Herodotus And Scythia Summary

658 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Assiment on herodotus

Herodotus and Scythia
In Book 4 of his Histories, Herodotus described Scythia using a variety of sources and arguments. He gathered his information in many forms. Describing Scythia from multiple civilizations perspectives. Providing not just one point of view, but many stories followed by his input on which he thinks is most accurate. Herodotus discussed the Persian invasion on Scythia, speaking of the origins and history while the Persian army was advancing upon them. He writes extensively on the geography and diverse population. He argues about the contrast of strength and weaknesses of Scythia, and the pending forces of Persia. As well as of their nomadic lifestyle and primitive tendencies while helping the readers understand why.
Origin …show more content…

Treatment of enemy’s bodies taken in war “Many Scythians make cloaks to wear from the skins by stitching the scalps together like shepherds’ coats. Many also take the hands from the corpses of their enemies, skin them, and use them with the fingernails still intact as covers for their quivers.” (pg. 308, para. 1)
Writes extensively on the geography and diverse population. Herodotus saw this land as being a square surrounded by the sea on two sides. Greatest weapon they have is the nature of the land, and its immense rivers.
The Scythian campaign reveals how people willing to make extreme sacrifices for the defense of their liberty could take advantage of favorable geographical factors to frustrate even the boldest and most imaginative plan to make them crumble under the weight of Persian power. “They also decided to divide themselves into two groups. One of these, headed by King Skopasis and joined by the Sauromatai, was to retreat, and if the Persians turned in their direction, to flee along the coast of Lake Maeotis and head straight for the Tanais River. Then, if the Persians turned back, they were to pursue and attack them. That was the plan for one of the royal divisions. Of the other two royal divisions, Idanthyrsos ruled the larger part, and Taxakis was king of the third. Both of these were to unite with the Gelonians and Boudinoi and were also to withdraw, but always to stay ahead of the Persians by one day’s journey” (pg.330, para.

Show More
Related

  • Thank You Ma 'Am' Constructed Response

    333 Words  | 1 Pages

    In a short story called, “Thank you ma’am”, the author is trying to convey the theme, or message, of the importance of showing random acts of kindness towards others to help institute change. Mrs.J show one act of kindness when she washes his face. Another when she makes Roger food at her house. Mrs.J is kind and shows multiple examples throughout the story.

    Read More

  • The Role of Themistocles in the Greek Defeat of the Persians in 480 - 479 BC.

    1485 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Role of Themistocles in the Greek Defeat of the Persians in 480 - 479 BC.

    Read More

  • Themes In Herodotus

    732 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Histories, Herodotus’ uses a variety of themes to narrate historical events and a common theme revolves around hubris. Extremely common amongst Greek literature and Greek mythology, hubris appears to be the infamous human trait. Greek mythology sees hubris as a great atrocity and results in an unrelenting punishment. The idea of hubris is that an individual with an authoritative position, a strong or influential leader, becomes extremely proud of his exceptional qualities and forms a delusion of his position to be on par with even the Gods. This blinds the hubristic individual into believing he can defy the Gods and elude ones inevitable fate. Herodotus’ Histories is no exception to containing individuals that display hubristic qualities similar to many other significant historical entities. In Histories, the theme of hubris assists the reader in making a connection between the excerpts from the end of book 1 (1-204-206) to other books and excerpts in Herodotus’ Histories.

    Read More

  • The Failure of Xerxes’ Invasion of Greece

    2119 Words  | 5 Pages

    While the army reached Thermopylae intact, the fleet suffered at the hand of two storms, with Herodotus attributing them to God attempting to equalize the opposing forces . The disparity between the size of the Persian and the size of the Greek forces was huge – thus, the Greeks’ strategy relied on geography . Holding the narrows at Thermopylae and the concurrent straits of Artemisium meant that Xerxes’ numerical superiority was reduced. It was here, on land and sea, that Greece showcased the superiority of it...

    Read More

  • The Heros - Odysseus, Jason and Aeneas

    1685 Words  | 4 Pages

    Odysseus is unique among epic heroes in that his strength comes not from inhuman powers or exceptional physical ability, but mainly from his mind.  Odysseus, regularly uses cunning, guile, and superiority of intellect to overcome obstacles.  In this paper I will compare Odysseus to other epic heroes, both in terms of character and in terms of responses to crises, comparing his reactions with those of other heroes placed in similar situations.

    Read More

  • Themistocles Essay

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    When the Persian fleet had arrived at Aphetae, Eurybides, the commander of the small amount of ships that Sparta had sent, wished to turn tail, and return home. Themistocles used bribe of thirty talents to keep him, and his ships at the front. (Herodotus, 1954) Themistocles, seeing the overwhelming navy of the Persians conducted a plan: When the fighting broke out, the highly-trained Greeks would allow themselves to become encircled. At the first blow of the signal horn, the triremes would form a ‘close circle – bows outward, sterns to the centre.’ From this position, they had no mobility; the only direction in which they could move was forward, and that is exactly what they did. On the second signal blast, these lighter and faster Greek triremes rammed the Persian ships, and with their bronze-sheathed battering rams on the bow of the ships, caused great damage to the enemy ships. (Herodotus, 1954) Another tactic that Themistocles used was his discussion to initiate the battle in the mid to late afternoon. One cannot fight at sea when dark, and he knew that; making sure that this was done minimised casualties for the Greeks and tired out the Persian men, who had been ready to begin fighting since the very early morning. Overall, this decision made sure the battle had a fast conclusion. When they got word of the massacre at Thermopylae, however, Themistocles called a retreat, as they were only holding the pass to prevent Xerxes using his navy to assist his men at Thermopylae, and at this moment in time, there were no men at Thermopylae that were worth protecting, anymore. (Last Stand of the 300,

    Read More

  • Archaeology and the Trojan War

    1694 Words  | 4 Pages

    - M.I. Finley, the World of Odysseus. Introduction The Trojan War and its characters are detailed in the writings of Homer, Vergil, Dante and many others. It is a fantastical tale of a decade-long siege of a powerful city by a massive pan-hellenic force. However, even though it has proved to be such a rich source of inspiration for writers, poets and artists throughout history, it is debated whether it actually took place. Heinrich Schliemann famously said “I have gazed on the face of Agamemnon” while discovering tombs with the bodies of Mycenaean chieftains in Turkey.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Herodotus Argue Against A Case For Moral Relativism

    288 Words  | 1 Pages

    man to agree with his customs. Continuing, Herodotus speaks of a clash between the Callatians and the Greeks in regards to cannibalism of the dead. The disgusted response of the Greeks in response to the cannibalism showcases Herodotus’s central idea: customs rule all. Herodotus argument that customs are influential is correct. He does not venture far into the concept of moral relativism, but his observations of cultural relativism provide the framework to begin dissecting Ruth Benedict’s argument.

    Read More

  • Why the Greeks Won the Greco-Persian War

    1577 Words  | 4 Pages

    Herodotus. “Greece Saved from Persian Conquest.” Readings in Ancient History. Eds. Nels M. Bailkey and Richard Lim. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002.

    Read More

  • Herodotus Persian War

    1287 Words  | 3 Pages

    Herodotus was an interesting historian. His way of displaying a historical event such as the Persian War is different from how I expect a modern day historian to write it. He does not try to focus only on the Persian war but he goes into detail some times of the lineage of the rulers of the city-states even though that serves little relevance to the actual war. The accounts of history I am used to reading are more focused on the bigger issue and the historians do not deviate on long trains of side thoughts such as Herodotus does. Herodotus style of writing had me confused because he often would start on one topic and in the next couple of sentences move on to another topic before coming back to his main point about a paragraph down. I had to

    Read More

  • Odysseus: an Epic Hero

    827 Words  | 2 Pages

    Picture this: a hero of great legends who travels to the underworld and back to get directions to his home from a blind prophet. It sounds like quite an impossible journey, but that is exactly what makes Odysseus all the more fascinating. The Odyssey, an epic poem orally transmitted by Homer, a Greek poet who wrote The Iliad, had to contain some variety of attributes that Greeks valued in a person. That one embodiment of what the Greeks found intriguing in a character is Odysseus. Odysseus is known as what is called an epic hero. An epic hero is a protagonist of a story that represents the most important attributes of a civilization. Odysseus, being based in ancient Greece, is the embodiment of intelligence, loyalty, and strength.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Battle Of Salamis

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    There was lots of debate between all of the Greek military leaders about whether they should go with Themistocles plan or not. Luckily, they went with it because who knows what would have happened if they did not. This was the last chance for Greek survival, and everyone knew that. Attica was already under attack by the Persian land force, which was commanded by Xerxes, Darius’s son. The bay of Salamis was also a convenient battle location because, if needed, the Greeks could draw the Persian fleet to the Peloponnese where the Greek reinforcements would meet them....

    Read More

  • The Causes and Effects of the Peloponnesian War

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the years following the Persian Wars in 479 B.C., Athens had come out on top being the most dominantly powerful of any Greek city with a navy that had superior strength that increased day by day. The Athenians “ruled with heavy-handed, even brutal force as well as with reason” (Kagan 2). This was due largely to the fact that Athens had a stable and effective government, which only increased their advantage in proving themselv...

    Read More

  • Democracy In Herodotus

    773 Words  | 2 Pages

    Herodotus believed that freedom from tyranny, democracy, had a positive effect on Greek cultural identity because tyranny’s are inevitably and fundamentally weak. Tyranny weakens the city state by corruption in high offices with in the city state and suppressed new ideas and growth with in the city state. Herodotus’ opposition to tyranny is deduced from the fact that no Greek state lasted long in tyranny. As for democracy having a positive effect on Greek cultural identity, Herodotus praises the democratic system, because he sees equality as a good thing each man is able to achieve for himself while strengthening the city state. If the people are prospering and achieving then the city state prospers and grows. Democracy allowed for people to have a voice and effect change. Through democracy Greeks were able to control their own destiny, and their own success.

    Read More

  • Odysseus A Hero Essay

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    Odysseus, the protagonist of the Odyssey by Homer fits the outline of an epic hero because he is courageous, quick-witted, and a natural leader. Odysseus isn’t only known for his muscles, also his clever mind. He is one of the great heroes that possesses both brains and brawn. He is also a hero with outstanding skill and bravery. It is no wonder why many teachers refer to Odysseus as a powerful hero. I believe Odysseus is a hero because he is clever, can overcome obstacles, is very brave, a leader but like all great heroes, he has his weaknesses.

    Read More

More about Herodotus And Scythia Summary

Open Document