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
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He then proceeds to give Cyrus advice on how to manage the city that the Persians have just obtained, and Cyrus is so pleased with this advice that he allows Croesus to return to Delphi to get an explanation from the oracle for why he lost to the Persians. Of course, Herodotus is no exception. ” Alexander’s slaves took advantage of this in order to “hurt” him. Even before the fall of the Lydians to the Persians, there are accounts of such behavior in men. Unfortunately for him, he misinterpreted the oracles messages, but he nevertheless put great stock in them. 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 first helps establish why Croesus has been defeated in the first place. In this passage alone, we see multiple account of man’s greediness, and we see the price paid for it. It is what defines them as a people and what gives reason and explanation to their behavior and actions. In book three, section thirty-eight, King Darius calls asks a group of Greeks how much money it would take for them to eat their fathers’ corpses.
Another example that played a significant roll throughout the ancient Greek world, was the involvement, or delusion of involvement of the gods in the lives of mortals and their affairs. In book three, section one-hundred and forty-three, Herodotus explains about a previous speaker, “The man who said this was called Telesarchus, a person of some standing in Samos. ” After he had said this it began to rain, and the flames were put out. “Perhaps he intended them to be a victory-offering for some god or other, or perhaps he wanted to fulfill a vow he had made….
Approximate Word count =
1828
Approximate Pages =
7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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