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Great Legacy Of Herodotus
An easy about Herodotus
An easy about Herodotus
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Herodotus is known as the “Father of History,” because he is the first person to write what we would consider real history. I addition, he is the person who wrote the first recorded instance of the word history. Herodotus tried to write a history that was truer and more objective. He typically wrote about the culture and people in their societies. Herodotus also had drawn on and Ionian tradition of storytelling, collecting, and interpreting the oral histories he chanced upon in his travels. These oral histories often contained folktale motifs and demonstrated a moral. Herodotus also wrote about the Greek mythology as in the book Herodotus: On the War for Greek Freedom. Some may think that because the book is small there is no material in it, …show more content…
At the Battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas and his troops fenced off the Persian attacks for seven days straight, including three days of intense battle, while killing off large numbers of enemy troops. On page 134, Demaratus told Xerxes, “Greece has poverty as her birthright, but she has also won courage by her own merits, namely by her wisdom, and the strength of her laws. With courage, Greece is able to keep both poverty and despotism from her shores … don’t bother to ask how man they are that they are able to do this; if there are but a thousand in the field, these will fight you; if they are fewer, or more, these will fight you just the same.” So that is how the Greeks withstood the Pesian force for so long and even their elite special force ‘The Immortals.’ Eventually Leonidas became aware that his force was going to be attacked and taken over, and therefore diminished the vast majority of the Greek army rather than suffer more high casualties. Leonidas himself however remained behind and defended Sparta with his 300 Spartan soliers and some other remaining Thespians and Thebans. Leonidas was killed in the resulting battle. Xerxes was a very angry man who fought for revenge and power whereas Leonidas fought for his country. There is also the comparison of Xerxes and Alexander the Great. Alexander, ages 20-32, commanded a much …show more content…
He had led the first abortive invasion of Greece in 492 BCE under Darius’ rule, so he persuades Xerxes to go to war. So like Xerxes, Mardonius is driven by revenge. Mardonus also boldly exaggerates his achievements in 492 BCE to back up Xerxes’ decision. Artabanus is Xerxes’ uncle and the counterpart of Mardonius. Artabanus is against war on Greece. Herodotus tended to describe Xerxes as ruler who had absolute power who exercises it in a cruel or oppressive way, but that is not one hundred percent correct. Xerxes may be a ruthless ruler with all power, but he did not make the decisions completely on his own. He would go to Mardonius and Artabanus for help, advice and talk to them. He would tell them his thoughts and they would give feedback. Now they may not have had a direct say or impact in the decision, but they could persuade Xerxes, as shown in the beginning of the book, towards a certain
The Greeks, who were made up of only 300 Spartans under the rule of Leonidas and about 7000, allied Greeks these included; Arcadia, Mantineans, Arcadian Orchomenus, Orchomenians, Corinth, Phlius, Mycenae, Boeotia, Thespians and Thebans, noted by Herodotus. Persians waited 3 days to march up to the Greeks to start the battle; they opened the battle by shooting arrows. The Greeks took it in turn to be in the front line of their phalanx and fought off wave
Although the Ionian revolt was ultimately unsuccessful, it sparked the anger of Darius, the King of Persia, that the Athenians dared to interfere with his vast empire. Herodotus writes he was so angry that he "ordered one of his servants to say to him three times every day before dinner, 'Sire, remember the Athenians" (Hdt. 5.105.2). Whether Darius really said this is questionable, but it is clear that either to exact venge... ... middle of paper ... ... reeks won a war of unbeatable odds because they had both everything to lose and everything to gain - their very survival.
In Sparta, Xeones became a helot and he was given to a Spartan soldier named Dienekes. Xeones was trained to fight like a Spartan and later became Dienekes’s battle squire. When Xeones was about twenty, the Spartan king, Leonidas, announced that three hundred Spartan men would be sent on a suicide mission to Thermopylae to hold off the invading Persian army. Dienekes was chosen to go. On the first and second day of battle, many Persians were killed, but only a few Greeks. At the end of the second day, Xerxes found a secret path where part of his army could go through and completely surround the Greeks on the next day. Leonidas was informed of this and sent a group of Spartans, including Xeones and Dienekes, on an unsuccessful mission to kill Xerxes. On the third day, the Persians surrounded the Spartans and they all were killed.
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.
In conclusion, multiple factors led to the failure of Xerxes’ expedition into Greece. According to Herodotus, Xerxes failed due to his personal hubris, fear, and general ineptitude. He further believed that it was God’s decree. More pragmatic reasons would include strategy; the Persian’s plans were generally sound – the Greeks, with the genius of Themistocles, just did one better. Timing was also a factor – winter came on all too soon. Key to all of this was the war of morale – one which the Greeks decisively won. Luck, too, played its part, but it was relative incompetence of the Persian troops which was the crux of the matter. The failure of the infantry was the cause of the final disintegration of the campaign. Xerxes’ personal failures and errors of judgment were an accelerant towards this end. First and foremost, he was let down by his men.
There are times in history that something will happen and it will defy all logic. It was one of those times when a few Greek city/states joined together and defeated the invasion force of the massive Persian Empire. The Greeks were able to win the Greco-Persian War because of their naval victories over the Persians, a few key strategic victories on land, as well as the cause for which they were fighting. The naval victories were the most important contribution to the overall success against the Persians. The Persian fleet was protecting the land forces from being outflanked and after they were defeated the longer had that protection. While the Greeks had very few overall victories in battle they did have some strategic victories. The Battle of Thermopylae is an example of a strategic success for the Greeks. The morale of the Persian army was extremely affected by the stout resistance put up by King Leonidas and his fellow Spartans. The Greeks fought so hard against overwhelming odds because of what they were fighting for. They were fighting for their country and their freedom. They fought so hard because they did not want to let down the man next to them in the formation. Several things contributed to the Greeks success against the Persian invasion that happened during the Second Greco-Persian War.
In Greece, the Spartans were the most acclaimed army in all the land. With their advanced military tactics and weapons, the Spartans were no easy feat to overcome. However, one army may have given the Spartans a run for their money. This army is the Macedonian army. They were also known for their superior weaponry and strategy. By comparing the two armies, the Spartan regiment was the better of the two due to their rigorous training, “martyr-istic” mindset, and education in the art of war.
Herodotus and Sima Qian were undoubtedly great historians due to their substantial advancements in history writing. Thomas R. Martin concludes that the link between Herodotus and Sima Qian is their common goal to create history as a guide to the past, and that the history they create is left up to individual interpretation. Although the time period, backgrounds, and situations between the two historians were vastly different, comparing both of their work is an opportunity to view the writing of history across cultures and around the world. Their ability to write intricate and lengthy histories during the time in which they lived and under the circumstances they faced make them great historians. The way they composed their material and shared it with the world should be recognized and accounted for.
In J.D. Miller's article “Thermopylae” the entire pre-history as well as post-history can be seen. In 525 B.C. The Persian empire had grown from a small kingdom to an immense empire stretching from Troy to modern day Russia. King Darius was their leader at the time, strangely enough Darius was an imposter to the throne. When the previous king had passed into the next life Darius had pretended to be his brother and they all believed him. By 490 B.C. the new leader was Xerxes the famed god king. Xerxes had just come a victory at marathon and his troops were eager for another, the sight of the narrow pass between two mountains being defended by over seven thousand Greeks and three hundred Spartans. Over the course of two days the Persian army through everything they had at the Greeks defence. Xerxes knew that he needed a swift victory or his army of over two hundred thousand men and fifty thousand cavalry would run out of supplies very quickly. It was not until a Greek traitor went to Xerxes, telling him of a secret goat path that would lead his army behind the Greeks position. On the third day the battle was ended quickly as the Persian army surrounded the three hundred Spartans and four hundred free Greeks that stayed to ensure the retreat of the other Greeks.
In the years that follow Persia grows its empire. Then king Darius decides to force the Ionians to settle their differences by sending his son-in-law Mardonius to suppress the tyrants and set up a democracy. Along with those objectives Mardonius also had another motive for his trip. King Darius instructed him to “subjugate as many Greek towns as he could” (p. 338). Herodotus shows a big difference between his beliefs and the beliefs of most modern day historians while describing Mardonius’ journey. Herodotus gives a report of a wreck in Athos and says that those who did not drown were eaten because “the sea in the neighbourhood of Athos is full of monsters” (p. 338). This is contrary to what I think a modern day historian would say happened in this ship wreck. According to Herodotus this wreck does not stop the Persians from subduing the Brygi,a Macedonian tribe that attacked the Persian fleets. This account exemplifies the brute strength of the Persian army because even after a loss they are able to overpower a tribe of people. The Persians are known for their organization so it was only right that they return back to Asia in order to regroup after losing so much during the shipwreck and battle with the Brygi. The Persians battle tactics appear to involve large fleets of ships. These fleets include
Before Xeones became a squire he tells of the agoge, which is the thirteen year training program for the Spartan youth. He tells about Alexandros and how they became close friends through the years of training. When Xeones becomes Dienekes squire all of his duties change and he started to see more of the battles. He tells of the many battles he was at and what they were like. Xeones explains the bravery of the Spartans when they were in battle and what the individual soldiers were like. Eventually the Spartans learn that the Persian army was coming to take over all of Greece. Xeones then explains what the Spartans did to prepare for the invasion. The Spartan army sent a group of three hundred highly trained soldiers to Thermopylae to defend the pass until the rest of Greece could prepare their armies.
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.
The Battle of Thermopylae began in 480 BC and was a product of the Greeks attempt help defend the Ionians from the Persians. This irritated the Persian Emperor, Xerxes, because he thought of Greece as a small kingdom that had no place revolting against the Persian Empire. The Athenians sympathized with the Ionians because the Persians had also tried to invade Greece on multiple occasions. The Athenians provided feeble help to the Ionians and in retaliation the Persians struck at athens (23B). Xerxes was known to be irrational with his temper, and may have thought of his invasion as retaliation for the fact that his father, Darius the Great, was defeated at the Battle of Marathon against the Greeks. His temper was so great that at Hellas Point he had the water whipped because it would not obey him (E49). One of several Greek war leaders in the Battle of Thermopylae was Leonidas, the second born son of King Anaxandridas. It was not until his half brother was killed under controversial circumstances that Leonidas rose to power (G72). Apart from misconceptions spread by the popular film “300,” the three hundred Spartans did not go into battle alone, and were accompanied by over eight hundred allies. Nevertheless, the Persians still outnumbered the Greeks ten to one, which is why it is incredible that the Greeks were able to hold them for three days before eventually losing that specific battle. Despite losing the battle in terms of soldiers and defending greece, the battle of thermopylae was somewhat successful in that it was a demonstration of the courage of greek soldiers, impressive battle tactics,
When examining the causes for the Peloponnesian War, which was between 431-404 B.C., there are a number of causes that factored into the cause of this war. However, one of the most important causes to this war was largely due to the fact that the Spartans feared the growing power and success of Athens. The Spartans were “particularly alarmed at the growing power of Athens” (Cartwright, “Peloponnesian War”). During the Persian war in 479 BC, Athens grew fiercely strong with power with help of its many allies and continued with their no mercy attacks on Persian territories. When the Persians left Greece, Athens further enraged Sparta when they built large and tall walls around its empire in the event of an attack, which was mostly thought to be from Sparta if it happened.
The two Greeks writing primarily about Greece, Herodotus and Thucydides, were predominantly writers that concerned themselves mostly with wars and the data surrounding Greek and the combatant’s life during the time of war. Herodotus is considered the father of history, while Thucydides is in turn considered to have modified his method of writing to more exacting standards of accuracy. Herodotus, from Halicarnussus (a city in now-modern Turkey, then a city in the Greek province of Caria), wrote about the origins and customs of people, towns, regions, constitutions, politics of Egypt, Arabia and India, Scythia, Libya, and Thrace (Breisach 2007). His writing style is best described as a self-styled historian, convinced of his self-importance and knowledge, sure to insert his personal viewpoint wherever he deemed it necessary so as to impar...