the Persians refrain from their freedom of speech. The Persian
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1345
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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