Herodotus Histories: Xerxe Tigranes

Odysseus is known as a very honorable man recognized as brave, noble, and a hero in the Odyssey. He is described one way, but his actions are contradicting towards his distinguishable character. In Homer’s The Odyssey, it can be argued that Odysseus is too deceitful, narcissistic, and pretentious to be considered an honorable hero. To support this, I will be analyzing the use of the word “honor” in situations where Odysseus was described as a man with great honor by the gods.

The Spartans reverence to Lycurgus’s laws help set up a society base on militarism and conservative values. They as a society denying full social and political equality to all men, who allowed females, have social equality. The system in which Lycurgus left the Spartans denied both a democracy and a chance of a tyrant to gain control over the Spartans.

To begin with, the Spartans were a society that was completely isolated. “It was not allowed them to go abroad, so they should have nothing to do with foreign ways and undisciplined modes of living.” (Doc D) How could the Spartans learn from others or communicate and appreciate other cultures if they could not visit them? This obviously led to the Spartans

Xerxes knows the ability of the Greek army before he even begins fighting with them (p.153). After he decides that he will fight Greece, he prepares his army for almost five years to make sure everything is right (p.154). Also, he ensures that he has many more men than the Greeks do (p.157). Arrogant: Before the battle begins Xerxes says that he “...knows how weak their power is” and that “they are foolish enough to meet us at open fight.

One summer day at the ocean before a battle with the Persians, Tigris was approached by his adviser, Cato, who was over twice his age. He asked, “Have you found something to sacrifice to Ares yet?” Tigris shook his head. “Not yet,” he muttered.

Amidst his yelling odysseus hears the shouts of his men to stop but doesnt, even though what his men are saying is what is best odysseus disregards their opinions. All odysseus is thinking about is fulfilling his selfish desire to showcase his

Krissy Wetzel The Spartan Hegemony and Their Fierce War Tactics The Spartans have long been fantasized as fearsome great warriors throughout history. They were known for their brutality in war and never giving into defeat. They were also feared and revered by all and most of the other societies would not dare cross their path.

Sometime around the year 425 B.C., the writer and geographer Herodotus published his magnum opus: a long account of the Greco-Persian Wars that he called The Histories. In the introductory lines of Herodotus of Halicarnassus’ this book, he says “The purpose is to prevent the traces of human events from being erased by time, and to prevent the fame of the important and remarkable achievements produced by both Greeks and non-Greeks; among matters covered is, in particular, the cause of the hostilities between Greeks and non-Greeks.” Herodotus makes it clear from the beginning exactly what he intends to do. He certainly did achieve his goal. To support the aforementioned statement, the author has stated several fair, balanced facts and examples in his writing that are going to be discussed in this paper.

He says that he had killed a man, “Orsilokhos, the courier, son of Idomeneus,”(XIII, 332) which gives the undertone of nobility and wealth. He says that this young man “could beat the best cross country runners,”(XIII,

In Greek history many wars took place due to the conquering of other lands for empowerment and wealth. The question arises by the Melians during the Peloponnesian war about how “justice” and “self- interest are distinguished. In the Melian Dialogue, the Athenians seek self-interest of power and strength for their empire, while the Melians seek justice by friendship and neutrality instead of slavery. Due to this questioning, the Athenians are seen being self-fish and unjust due to their greed and self-interest. In this dialogue there is a clear differentiation of justice and self-interest.

It could be argued that the biggest weakness of Herodotus’ writing was the style with which he wrote. Where a modern historian deals with facts, Herodotus often dealt with hearsay and myth, intertwining them with factual observations in a way which historians today would never do. Much of this is due to the manner in which ‘History’ was conducted during his time; even Thucydides claimed that, when it came to speeches at least, it was necessary to ‘make the speakers say what, in [his] opinion, was called for by each situation’[9]. Felix Jacoby argues that History as we know it ‘did not exist in the ancient world’[10], and this presents a problem when evaluating the strengths of any ancient historical work. It becomes clear whilst reading Herodotus’

Primary Source Analysis: The History of Herodotus; Book I: Clio The Histories, by Herodotus, is a detailed account of the aggression and later violence between the Greeks and Persians, and was the first ever written record of a historical event. It was due to its name and example that history has even been continuously recorded, and how Herodotus earned his nickname “The Father of History”. Because of it was separated into nine books, each named after one of the nine Muses, the focus of this analysis will be of Book I, Clio, which tells the beginning of the transgressions between the Greeks and the Persians.

In the epic poem, the Iliad written by Homer, several characters taking part in the warfare between the Achaeans and the Trojans are portrayed as embodying the heroic code of courage, physical strength, leadership, arete of value of honour, and the acceptance of fate. The heroic code is illustrated by the actions of the Trojan prince, Hector and the Achaeans strongest warrior, Achilles. Both of these characters display the Greek’s image of a hero, and can also let the reader discern what the society admires, looks up to and aspires to in its heroes. There are also characters who fail to be heroic, such as the Trojan “vivid and beautiful” prince, Paris. These characters in the Iliad illustrate the qualities that Ancient Greek society values.

Now Leonidas commits his most noble act as a Spartan, he fight until not only his life was taken but every soldier on that battlefield facing the Persians. This is not only a heroic moment but also a very honorable, and memorable moment. This was such a great act of Leadership that it went down in history as one of the most amazing battle ever fought by any civilization ever. This was because the Spartan King was able to provided just enough time for his people and allies to make preparations for the oncoming attacks and how the Spartans were able to hold back an unbeatable opponent . This caused when the Persians attacked later on it was useless because of the time given to them by the incredible leadership of leonidas and

I believe that these feelings had both originated and surfaced from watching the film 300. 300 is about a war between Persia and Greece. Sparta is the Greek city state that is in battle with Persia. Sparta’s King Leonidas is leading 300 Spartans, that were chosen, in this war. In the movie, the most iconic scene was when King Leonidas kicks the Persian emissary, or messenger, into the well.