Reoccuring Themes in Herodotus
Throughout the works of Herodotus, specifically in The Histories, we find that the author often uses reoccurring themes when giving his accounts. Particularly in book one, sections eighty-five through ninety-one, which is the passage that we will be analyzing, there are four of Harodotus' characteristic themes that are present. These themes include the drive that is imbedded in men to attain wealth and power, and how it is a characteristic of human character, the gods and how they interacted and became involved in human affairs, the importance of customs and traditions as influences on human behavior, and lastly, the need for Harodotus to identify and evaluate his sources. Before one begins to dissect those aspects of the piece however, one should have an idea of what the passage is about and how it fits into the plot of The Histories.In this section of Harodotus' work, (book one, section eighty-five through ninety-one) the reader is told of Croesus' defeat and capture by the Persians, who he had been campaigning against due to faith in an oracle, but we'll discuss that later. Once Croesus of Lydia is captured he is brought before Cyrus who plans to have him executed. He changes his mind however, and along with a lot of hel
These themes include the desire of men to attain wealth and how it affects their behavior, the perceived divine intervention of the gods, the importance of customs and traditions and how they influence behavior, and Herodotus' extensive need to identify and evaluate his sources. This account explains why it was such a grave offence for Gyges to have seen Candaules wife naked. That is also why Cyrus exploited another tradition, offerings to the gods, in order to keep his army from being disgruntled by having to give up their "spoils". Herodotus, presents his Histories in a rather relaxed, casual manner. Unfortunately for him, he misinterpreted the oracles messages, but he nevertheless put great stock in them. However, in this passage and in Harodotus' accounts in general, the gods take an active role, as is the case in the attempted execution of Croesus. Croesus happened to be a big practitioner of this, and often confided in the Oracle of Delphi. " The Magi go on to elaborate why they should look after the king because it is in their best interests. On pages forty and forty-one of Waterfield's translation we see multiple examples of this, such as, "According to the Lydian account" and " That is what Croesus said. The customs and traditions of any group of people are what make up said group's culture.
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