T H E
L A N D M A R K
H E RO D OT U S
T H E H I S T O R I E S
A New Translation by Andrea L. Purvis with Maps, Annotations, Appendices, and Encyclopedic Index
Edited by Robert B. Strassler
With an Introduction by Rosalind ThomasPA N T H E O N BO O K S• NE W YO R K Stra_9780375421099_3p_fm_r4.qxp 10/21/08 12:32 PM Page iii
Copyright © 2007 by Robert B. Strassler
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Pantheon Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Pantheon Books and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Herodotus.
[History. English]
The landmark Herodotus : the histories / edited by Robert B. Strassler ; translated by Andrea L. Purvis.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–0–375–42109–9
1. History, Ancient. 2. Greece—History—To 146 B.C. I. Strassler, Robert B., 1937– II. Purvis, Andrea L. III. Title.
D58.H4713 2007 930—dc22 2007024149
Designed by Kim Llewellyn Maps by Topaz Maps, Inc. Index by Margot Levy
Photo research by Ingrid MacGillis
www.pantheonbooks.com
Printed in the United States of America First Edition
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
C O N T E N T S
Introduction by Rosalind Thomas ix
Editor’s Preface by Robert B. Strassler xxxvii
Translator’s Preface by Andrea L. Purvis xlix
Dated Outline of Text li
Key to Maps lxiv
BO O K ON E 1 BO O K TW O 115 BO O K TH R E E 205 BO O K FO U R 279 BO O K FI V E 365 BO O K SI X 425 BO O K SE V E N 491 BO O K EI G H T 599 BO O K NI N E 663
Appendix A The Athenian Government in Herodotus
Peter Krentz, Davidson College 723
Appendix B The Spartan State in War and Peace
Paul Cartledge, University of Cambridge 728 Appendix C The Account of Egypt: Herodotus Right and Wrong
Alan B. Lloyd, University of Wales 737 Appendix D Herodotean Geography
James Romm, Bard College 744
Appendix E Herodotus and the Black Sea Region
Everett L. Wheeler, Duke University 748 Appendix F Rivers and Peoples of Scythia
Everett L. Wheeler, Duke University 756 HdtFM-i-lxiv_Repro 8/31/07 4:12 PM Page vii
Appendix G The Continuity of Steppe Culture
Everett L. Wheeler, Duke University 759 Appendix H The Ionian Revolt
George L. Cawkwell, University College, Oxford 762 Appendix I Classical Greek Religious Festivals
Gregory Crane, Tufts University 769
Appendix J Ancient Greek Units of Currency, Weight, and Distance
Thomas R. Martin, College of the Holy Cross 773 Appendix K Dialect and Ethnic Groups in Herodotus
William F. Wyatt, Brown University 781 Appendix L Aristocratic Families in Herodotus
Carolyn Higbie, State University of New York, Buffalo 786 Appendix M Herodotus on Persia and the Persian Empire
Christopher Tuplin, University of Liverpool 792 Appendix N Hoplite Warfare in Herodotus
J. W. I. Lee, University of California, Santa Barbara 798 Appendix O The Persian Army in Herodotus
J. W. I. Lee, University of California, Santa Barbara 805 Appendix P Oracles, Religion, and Politics in Herodotus
Donald Lateiner, Ohio Wesleyan University 810 Appendix Q Herodotus and the Poets
Andrew Ford, Princeton University 816
Appendix R The Size of Xerxes’ Expeditionary Force
Michael A. Flower, Princeton University 819 Appendix S Trireme Warfare in Herodotus
Nicolle Hirschfeld, Trinity University 824 Appendix T Tyranny in Herodotus
Carolyn Dewald, Bard College 835
Appendix U On Women and Marriage in Herodotus
Carolyn Dewald, Bard College 838
Glossary 843
Ancient Sources 846
Bibliography for the General Reader 848
Figure Credits 850
Index 851
Reference Maps 951
CONTENTS
viii
ix
I N T RO D U CT I O N
Rosalind Thomas
1. Opening Remarks
§1.1. Herodotus’ Histories trace the conflict between the Greeks and the Persians which culminated in the Persian Wars in the great battles of Thermopylae, Salamis, Plataea, and Mycale (480–479),a a generation or so before he was writing. He
described his theme as comprising both the achievements of Greeks and barbarians, and also the reasons why they came into conflict (Book 1, Proem). This suggests that he sought the causes of the conflict in factors that took one back deep into the past and into the characteristics of each society. He implies that he saw the deep-seated causes in cultural antagonism of Greek and non-Greek, but he went out of his way to describe the achievements and customs of many non-Greek peoples with astonishing sensitivity and lack of prejudice. The Histories are the first work in the Western tradition that are recognizably a work of history to our eyes, for they cover the recent human past (as opposed to a concentration on myths and legends), they search for causes, and they are critical of different accounts. Herodotus’ own description of them as an inquiry, a “historie_,” has given us our word “history,” and he has been acknowledged as the “father of history.” He also has a claim to be the first to write a major work on geography and ethnography. His interests were omnivorous, from natural history to anthropology, from early legend to the events of the recent past: he was interested in the nature of the Greek defense against the Persians, or the nature of Greek liberty, as well as in stranger and more exotic tales about gold-digging ants or other wondrous animals in the East. The Histories are the first long work in prose (rather than verse) which might rival the Homeric epics in scale of conception and length. Shorter works in prose had appeared before, but the Histories must in their time have been revolutionary.
§1.2. Who, then, was Herodotus? As with most ancient Greek authors, we have little reliable information, and the later ancient biographers may have invented biographical “facts” by drawing from the content of the Histories themselves, as was common in ancient biographies of writers. He was born in Halicarnassusa in Asia
Minor,bnow modern Bodrum in western Turkey. He spent much of his life in exile,
Intro.1.1a All dates in this edition of Herodotus and in its supporting materials are B.C.E. (Before the Common Era), unless otherwise specified.
Intro.1.2a Halicarnassus: Map Intro.1.
Intro.1.2b Asia Minor (Asia): Map Intro.1, locator.
spending some time in Samos,csome in Athens,dand apparently ending up in Thurii,e
the Athenian Panhellenic colony founded in south Italy (Aristotle in the fourth century knew him as Herodotus of Thurii). The Histories themselves provide the evidence for his extensive travels in the Greek world, Asia Minor, Phoenicia, Egypt and North Africa,fand perhaps the Black Seag(see below). Unlike in many modern
travel-ogues, the main focus of interest is not on the traveling itself but on the information it yields, so again the personal elements are not extensive. His life spanned much of the fifth century: here there is no reason to doubt the ancient tradition that he was born at roughly the time of the Persian Wars (480–479), and he probably lived into the 420s, since the Histories make references to events in Greece early in the Pelo-ponnesian War of 431–404. It is usually thought that he was active as researcher and writer from the 450s to the 420s. The Histories clearly constituted a life’s work.
2. The Historical Background
§2.1. The beginning of this period saw the triumph of the Greek mainland states over the might of the Persian Empire, first in the initial invasion of 490 and the battle of Marathon,athen in the second invasion of 480/79, with the battles of Thermopylae,
Salamis, Plataea, and finally Mycalebin Asia Minor. This unexpected victory resonated
in Greek consciousness through the fifth century and indeed beyond, and it is impor-tant to recall this when reading Herodotus, who was researching a generation or two after the Greek victory. It helped crystallize Greeks’ attitudes to their own way of life and values, intensified their supreme distrust of monarchy and tyranny, and shaped their attitude to the Persians. In more practical terms, Athens’ naval success in the Persian Wars and its enterprise immediately after led to the creation of the Athenian Empire, which started as an anti-Persian league and lasted for almost three-quarters of a century (479–404). As the Spartansc were increasingly reluctant to continue
anti-Persian activity into the Hellespont and Asia Minor, the Athenians were free to create their maritime league composed of many smaller Greek states situated around the Aegean and up into the Hellespont.d Athenian power grew steadily and Athens even
tried a disastrous expedition to help Egypt rebel against the Persian King. As her radical democracy developed from the 460s, conflict arose between her and the other power-ful Greek states, particularly Corintheand Sparta and the members of Sparta’s
Pelopon-nesian League. By the late 430s tensions had reached their height. War broke out in 431 between Athens and her allies and Sparta and hers. Athens was now a “tyrant city,” the Corinthians claimed (Thucydides 1.122.3; generally, 1.68–71, 1.120–124), and Greece must now be freed from Athens. Greece had been freed from the Persiansfonly
to be enslaved by Athens. The great historian of this later war, Thucydides, was succes-sor and rival to Herodotus. As he makes his Athenian speakers remark in the opening book of his history, they are weary of pointing out that the Athenian Empire is justified
INTRODUCTION
x
Intro.1.2c Samos: Map Intro.1. Intro.1.2d Athens: Map Intro.1. Intro.1.2e Thurii: Map Intro.1, locator.
Intro.1.2f Phoenicia, Egypt, and North Africa (Libya): Map Intro.2.
Intro.1.2g Euxine (Black) Sea: Map Intro.1, locator. Intro.2.1a Marathon: Map Intro.1.
Intro.2.1b Battle sites of 480: Thermopylae and Salamis, of 479, Plataea and Mycale: Map Intro.1. Intro.2.1c Sparta: Map Intro.1.
Intro.2.1d Aegean Sea: Map Intro.1. Hellespont: Map Intro.1, locator.
Intro.2.1e Corinth: Map Intro.1. Intro.2.1f Persia: Map Intro.2.
li
DAT E D O U T L I N E O F T E XT
Book 1
Proem, 1.1 Herodotus identifies himself, describes his subject, and states
his purpose in writing the Histories. 450–420? 1.2–5 ASIA-GREECE Abductions of various Greek and Asian women.
1.6–29 LYDIA HISTORIESBEGIN: CROESUS OF LYDIA 716–547/46
1.7–12 LYDIA Gyges kills Kandaules and becomes king of Lydia. 716? 1.13–14 LYDIA Gyges is confirmed by Delphic oracle; his reign. 716–678
1.15 LYDIA Ardys’ reign; captures Priene, invades Miletus, Cimmerians. 678–629
1.16–17 LYDIA Sadyattes’ reign; drives out Cimmerians, takes Smyrna. 629–617 1.18–22 LYDIA-MILETUS Alyattes’ reign; makes peace with Miletus. 617–560
1.23 CORINTH Periandros (r. 627–587) informs Thrasyboulos of the oracle.
1.24 TARAS-CORINTH The tale of Arion.
1.25 LYDIA-DELPHI Alyattes’ gifts to Delphi. 617–560?
1.26–92 LYDIA CROESUS’ REIGN: CONQUERS GREEKS IN ASIA;
DEFEATED BY CYRUS 560–547/46
1.29–33 LYDIA Croesus and Solon.
1.34–45 LYDIA The story of Adrastus; death of Atys, Croesus’ son.
1.46–56 LYDIA Croesus decides to attack Persia, tests oracles, rewards some. 550–?
1.57–58 Herodotus speculates on language of the Pelasgians.
1.59–64 ATHENS Peisistratos’ rise to tyrannical power at Athens. (r. c. 561–556, 555?–?, 546–528)
1.65 SPARTA Lykourgos reforms and establishes the Spartan government.
1.66–68 SPARTA Spartan conflict with Tegea.
1.69–70 SPARTA Spartans agree to assist Croesus. 548–547 1.71–1.73 CAPPADOCIA Lydians cross the Halys River into Persian-controlled territory. 547?
1.74–75 CAPPADOCIA Thales predicts eclipse (585); diverts Halys River (547?).
Key to Maps
Halys R. Heliopolis MT. OLYMPUS Kadousians Athens AS I AMountain; mountain range Cliff or escarpment River
Marsh Seas and lakes
(approximate extent in Classical Period) Continents; regions
Large cities; other locations
Mountains
Bodies of water; islands; promontories Peoples and tribes
Natural Features Typography AE O L I S Deme Settlements Fortified place Temple Battle site Road
City walls and fortifications
Map Configurations Cultural Features Locator map Main map Inset map Distance Conversions
Wherever possible and appropriate, I have converted Herodotus’ original units of distance (stades, plethra, cubits, etc.) into miles and feet, and noted in a footnote the original units that are cited in the text. In calculating modern units, unless the text specifies other units, I have assumed the use of the Attic stade of 583 feet and the more or less standard cubit of one and a half feet. The reader should realize, however, that different “standard” stade and cubit units were in use in the ancient Mediterranean world, and Herodotus might have had one of them in mind when he gave his measurements, so that we can never know the actual lengths with any precision. See Appendix J, Units of Currency, Weight, and Distance.
Dates
All dates in this volume and in its supporting materials are B.C.E. (Before the Common Era), unless otherwise specified.
lxiv
B O O K T W O
W
hen Cyrus died, the kingship was inherited by Cambyses. He was the son of Cyrus by Cassandane daughter of Pharnaspes. Cassandane had died before Cyrus, and he had grieved for her with great sorrow and ordered all of his subjects to grieve for her, too. [2] As the son of this woman and Cyrus, Cambyses considered the Ioniansaand Aeoliansbas his slaves whom he had inherited from his father, and when
he made his expedition to Egypt,c he took with him these Hellenes who
were under his rule, along with the rest of his subjects.
Now, before Psammetichos became king, the Egyptians used to believe that they were the earliest humans. But upon assuming the kingship, Psam-metichos became eager to ascertain which people were really the first; and ever since his reign, the Egyptians consider that the Phrygiansblived before
they did, but that they themselves existed prior to all the rest of humanity. [2] Unable to find a means of discovering who were the first humans by making inquiries, Psammetichos devised an experiment. He selected two newborn children from ordinary people and gave them to a shepherd to take into his flocks and raise according to the following instructions: no one was to utter a word in their presence; the shepherd should place them in a secluded hut by themselves and at appropriate intervals bring in the goats, give the children their fill of milk, and then tend to the rest of their needs. [3] The reason he gave these instructions was because he wished to listen to the children after they had outgrown their inarticulate crying and to find out what word they would speak first. And everything turned out as he planned, for the shepherd had followed his orders for two years when one day, as he opened the door and entered, both children rushed at him with outstretched hands, crying out “bekos.” [4] At first the shepherd kept quiet about having heard this, but when the word bekos was repeated again and again as he came and went in his care for the children, he told his master. At his command the shepherd brought the children into his presence, and
2.1 530
Cambyses succeeds Cyrus and prepares to attack Egypt.
2.2
EGYPT
Psammetichos (r. 664–610) of Egypt determines by experiment that Phrygians were the earliest people on earth.
117
2.1.2a Ionia: Map 1.204, inset. 2.1.2b Aeolis: Map 1.204, inset.
2.1.2c Egypt: Map 1.204. See Appendix C, The
Account of Egypt: Herodotus Right and Wrong, §1.
2.2.1b Phrygia: Map 1.204.
Psammetichos himself heard the word. When he inquired which people might use the word bekos, he discovered that the word bekos means “bread” in the Phrygian language. [5] Thus the Egyptians accepted this evidence and concluded that the Phrygians are older than themselves. I heard this account from the priests of Hephaistos at Memphis.aHellenes tell many different silly
stories—for example, there is one that Psammetichos cut out the tongues of some women and made the children live with them.
Such are the stories told about how the children were raised. But I heard other things in Memphis, too, when I conversed with the priests of Hephais-tos. And I also went to Thebesaand Heliopolis,bsince I wanted to see if they
agreed with what was said in Memphis. For of all the Egyptians, the Heliopolitans are said to be the most learned in tradition. [2] I have no desire to relate what I heard about matters concerning the gods, other than their names alone, since I believe that all people understand these things equally. But when my discussion forces me to mention these things, I shall do so.
As to all matters concerning the human world, they were in agreement. They said that the Egyptians were the first of all peoples to discover the year, by dividing up the seasons into twelve parts to total one year, and that they discovered how to do this from the stars. The Egyptians seem to me to be much wiser than the Hellenes in the way they regulate the timing of the seasons. While the Hellenes attempt to preserve the timing of the seasons by inserting an intercalary month every other year, the Egyptians divide the year into twelve months of thirty days each and add just five days each year beyond that number, and thus their seasons do return at the same periods in the cycle from year to year.
[2] They said that the Egyptians were also the first to establish the tradi-tion of identifying namesafor the twelve gods, and that the Hellenes adopted
this practice from them. They were also the first to assign altars, statues, and temples to the gods and to carve their figures in relief on stone. The priests in fact demonstrated with proofs that these claims were valid, but they could only assert that the first man to be king of Egypt was Min.b[3] During his
reign, they said, all Egypt was swamp except for the district of Thebes, and none of it protruded above water beyond what is now the lake of Moeris,a
which lies at a seven-day voyage upriver from the sea.
It seemed to me that they accurately described the nature of their land. For even if one has not heard about it in advance, it is obvious to anyone with common sense when he sees it for himself: the Egypt to which the Hellenes sail is land that was deposited by the river—it is the gift of the river to the Egyptians, as is also the area south of the lake as far as a three-day voyage upriver. Although they said nothing further about this, there is
2.3
EGYPT
Herodotus lists some of his Egyptian sources.
2.4
EGYPT
The Egyptian calendar is superior to the Greek. Herodotus is told that the first ruler of all Egypt is Min, who is thought to have reigned c. 3000.
2.5
EGYPT
Egypt consists of mud deposited by the Nile River.
118
2.2.5a Memphis: Map 2.6, Egypt inset. 2.3.1a Thebes, Egypt: Map 2.6, Egypt inset. 2.3.1b Heliopolis: Map 2.6, Egypt inset. The name means City of the Sun; in Egypt-ian, the House/Abode of Ra/Re. 2.4.2a Herodotus uses a word which literally
means “epithet” here. He probably
means that the Egyptians were the first to use specific and particular names for each divinity in contrast to theoi/gods—a col-lective designation.
2.4.2b Min is Menes. See 2.99. 2.4.3a Lake Moeris: Map 2.6, Egypt inset.
Herodotus’ Egyptian sources EGYPT BOOKTWO
something more to add; [2] the nature of Egypt is such that if you are in a boat one whole day’s sail distant from the land and you let down a sound-ing line, you will brsound-ing up mud even to the depth of eleven fathoms.aThis
shows just how far the alluvial deposit of the land extends.
The length of the Egyptian seacoast, as we Hellenes define the territory of Egypt, is 60 schoinoi,afrom the Gulf of Plinthinebto Lake Serbonis,calong
which extends Mount Casius.dIt is from this place that the 397 miles are
mea-sured. [2] Whoever possesses very little property here measures his land in fathoms; those who have somewhat more, in stades; those who have much, in parasangs; and those who have an extremely sizeable portion, in schoinoi. [3] A parasang is equal to thirty stades; each schoinos, an Egyptian unit of mea-sure, is equal to sixty stades.aThus the coast of Egypt is 397 miles in length.b
From the coast, Egypt extends inland as far as Heliopolis in a broad expanse, entirely flat, wet, and muddy. The road from the sea to Heliopolis is about as long as the road leading from the Altar of the Twelve Gods at Athensa to the temple of Olympian Zeus in Pisa.b [2] If one measured the
length of both these roads, one would discover that they are not exactly equal in length, but that the difference between them is negligible, no more than one and a half miles by which the road from Athens to Pisa is shorter than the 165 milesawhich is the full length of the road from the sea to Heliopolis.
From Heliopolis, Egypt becomes narrow as one travels farther inland. For on one side, toward Arabia,a there extends a mountain range from
north to south, and toward the south it winds all the way to the sea called Erythraean.b In these mountains are the stone quarries from which the
stones for the pyramids near Memphis were cut. The mountain range ends
2.6
EGYPT
Length of the Egyptian seacoast. 2.7 EGYPT A description of the dimensions of Egypt. 2.8 NILE VALLEY
Mountains border both sides of the narrow Nile valley above Heliopolis.
119
2.5.2a The fathom = 6 feet. See Distance Con-versions, p. lxiv, and Appendix J, Ancient Greek Units of Currency, Weight, and Distance, §4, 5, 19. Herodotus’ measurement is wrong; a depth of 11 fathoms is encountered much nearer the coast of Egypt than a full day’s sail. 2.6.1a Herodotus’ “60 schoinoi” comes to
approximately 397 miles. Schoinoi (skhoinoi): literally, “ropes,” were an Egyptian unit of measurement whose length can vary. See Appendix J, §5–7, 19. Herodotus occasionally shows off his knowledge of foreign terms and units of measure.
2.6.1b Plinthine Gulf: Map 2.6, Egypt inset. 2.6.1c Lake Serbonis: Map 2.6, Egypt inset.
Herodotus calls it the Serbonian Marsh in 3.5.2.
2.6.1d Mount Casius: Map 2.6, Egypt inset. 2.6.3a The fathom = 6 feet.
The Attic stade = 583 feet.
The parasang (30 stades or .5 schoinos) = 17,490 feet = 3.3 miles.
The schoinos (60 stades) = 34,980 feet = 6.6 miles.
But Herodotus may have had different units in mind when he made his estimate. See Appendix J, §4–7, 19.
2.6.3b If one schoinos = 60 stades, then the “60 schoinoi” of the coast of Egypt would equal 3,600 stades, or about 397 miles. This is a significant overestimate. Just under 300 miles would be more accurate. 2.7.1a Athens: Map 2.6, Aegean inset. 2.7.1b Pisa (Olympia): Map 2.6, Aegean inset. 2.7.2a Herodotus actually writes that the
differ-ence between the two distances (Athens to Pisa and the Egyptian coast to Heliopolis) is negligible, that between Ayhens and Pisa (Olympia) being barely one percent less than the 1,500 stades which he says separate the Egyptian coast from Heliopo-lis. The distances are not really equivalent at all. The 1,500 stades between the Egyptian coast and Heliopolis would come to some 165 miles, whereas the the length of the road from Athens to Pisa (Olympia) is closer to 110 miles. Of course, the coast of Egypt has extended a good deal farther north into the sea today than it was in Herodotus’ day. See Appen-dix C, §3.
2.8.1a Arabia: Map 2.6. The Arabian mountains extend along the western bank of the Nile. 2.8.1b Erythraean Sea, in this case the sea to the
east of the Nile, i.e., the modern Red Sea: Map 2.6 and Egypt inset.
BOOKTWO EGYPT Length of the coast of Egypt
here at the quarries and slopes down toward the Erythraean Sea. This is the broadest part of the range, so I am told, requiring a two-month journeyc
from east to west, and at its eastern extremity the land produces frankin-cense. [2] Such is this mountain range, but there is another one on the Libyan side of Egypt where the pyramids are located, which is composed of stone. It is coated with sand and it extends parallel to the Arabian mountain to the south. [3] From Heliopolisa to the south, the land area of Egypt is
not large but becomes a narrow strip which is so long that it requires a
four-Mountains border both sides of the Nile valley NILEVALLEY BOOKTWO
120
2.8.1c There is no place where it can be a two-month journey from the Nile west across this mountain range to the Red Sea.
2.8.3a Heliopolis: Map 2.6, Egypt inset.
UP P E R EG Y P T EGYPT Mt. Casius Lake Moeris Lake Serbonis Erythraean Sea Plinthine Gulf N ileR . Thebes Memphis Heliopolis Elephantine 200 km 0 200 mi IO N I A AE O L I S AC A R N A N I A Echinades Islands Maeander R. Aegean Sea Achelous R. Troy Ephesus Pisa Teuthrania Athens 200 km 0 200 mi L I BYA AS I A E U RO P E AR A B I A AS S Y R I A S Y R IA E T H IO P IA Mediterranean Sea Erythraean Sea N il eR . 2000 km 0 2000 mi MAP2.6 Hdt_Bk2_115-204_3rdPass 8/29/07 4:48 PM Page 120
723
A.1a Attica, Athens, Marathon Plain, Mount Pente-likon, Mesogaia Plain, Mount Hymettos, Thriasian Plain, Mount Aigaleos: Map A, inset.
A.1b Megara: Map A, inset. A.1c Salamis: Map a, inset.
A.2a Solon appears at 1.29–33. See n. 1.29.1a.
A P P E N D I X A
The Athenian Government in Herodotus
§1. Attica, the triangular peninsula of ancient Athens, has a number of plains in addition to the one around Athens itself: the Plain of Marathon beyond Mount Pente-likon to the northeast, the Plain of the Mesogaia beyond Mount Hymettos to the east, and the Thriasian Plain beyond Mount Aigaleos to the west.aThese plains might have
supported numerous independent city-states (poleis) of a typical size. According to Athenian tradition, the legendary Bronze Age hero Theseus had united the twelve poleis of Attica long ago, although many scholars today place the unification later, some as late as the end of the sixth century. Certainly Athens in the archaic period played only a limited role on the broader Greek stage, struggling even to keep its neigh-bor Megarabfrom annexing the island of Salamis,cjust off the west coast of Attica.
§2. At the time of the Persian Wars, the Athenians had a democratic government in which every adult male citizen was entitled to vote in the Assembly. King Theseus himself was said to have made a “democratic” proclamation reducing the powers of Athens’ traditional kings in some way, perhaps by recognizing certain families as Eupatrid (“well-born”) and creating the Council of the Areiopagos as an advisory body. But the man Athenians generally credited with creating their democracy was Solon, archon in 594/93,awho was given extraordinary powers to write laws, not
necessarily in 594/93 but certainly within the first four decades of the sixth century. §3. Legend said that centuries before Solon, Eupatrid archons (leaders or magis-trates) replaced the kings, at first archons ruling for life, later for ten-year terms, and finally for a single year. The basileus (king), the polemarchos or polemarch (war leader), and the eponymous archon (who gave his name to the year) were the first to be created. Later six thesmothetai (lawgivers) were also named annually, for a total of nine archons, who became life members of the Council of the Areiopagos after they left office. The archons had the authority to give final judgments in legal disputes, and the Council of the Areiopagos supervised the city’s affairs.
§4. Solon’s special appointment grew out of increasing tension between rich and poor. Poor Athenians had fallen into debt, some being sold into slavery when they
Achaimenids: royal family of Persian empire. Founded by Cyrus in 550.
acropolis: the citadel or high point of a Greek city; often the site of the original settlement, and in historic times well stocked with temples and sacred sites, enclosed by its own set of defensive walls.
Aeolians:an ethnic group of Greeks, inhabiting Aegean islands and the west coast of Asia Minor north of Smyrna.
aegis: Athena’s shield or short cloak, with a fringe of snakes and device of Medusa’s head.
Agiads and Eurypontids: Spartan royal hereditary families, each one supplying one of the two reigning kings of Sparta.
agora: the agora was the civic center of a Greek polis where all political, commercial, and much social activity took place. A fundamental feature of every Greek city, it was a marketplace where cit-izens could buy and sell goods, gossip, and discuss politics or other topics.
akinakes: a type of Persian and Scythian sword. An akinakes was short and straight.
Amphiktyonic League/Amphiktyones: a league made up of representatives from mostly neighbor-ing states who were selected to maintain, protect, and defend the sanctuary of Delphi. They had responsibility for administering the sanctuary, and could impose fines, declare sacred wars, and award contracts for building projects.
angareion: a system organized by the Persians of mounted couriers riding in relays to swiftly carry royal messages.
archon: a magistrate at Athens, chosen by lot in the later fifth century. The nine archons were con-cerned with administering justice, overseeing foreign residents of Athens, adjudicating family prop-erty disputes, and carrying out a variety of other tasks. The eponymous archon gave his name to the civil year.
Argonauts/Argo : the subject of an ancient Greek epic legend with common themes. To rid himself of Jason, a dangerous pretender to the throne, King Pelias of Iolkoss in Thessaly, sends him far away on a journey to bring back the Golden Fleece. Jason gathers a group of noble Minyans, together with other heroes such as Herakles and Orpheus, and sails off in a ship built by the hero Argos, and called the Argo, to Colchis on the Black Sea, where the fleece is located. After many harrowing adventures they arrive at Colchis, where King Aeetes gives them further dangerous tasks to accom-plish. With the help of Medea, the king’s daughter, they successfully complete the tasks and obtain the Golden Fleece. Then, taking Medea with them, Jason and the Argonauts return to Greece.
battos: a North African word for king.
Bosporus: a narrow strait separating two lands —Thracian Bosporus separates Europe from Asia, the Cimmerian Bosporus separates the Crimea from Eastern Scythia.
Council of Elders/the Gerousia: the senate and highest council of Sparta. The Council was made up of thirty members over the age of sixty, although it included the two reigning kings of Sparta at any age. Members, who were limited to certain aristocratic families, were elected and served for life.
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Aelian (c. 170–235 C.E.): Roman author and teacher of rhetoric, author of Historical Miscellany.
Aeschylos(525/24–426): Athens’ most successful early tragic playwright. He fought the Persians at Marathon and probably at Salamis. The titles of 82 plays that he wrote are known to us, but only seven have survived in their entirety. One of those plays The Persians, is the only eyewitness account we have of the battle of Salamis.
Aesop:supposed sixth-century author of instructive fables, but there is doubt that he ever existed as one person.
Alkaios:an aristocrat from Mytilene on Lesbos who wrote lyric poetry c. 620–580. Only frag-ments of his work survive. They include drinking songs, love songs, hymns and political songs. The work mentioned by Herodotus in 5.95.2 has survived.
Alkman (fl. 654– 611): lyric poet who lived in Sparta.
Anaximander (610–547): Greek philosopher and mathematician. A friend and pupil of Thales.
Archilochus:Greek lyric poet who flourished c. 650.
Ctesias:a late-fifth-/early-fourth-century doctor at the Persian court, author of a history of Persia, a geographical treatise, and the first separate work on India, now all lost except for a few fragments.
Diodorus Siculus (fl. 60–30): wrote a world history in 40 books, which reproduces elements of many historians, such as Hekataios, Ctesias, and others.
Hekataios:author of geographical and historical accounts of Asia Minor and the East, late sixth century, and a source both used and criticized by Herodotus. He also plays a role in Herodotus’ account of Ionian history. See 5.36, 5.125–126, and 6.137.
Hesiod:flourished c. 700. Poet and author of two works which have come down to us: Works and
Days and Theogony.
Homer:the poet who the Greeks believed to be the author of the epic poems Iliad and Odyssey, which are thought to have been composed and compiled in the late eighth or early seventh century.
Isocrates:Athenian speechwriter and pamphleteer of the fourth century; he encouraged Greeks to unite and attack Persia, even under Macedonian leadership.
Pausanias:a travel writer of the second century A.D. who wrote Description of Greece (Periegesis
Hellados).
Pindar (518–438): a lyric poet active in the first half of the fifth century until c. 446. He was espe-cially known for the victory odes he composed for victorious athletes throughout the Greek world.
Pliny the Elder(c. 23–79 C.E.): Roman encyclopaedic writer; author of both a history (lost) and a
Natural History which has come down to us.
Plutarch (46–120 C.E.): author of a series of biographies known as Plutarch’s Lives, and a large number of essays (Moralia) which have survived.
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B I B L I O G RA P H Y F O R
T H E G E N E RA L R E A D E R
Bakker, Egbert J., Irene. J. F. de Jong, and Hans van Wees, eds. Brill’s Companion to Herodotus (Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers, 2002).
The Cambridge Ancient History, 2nd ed. (New York: Cambridge University Press):
Vol. 3, The Expansion of the Greek World, Eighth to Sixth Centuries B.C. (1982).
Vol. 4, Persia, Greece, and the Western Mediterranean c. 525–479 B.C. (1998).
Vol. 5, The Fifth Century B.C. (1992).
Cartledge, Paul. Thermopylae, The Battle that Changed the World (Woodstock and New York: Over-look Press, 2006).
Cawkwell, George L. The Greek Wars (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005).
Dewald, Carolyn, and John Marincola, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Herodotus (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006).
Evans, J. A. S. Herodotus: Explorer of the Past: Three Essays. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991.
Gould, John. Herodotus. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1989).
Green, Peter. The Greco-Persian Wars (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1996).
Holland, Tom. Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West (London: Little, Brown, 2005, and Abacus, 2006).
Hornblower, Simon, and Anthony Spawforth, eds. The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996).
Lateiner, Donald. The Historical Method of Herodotus (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1989). Munson, Rosaria Vignolo. Telling Wonders: Ethnographic and Political Discourse in the Work of
Herodotus (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2001).
Myers, John. Herodotus: Father of History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1958). Redfield, James. “Herodotus the Tourist,” Classical Philology 80 (1985): 97–118. Romm, James. Herodotus (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998).
Strauss, Barry. The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter that Saved Greece and Western
Civiliza-tion (New York: Simon & Schuster; Reprint, 2005).
Talbert, Richard J., ed. Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000).
Thomas, Rosalind. Herodotus in Context (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, New ed., 2002).
848
951 Abai, Ref.5, BX Abdera, Ref.2, AX Abydos, Ref.2, AY Acarnania, 1.59, BX Achaea, Ref.2, CW Achaea Phthiotis, Ref.5, AX Achelous River, Ref.2, BW Acheron River, 8.47, AX Achilleion, 5.97, AY Achilles, Racecourse of,
4.53, inset Acropolis, 6.105, inset Adramyttium, 7.42 Adramyttium, Gulf of, 7.42 Adriatic Sea, Ref.1, AX Adyrmachidians, 4.175, BY Aegae, 1.149, AY Aegean Sea, Ref.1, BX Aegina, Ref.5, CY Aeolis, Ref.2, BY Aetolia, Ref.2, CW Agathyrsoi, Ref.1, AX Aglauros Cave, 8.47, inset Agora, 8.47, inset Agrianes River, Ref.2, AY Agrianians, 5.14 Agylla (Caere), 1.166 Aigai, 1.146, AX Aigaleos, Mount, 8.86, inset Aige, 7.123, BY Aigeira, 1.146, BX Aigilia?, 6.105, AY Aigion, 1.146, AX Aigospotamos, 9.107, inset Aineia, 7.123, BX Ainis, Ref.2, BW Ainos, Ref.2, AY Aiolidai?, 8.32, BY Aisa, 7.123, BX Akanthos, Ref.2, AX Akragas, Ref.3, BX Akraiphiai, 8.134, inset Akrothooi, Ref.2, BX Alabanda, Ref.2, CY Alalie, Ref.1, AW Alarodians, Ref.1, BY Alazones, 4.53 Aleion Plain, 7.75 Alopeke (deme), 5.63 Alpenos, Ref.5, AX Amathous, 5.108, inset Ambracia, Ref.2, BW Ammonion, Ref.1, CX Ampelos Promontory, 7.123, BY Amphiareion, Ref.5, BZ Amphikleia, 8.32, AX Amphipolis, Ref.2, AX Amphissa, 8.32, BX Anactorium, Ref.2, BW Anagyrous (deme), 8.86, inset Anaphlystos (deme), 4.93, inset Anaua, 7.34 Andros, Ref.2, CX Angites River, 7.111, AX Angrus River?, 4.53, AX Anopaia Path, 7.213, inset Anopaia, Mount, 7.213, inset Antandros, 5.31, AY Anthela, 7.213, inset Anthemous, 5.97, AX Anthylla, 2.97, inset Antikyra?, Ref.5, AX Anysis?, 2.165, inset, AY Aparytai, 3.94, AY Aphetai?, Ref.5, AY Aphidna (deme), Ref.5, BZ Aphrodisias Island, 4.165 Aphytis, 7.123, BX Apidanos River, Ref.2, BW Apis, 2.19
Apollonia (Hellas), Ref.2, AW
Apollonia (Thrace), Ref.1, AX
Apsinthis, Ref.2, AY Arabia, Ref.1, CY Arabian Gulf, 2.155 Arados, 7.98, locator Aral Sea, Ref.1, AY Araxes River, Ref.1, BY Arcadia, Ref.2, CW Archandropolis, Ref.4, AX Areia, Ref.1, BZ Areiopagos, 8.47, inset Argilos, 7.111, AX Argos, Ref.5, DX Argos, Gulf of, Ref.5, DX Arisba, 1.149, AX Armenia, Ref.1, BY Artace, Ref.2, AY Artemision, Ref.5, AY Asbystaians, 4.175, BY Ascalon, 1.103, BX Asia, Ref.1, BY Asian Thrace, 3.90 Asine, 8.72, BX Asopos River, Ref.5, BY Assa?, 7.123, BY Assyria, Ref.1, BY Atarbechis, Ref.4, BY Atarneus, Ref.2, BY Athena Skiras, 8.86, inset Athens, Ref.5, CZ Athos (peninsula), 7.123,
BY
Athos Canal, Ref.2, AX Athos, Mount, Ref.2, BX Athribites, Nome, 2.165,
BY
Athrys River, 4.53, AX Atlantic Ocean, Ref.1, AW Attica, Ref.5, CZ Augila, 4.175, BY Auschisians?, 4.175, BY Auseans, Ref.1, BW Axios River, Ref.2, AX Axos, 4.150, BY Azania, 6.125, BX Aziris, 4.165 Azotos, 2.155 Babylon, Ref.1, BY Babylonia, 3.94, BX Bakalians?, 4.175, BY Baktria, Ref.1, AZ Baktrians, 3.94, AY Barke, Ref.1, BX Belbina, Ref.5, DZ Bermion, Mount, 8.134, AX Bisaltia, Ref.2, AX Bisanthe, 7.98, AY Bistones, 7.111, AY Bistonis, Lake, 7.111, AY Bithynia, Ref.2, AZ Black Cloaks?, Ref.1, AY Black Gulf, 7.58 Black River, 7.58 Boebeis, Lake, 7.128, BY Boeotia, Ref.5, BY Bolbitinic Mouth, Ref.4, AX Borysthenes (Olbia), Ref.1,
AX
Borysthenes River, Ref.1, AX
Bosporus (Cimmerian), Ref.1, AY
Bosporus (Thracian), Ref.2, AZ Bottiaia, Ref.2, AX Boubastis, Ref.4, BY Boubastites, Nome, 2.165, BY Boudinoi?, Ref.1, AY Boura, 1.146, AX Bousiris, Ref.4, AY Bousirites, Nome, 2.165, AY Bouto, Ref.4, AY Brauron, 6.136 Brindisi, Ref.3, AY Brongus River?, 4.53, AX Brygoi?, 7.186, AX Bucolic Mouth, Ref.4, AY Bybassian Peninsula, 1.173,
inset
Byzantium, Ref.2, AZ Caere/Agylla, 1.166 Caicus River, Ref.2, BY Camarina, Ref.3, BX Canal (Egypt), Ref.4, BZ Canobic Mouth, Ref.4, AX Canopus, Ref.4, AX Cappadocia, Ref.1, BY Caria, Ref.2, DZ
Carthage, Ref.1, BW Casius, Mount, Ref.4, AZ Caspian Sea, Ref.1, AY Caucasus Mountains, Ref.1,
AY
Caunus, Ref.2, DZ Cayster River, Ref.2, CY Cephallania, Ref.2, CW Cephisus River, 8.32, AX Chaeronea, 6.34 Chalastra, 7.123, AX Chalcedon, Ref.2, AZ Chalcidice, Ref.2, AX Chalcis, Ref.5, BZ Chalybes, 7.75 Charadra, 8.32, AX Chemmis, Ref.4, AY Chemmites?, Nome, 2.165, AX Chersonese (Thracian), Ref.2, AY Chios, Ref.2, CY Choaspes River?, 1.183 Chorasmia, 3.110 Chorasmians, Ref.1, AZ Cilicia, Ref.1, BY Cimmerian Bosporus, Ref.1,
AY
Cimmerians?, Ref.1, AY Cithaeron, Mount, Ref.5,
CY Cnidus, Ref.2, DY Colchis, Ref.1, AY Colophon, Ref.2, CY Colossae, 7.34 Copais, Lake, 8.134, inset Corcyra, Ref.2, BW Corinth, Ref.5, CX Corinth, Isthmus of, Ref.5,
CY Coronea, 6.34
Corsica/Kyrnos, Ref.1, AW Cos (island), Ref.2, DY Crathis River, Ref.3, AY Crete, Ref.1, BX Crimea, 4.18, BX Croton, Ref.3, AY
R E F E RE N C E M A P S
Directory
This directory lists all the sites known, or possibly known (?) that appear in Herodotus’ text. Places mentioned only in the Introduction or appendices have not been included. Places mentioned in the text, but whose locations are not known are not listed. Names given are the ancient ones used in the text. The numbers that follow each name indicate the reference map (Ref.1–5) or the map within the text (identified by book and chapter) on which the location can be found. Letters, if any, indicate map coordinates.
REF.1 2 5 3 4 Pillars of Herakles Cape Soloeis Lake Tritonis? Lake Moeris Kinyps R. B orysthen esR. Hypan is R. Tyras R . PY RENE ES M TNS. E U R O P E EG Y P T HELLESPONT L I BYA IB E R I A ETRURIA NI L E DE LTA I T A L Y SCYTHIA PAPHLAGONIA VEN ETIA TARTESSOS A dria tic Sea Alalie Cyrene Barke Histria Mesembria Kerkinitis Tyras Olbia Kydonia Euesperides Chemmis Plynos Karkine? Apollonia Gherla Massalia Croton Athens Carthage Syracuse Ammonion Getai Nasamones Makai Lotus-eaters? Gindanes? Machlyes? Auseans Ligu rians Agathyrsoi Atlantic Ocean Crete Sardinia Sicily Aegean Sea Mediterranean Sea Euxine (Black) Sea N ileR . Gulf of Syrtis Ister R. Corsica/Kyrnos Rhone R. 800 km 0 800 mi X W A B C D Hdt_RefMaps_951-960_1stPass 8/31/07 3:14 PM Page 954
