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--- 2011:herodotus-analysis-of-the-historical-process [2012/03/19 20:55] – frank
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 ====== Herodotus' Analysis of the Historical Process ======
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 {{:2011:herodotus.jpg?300|Herodotus}}
+<html><p xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/"><a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" style="border-style: none;" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><br />This work (by <a href="https://lucianofsamosata.info/wiki" rel="dct:creator">https://lucianofsamosata.info/wiki</a>), identified by <a href="http://meninpublishing.org" rel="dct:publisher"><span property="dct:title">Frank Redmond</span></a>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</p></html>
+==== Authored by Frank Redmond, 2006 ====
 ==== Introduction ====
-Herodotus knows that if there ever are to be truths in history, they are formed from rational wisdom, not purely factual, atomic evidence. The purpose of this essay is to identify and explore what historical wisdom is to Herodotus and how he manifests this wisdom throughout his work. I will demonstrate that Herodotus did not have one overarching idea of what Truth is in history, but rather that he explores wisdom through his thorough study of deeds of men. For this reason, I am going to be investigating in particular Herodotus' introductionary statement, his sources, the conversations of Solon and Artabanus, the wisdom to be found in his depictions of battles and campaigns, both on land and at sea, and his idea of balance.
+Herodotus knows that if there ever are to be truths in history, they are formed from rational wisdom, not purely factual, atomic evidence. The purpose of this essay is to identify and explore what historical wisdom is to Herodotus and how he manifests this wisdom throughout his work. I will demonstrate that Herodotus did not have one overarching idea of what Truth is in history, but rather that he explores wisdom through his thorough study of deeds of men. For this reason, I am going to be investigating in particular Herodotus' introductionary statement, his sources, the conversations of [[wp>Solon]] and [[wp>Artabanus]], the wisdom to be found in his depictions of battles and campaigns, both on land and at sea, and his idea of balance.
 ==== Essay ====
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-This fabrication of sources is not limited to Egypt however: it is found whenever Herodotus discusses any far-off culture and their habits. His descriptions of the Scythians are legendary for the fact that everything he says has little or no basis in fact. Nevertheless, Herodotus leaves a general impression of the Scythians and their savagery which was his goal in the first place. For even though Herodotus stretched and/or fabricated some of his sources, the important thing to note is that no matter how much Herodotus veers from concrete facts, he is still constructing a true viewpoint in its place, one based in wisdom.
+This fabrication of sources is not limited to Egypt however: it is found whenever Herodotus discusses any far-off culture and their habits. His descriptions of the [[wp>Scythians]] are legendary for the fact that everything he says has little or no basis in fact. Nevertheless, Herodotus leaves a general impression of the Scythians and their savagery which was his goal in the first place. For even though Herodotus stretched and/or fabricated some of his sources, the important thing to note is that no matter how much Herodotus veers from concrete facts, he is still constructing a true viewpoint in its place, one based in wisdom.
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-In regards to the Solon story, Herodotus' lesson for us to learn is that "olbios" [happiness] does not come from possessions but from glorious deeds and a prosperous life. We are told that when Solon arrives at Sardis, the city is "at the height of her wealth and prosperity" and that "all the great Greek teachers of that epoch, one after another, paid visits to the capital" (1.29). When Solon is asked the famous question - who is the most happy of all men? - he refuses to flatter Croesus. He “answered in strict accordance with his view of the truth” (1.31). He wisely understands that olbios is generated by deeds and not things as is the case with Tellus, who was a minor man who saw the prosperity of his city grow, saw his sons grow to a mature age, had enough funds to live in comfort but not greed, and had died a glorious death on the battlefield in defense of his city. Tellus is olbios personified. The two sons Cleobus and Biton also exhibit olbios. Their glorious deaths should be envied by men, for they were happy and satisfied when they died. They were lucky enough to have experienced this joy and to not have it slip away from them. What Herodotus is trying to say is that historically-speaking, if one investigatively looks at the situation, the happy man is not the most powerful or wealthiest. Rather, the humbler man who has good fortune until his death should be envied, for we are all in the end governed by luck: “Many rich men have been unfortunate, and many with a modest competence have had good luck” (1.32).
+In regards to the Solon story, Herodotus' lesson for us to learn is that "olbios" [happiness] does not come from possessions but from glorious deeds and a prosperous life. We are told that when Solon arrives at [[wp>Sardis]], the city is "at the height of her wealth and prosperity" and that "all the great Greek teachers of that epoch, one after another, paid visits to the capital" (1.29). When Solon is asked the famous question - who is the most happy of all men? - he refuses to flatter Croesus. He “answered in strict accordance with his view of the truth” (1.31). He wisely understands that olbios is generated by deeds and not things as is the case with Tellus, who was a minor man who saw the prosperity of his city grow, saw his sons grow to a mature age, had enough funds to live in comfort but not greed, and had died a glorious death on the battlefield in defense of his city. Tellus is olbios personified. The two sons Cleobus and Biton also exhibit olbios. Their glorious deaths should be envied by men, for they were happy and satisfied when they died. They were lucky enough to have experienced this joy and to not have it slip away from them. What Herodotus is trying to say is that historically-speaking, if one investigatively looks at the situation, the happy man is not the most powerful or wealthiest. Rather, the humbler man who has good fortune until his death should be envied, for we are all in the end governed by luck: “Many rich men have been unfortunate, and many with a modest competence have had good luck” (1.32).
-Later in the Histories, Artabanus’ marvelous speech also provides us with wisdom and truth concerning the deeds of men. His speech has parallels with Solon’s presentation insofar as they both are about wisdom being analogous to truth. Artabanus’ speech shows its wisdom by going against the supposed wisdom that both Xerxes and Mardonius have proposed, a wisdom which basically states that war is the only solution to the Greek problem, Persia deserves to possess the whole world due to its superiority, and the Greeks fight in a most ignorant and stupid way. Artabanus cautions the men of the assembly about this way of thinking. He says that they should keep the failed Scythian campaign in mind as they make their decision. There in Scythia the Persians got in over their heads and they will find themselves in a similar situation in Greece since the Greeks are in fact very brave and relaxed in the face of danger. Next, Artabanus goes on to address the issue of Persian superiority and might. He makes the point that things that have grandeur tend to become targets of god's wrath. The might of Persia might be compared to a great tree or large house which gets struck by lightning while smaller things escape. Artabanus explains how a great army like Persia's might be destroyed because of its size and power, "for once the god has conceived jealousy against a great army, he may hurl fear upon it or his thunder, and it will perish in a way unworthy of itself" (7.10). Artabanus has a sinking-feeling that the Greeks, although they may be small, might become a thorn in the side of the Persians, or worse might defeat and destroy Persian dominion. One can just sense that Herodotus through the words of Solon and Artabanus is providing us with his own viewpoint and perspective on life. He uses these two men as vehicles whereby he can pronounce what he considers wisdom to consist of.
+Later in the Histories, Artabanus’ marvelous speech also provides us with wisdom and truth concerning the deeds of men. His speech has parallels with Solon’s presentation insofar as they both are about wisdom being analogous to truth. Artabanus’ speech shows its wisdom by going against the supposed wisdom that both [[wp>Xerxes]] and [[wp>Mardonius]] have proposed, a wisdom which basically states that war is the only solution to the Greek problem, Persia deserves to possess the whole world due to its superiority, and the Greeks fight in a most ignorant and stupid way. Artabanus cautions the men of the assembly about this way of thinking. He says that they should keep the failed Scythian campaign in mind as they make their decision. There in Scythia the Persians got in over their heads and they will find themselves in a similar situation in Greece since the Greeks are in fact very brave and relaxed in the face of danger. Next, Artabanus goes on to address the issue of Persian superiority and might. He makes the point that things that have grandeur tend to become targets of god's wrath. The might of Persia might be compared to a great tree or large house which gets struck by lightning while smaller things escape. Artabanus explains how a great army like Persia's might be destroyed because of its size and power, "for once the god has conceived jealousy against a great army, he may hurl fear upon it or his thunder, and it will perish in a way unworthy of itself" (7.10). Artabanus has a sinking-feeling that the Greeks, although they may be small, might become a thorn in the side of the Persians, or worse might defeat and destroy Persian dominion. One can just sense that Herodotus through the words of Solon and Artabanus is providing us with his own viewpoint and perspective on life. He uses these two men as vehicles whereby he can pronounce what he considers wisdom to consist of.
-Additionally, Herodotus has much wisdom to share about the ways of war and many truths become apparent when reading Herodotus’ accounts. Of all the wise things that Herodotus has to teach us about the navy, the most important is that the navy provides people with supplies and transportation. This is a truth. Once a navy has been destroyed or weakened it is likely that failure is imminent since supplies and people will be unable to reach their intended targets. This is seen early on when the Spartans fail to arrive at Sardis before its fall to Cyrus. They would have brought the necessary supplies and men to adequately battle Cyrus and perhaps been successful in defending the city. But since they fail to arrive, Sardis easily falls. Later, Aristagoras understands the value of having a fleet of ships to support his cause, so he goes to Athens to appeal for ships (5.97). But when he loses this fleet, he, too, is defeated with nothing left to support his cause. And in the most famous teaching about the navy, Themistocles decides that the oracle is speaking about building a wall of ships when she says "that the wooden wall only shall not fall, but help you and your children" (7.141). Themistocles has the intuition to know that strength lies in command of the seas, not in fortifying Athens herself. This is how he averts disaster and is able to confront and ultimately defeat the Persian fleet. As one can see, one historical truth that Herodotus wishes to convey is that naval power is essential to have. It is wise to maintain a navy.
+Additionally, Herodotus has much wisdom to share about the ways of war and many truths become apparent when reading Herodotus’ accounts. Of all the wise things that Herodotus has to teach us about the navy, the most important is that the navy provides people with supplies and transportation. This is a truth. Once a navy has been destroyed or weakened it is likely that failure is imminent since supplies and people will be unable to reach their intended targets. This is seen early on when the Spartans fail to arrive at Sardis before its fall to Cyrus. They would have brought the necessary supplies and men to adequately battle Cyrus and perhaps been successful in defending the city. But since they fail to arrive, Sardis easily falls. Later, [[wp>Aristagoras]] understands the value of having a fleet of ships to support his cause, so he goes to Athens to appeal for ships (5.97). But when he loses this fleet, he, too, is defeated with nothing left to support his cause. And in the most famous teaching about the navy, Themistocles decides that the oracle is speaking about building a wall of ships when she says "that the wooden wall only shall not fall, but help you and your children" (7.141). Themistocles has the intuition to know that strength lies in command of the seas, not in fortifying Athens herself. This is how he averts disaster and is able to confront and ultimately defeat the Persian fleet. As one can see, one historical truth that Herodotus wishes to convey is that naval power is essential to have. It is wise to maintain a navy.
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-On the other hand, bad planning leads to failure as is seen in the demise of Cambyses in Ethiopia and the failed expedition of Darius to Scythia. Both men failed to foresee the extremes which they would face in these hostile lands. Cambyses loses a substantial number of soldiers and camels to the harsh desert; Darius loses men left and right while he was running in circles trying to catch the roaming Scythians. Herodotus vividly depicts the failure of Cambyses as such: “If Cambyses, when he saw what the situation was, had changed his mind and returned to his base, he would, in spite of his original error [which was bad planning], have shown some sense; but as it was, he paid not the least attention to what was happening and continued his advance. The troops kept themselves alive by eating grass [...], but once they reached the desert, some of them were reduced to the dreadful expedient of cannibalism” (3.25). If Cambyses thought more carefully about how he was to invade Ethiopia, he might have been able to defeat the Ethiopians.  A bad plan always brings defeat in Herodotus, but wise, calculated decisions never fail to produce quality results.
+On the other hand, bad planning leads to failure as is seen in the demise of [[wp>Cambyses]] in Ethiopia and the failed expedition of Darius to Scythia. Both men failed to foresee the extremes which they would face in these hostile lands. Cambyses loses a substantial number of soldiers and camels to the harsh desert; Darius loses men left and right while he was running in circles trying to catch the roaming Scythians. Herodotus vividly depicts the failure of Cambyses as such: “If Cambyses, when he saw what the situation was, had changed his mind and returned to his base, he would, in spite of his original error [which was bad planning], have shown some sense; but as it was, he paid not the least attention to what was happening and continued his advance. The troops kept themselves alive by eating grass [...], but once they reached the desert, some of them were reduced to the dreadful expedient of cannibalism” (3.25). If Cambyses thought more carefully about how he was to invade Ethiopia, he might have been able to defeat the Ethiopians.  A bad plan always brings defeat in Herodotus, but wise, calculated decisions never fail to produce quality results.
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-One great example is the madness of Cambyses and the killing of Apis. By taunting, wounding, and killing the calf, Cambyses disrupts the nomos [custom, law] of the people of Egypt. Herodotus states that this is likely the reason why Cambyses went mad, or it was at least likely a major contributor. After the Apis affair, Cambyses would go on to commit more outrages like killing his brother Smerdis, having sex with his sister, and murdering a boy to practice hi archery skills. All these outrages further broke the rule of nomos and threw the balance off-kilter. It is only with the death of Cambyses that the balance gets righted again. In response to the actions of Cambyses, Herodotus states that “custom is king of all”; that is, nomos is the ruling force of the universe and is what determines what the balance is made of. The wisdom to be found in the Cambyses’ affair is that nemesis visits those who throw the balance off-kilter.
+One great example is the madness of Cambyses and the killing of [[wp>Bull of Apis]]. By taunting, wounding, and killing the calf, Cambyses disrupts the nomos [custom, law] of the people of Egypt. Herodotus states that this is likely the reason why Cambyses went mad, or it was at least likely a major contributor. After the Apis affair, Cambyses would go on to commit more outrages like killing his brother Smerdis, having sex with his sister, and murdering a boy to practice hi archery skills. All these outrages further broke the rule of nomos and threw the balance off-kilter. It is only with the death of Cambyses that the balance gets righted again. In response to the actions of Cambyses, Herodotus states that “custom is king of all”; that is, nomos is the ruling force of the universe and is what determines what the balance is made of. The wisdom to be found in the Cambyses’ affair is that nemesis visits those who throw the balance off-kilter.
-Another instance of the balance being disturbed is with the burning of Sardis and its temple during the Ionian revolt. With this event, the whole dynamic of the revolt changes. Suddenly the balance shifts in a negatively for the Greeks and the revolt goes downhill. Thus after the burning of Sardis, Persia quickly regains control of the situation, Athens resigns from the revolt, and slowly but surely the Ionian revolt is quelled. One can see easily the principle of nemesis [retribution] at play. The Ionian Revolt comes to a close and stability reestablishes itself.
+Another instance of the balance being disturbed is with the burning of Sardis and its temple during the Ionian revolt. With this event, the whole dynamic of the revolt changes. Suddenly the balance shifts in a negatively for the Greeks and the revolt goes downhill. Thus after the burning of Sardis, Persia quickly regains control of the situation, Athens resigns from the revolt, and slowly but surely the Ionian revolt is quelled. One can see easily the principle of nemesis [retribution] at play. The [[wp>Ionian Revolt]] comes to a close and stability reestablishes itself.
-Another instance is with the Battle of Marathon. We are told that the Persian force that is going to Greece to battle is so enormous it causes a kinesis in the middle of the Aegean. This kinesis forces the balance to go off-center, and the balance is only reestablished when the Persians do land and are aptly defeated by the Athenian company in the Battle at Marathon.
+Another instance is with the Battle of Marathon. We are told that the Persian force that is going to Greece to battle is so enormous it causes a kinesis in the middle of the Aegean. This kinesis forces the balance to go off-center, and the balance is only reestablished when the Persians do land and are aptly defeated by the Athenian company in the Battle at [[wp>Marathon]].
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 **It is noteworthy that later on Thucydides developed a similar, if not identical, view of the historical process and what is worth recording. Thucydides, like Herodotus, was not interested in the facts in-and-of-themselves, but only in how these facts can be used. Thucydides’ goal is to skopein into the future by using the lens of past events, that includes ta genomena and ta erga. It is safe to say that Thucydides, at least in respect to methodology, was in line with Herodotean principles.
-{{tag>articles herodotus}}