WEEK 7: HERODOTUS (2/27)
The Beginnings of Greek History
Hecataeus of Miletus: "I write down what I think is true, because the stories told by the Greeks are, in my opinion, ridiculous and countless."
genealogies, local historians (e.g., "Atthidographers")
Roots in Ionian Rationalism
Herodotus of Halicarnassus
preface: "Herodotus of Halicarnassus here gives the results of his researches, so that the events of human history may not fade with time and the notable achievements both of Greeks and of foreigners may not lack their due fame; and, among other things, to show why these peoples came to make war on one another."
historical method
historie
organization and digression
the "Persian version"
use of sources
Father of History or Father of Lies?
Themes
nemesis (Gyges>>Croesus)
hybris
feelings about Eastern tyrants/despots
transgressions of the natural order of things
didacticism
Solon and Croesus (pp. 9-12)
interest in maxims ("Custom is King of All")
ethnography
a world moving from aristocracy to democracy
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Updated 2-23-08, bolmarcich[at]mail.utexas.edu