Herodotus: The Histories (Penguin Classics)
by Aubrey De Selincourt, Herodotus, John M. Marincola
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Book Summary Information
Author: Aubrey De Selincourt, Herodotus, John M. MarincolaEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); Greek (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1996-09-01
ISBN: 0140446389
Number of pages: 688
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Book Reviews of Herodotus: The Histories (Penguin Classics)
Book Review: Intensely Valuable and Eminently Interesting
Summary: 4 Stars
Although they constitute less than perfect history from a modern scholarly standpoint, the Histories of Herodotus are still noteworthy, not to mention eminently readable, today due to their emphasis on multiculturalism. The broad and inclusive nature of Herodotus' writings are particularly notable as multicultural documents because they branch out rather more widely than most writings of the ancient Greeks, a notoriously chauvinistic people who often harbored a parochial outlook.
Herodotus describes far too many people and things to touch on here. I will merely sketch a representative few and conclude with some general remarks. Among the interesting people Herodotus describes are the Persians. He remarks upon what he sees as the most interesting and notable features of their culture, such as the fact that they do not construct any images to serve as altars to their gods: as he says, "anyone who does such a thing is considered a fool." Also, like a good historian, he attempts to deduce the reason behind this practice: it presumably occurs because "the Persian religion is not anthropomorphic like the Greek." He also describes their method of sacrificing to the gods by comparing and contrasting it with the Greek method. The Persian reverence for birthdays is next noted - "Of all days in the year a Persian most distinguishes his birthday" - followed by some comments on their mode of eating; their method of eating was such that, they did not doubt, "Greeks leave the table hungry." The Persians are "very fond of wine" and never make a decision without going over it both while drunk and while sober. Persian society is very strictly divided along class lines, and they consider themselves "in every way superior to everyone else in the world." Despite this, it also harbors a very open attitude toward foreign customs; indeed, Herodotus claims, "No race is so ready to adopt foreign ways as the Persian." Persian men have multiple wives and numerous concubines. Of all things in the world, they abhor lying most "and, next to that, owing money."
Herodotus then goes on to describe some of the more interesting and notable customs of the Babylonians. They have a distinctive mode of dress, which includes ornamented, individually tailored walking sticks, for "it is not the custom to have a stick without some such ornament." Prostitution is rampant in Babylonia; indeed, it involves "nearly the prostitution of all girls of the lower classes." The Babylonians have an unusual custom of treating the sick: "They have no doctors, but bring their invalids out into the street, where anyone who comes along offers the sufferer advice on his complaint." Passing these unfortunates by without speaking is not allowed. Finally, they have burial practices that resemble those of Egypt and sexual rituals that resemble those of Arabia.
The Egyptians are another interesting Herodotus describes; he depicts them, through contrast, as inherently different from the Greeks. Indeed, he declares that they "seem to have reversed the ordinary practices of mankind." He offers the fact of women engaging in trade outside the home, while men stay behind and weave, as an example of this. Also, Egyptian men bear their burdens on their heads, whereas women shoulder their loads. They even weave in a manner opposite from "the normal way." Indeed, they differ from the Greeks - and, by extension in Herodotus' mind, from all other civilized people - in many other ways, including the fact that they write right to left "and obstinately maintain that theirs is the dexterous method, ours being left-handed and awkward." Women are repressed in Egyptian society both in matters of religion - "No woman holds priestly office" - and familial obedience: "Sons are under no compulsion to support their parents if they do not wish to do so, but daughters must, whether they wish to or not." They are obsessed with cleanliness and practice circumcision only "for cleanliness' sake." They also have strict dietary rules.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Herodotus' writings on the Egyptians, at least from a modern-day perspective, is his chronicle of the history surrounding the pyramids. As he tells it, these monumental works of art were commissioned by tyrannical and oppressive rulers, such as Cheops, who "brought the country into all sorts of misery." Furthermore, they were built by slave labor: his subjects were forced "without exception to labour as slaves for his own advantage." Indeed, Herodotus presents Cheops as a man completely determined to see a pyramid built in his honor, no matter what the cost. This self-centered determination led to actions such as the following harrowing event: "no crime was too great for Cheops: when he was short of money, he sent his own daughter to a brothel with instructions to charge a certain sum." Finally, Chephren, the successor to Cheops and the commissioner of the second great pyramid, is hardly given softer treatment: according to Herodotus, he was "no better than his predecessor." Like Cheops, he was determined to have a pyramid built, whatever the costs, and their two reigns together constituted a grim period in which Egypt was "reduced in every way to the greatest misery."
One of the later peoples Herodotus describes are the Scythians. In his account, he focuses primarily on their burial rituals, which he describes in considerable detail. The length and complexity of these rituals is quite extensive - and, by modern-day standards, extremely gruesome. A representative example of this brutality is shown in the following quotation: "various members of the king's household are buried beside him: one of his concubines, his butler, his cook, his groom, his steward, and his chamberlain--all of them strangled." Herodotus ends his discussion of the Scythians with a description of their drug-infused post-burial rituals; these include the use of prodigious amounts of hemp, which make the Scythians "howl with pleasure."
Despite a general air of objectivity, the Histories are thickly coated in their author's opinions; indeed, Herodotus allows himself to indulge in alternately praising and blaming those whom he chronicles far more often than modern historians ever would. In regard to the Persians, for instance, Herodotus praises their custom of separating boys from their fathers, in order to avoid grieving over a possible early death, for their first five years of life: "In my view this is a sound practice." He also respected what he saw as the justness of some of their laws: "I admire also the custom which forbids even the king to put a man to death for a single offence." In fact, Herodotus does not condemn a single Persian custom outright; his comments on their methods of burying and sacrificing, however, come off as ambivalent at best.
Herodotus is similarly opinionated when he writes about the Babylonians. In a judgment that undoubtedly comes as a shock to modern sensibilities, he lauds their practice of marrying off women via auction; he refers to it as both "ingenious" and "admirable." He also bemoans the fact that the practice was eventually discontinued. Despite this praise, though, he also censures the Babylonians by denouncing their tradition of requiring women to offer themselves to strangers at the temple of the goddess of love: he calls this act "the one custom amongst these people which is wholly shameful."
Herodotus is less opinionated when writing about the Egyptians; indeed, he does not overtly praise them in any way. He also does not censure them outright, except to say that they are "religious to excess, beyond any nation in the world." Aside from this, his constant depictions of them as different, although not necessarily backward, carry with them a subtle implication of criticism, although this never quite bubbles up to the surface. Herodotus is even more reticent, at least as far as offering opinions goes, when it comes to the Scythians. In his descriptions of them, he offers no clear praise or blame; in fact, he comes no closer than noting that their drug-fueled vapor baths give off a vapor that is "unsurpassed by any vapour-bath one could find in Greece."
Owing to the great differences in time and culture, it is extremely difficult for a modern-day reader to objectively judge Herodotus' opinions. To be sure, his loud praises of auctioning off Babylonian women and his matter-of-fact portrayals of the brutal Scythian burial rituals grate harshly on the modern ear. Despite this, though, one must keep in mind that Herodotus, like everyone else, was a product of his time and place and cannot be objectively condemned for holding these views, shocking as they may be to those alive today. Conversely, his striving for objectivity, although not always completely successful, is as admirable in him as it is in any historian - perhaps even more so, since it came so early in history.
As mentioned, though, his attempts at objectivity must be qualified - not only because he is unusually opinionated, when compared to modern historians, but also because some of his stories are difficult to believe. Of course, from a modern viewpoint, some of the stories that Herodotus tells, such as his descriptions of the aforementioned marriage and burial rituals, seem hopelessly outmoded and even barbaric - yet one knows that such practices went on in the ancient world, and these stories, incredible as they may seem, are probably genuine history. Other stories, though, come off as exaggerated, if not completely invented. For example, Herodotus' assertion that Egyptian "women urinate standing up, men sitting down" strikes one as seemingly contrary to human physiology, if not completely impossible. Despite falling within the realm of the possible, certain other stories, such as the Persians making sure to go over every decision while drunk, also tend to raise doubts about their authenticity in one's mind.
Finally, contrasting Herodotus' account of the pyramids with modern scholarly views is an enlightening experience that serves to shed further light on his status and credibility as a historian. His depictions of them differ from the prevailing views today in several important ways. For example, as previously mentioned, he writes that the great monuments were made almost entirely through slave labor, a suggestion that is generally rejected today. He also goes to great lengths to stress the tyrannical and oppressive natures of Cheops and Chephren, whereas modern historians tend to downplay, if not completely ignore this aspect of the issue. He further writes that the Egyptians employed cranes to assist them in building the monuments, while it is known today that ramps were actually used. Also, his measurements of the pyramids differ slightly from those taken today, but this may simply be due to the effects of erosion and other factors over time. Finally, he refers to an inscription made on one of the pyramids - "An inscription is cut upon it in Egyptian characters" - which is not to be found there today; it is impossible to determine, of course, if Herodotus added this detail to his narrative, or if the inscription once existed but has somehow disappeared. The extent to which Herodotus' depictions of the pyramids conform to modern scholarly views serves to underscore both his strengths and his weaknesses as a historian.
Summary of Herodotus: The Histories (Penguin Classics)
During the fifth century BC, a small and quarrelsome band of Greek city-states united to repel a mighty Persian army. While the story of this heroic drama forms the main theme of Herodotus' narrative, the author's curiosity fleshes out the text with digressions, folk tales and stories.Greece Books
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