Reference no: EM133683646

Questions:

1) The Homeric epics and Herodotus" Histories both focus on war and its aftermath as their main topics. Is there something about war that lends itself particularly to narrative representation? Put another way, why did the primary stories of Greek culture focus on war rather than on other fields of human endeavor?

2) Some scholars think that Herodotus began writing as an ethnographer and conceived his wider purpose only as he wrote. How could we tell if this is correct or not? What sorts of indications might the text itself give of this kind of progression in Herodotus' thought and method?

3) The "digressions" are one of the most characteristic elements of Herodotus' Histories. To what extent are they artifacts of oral composition and research?

4) How do you think Herodotus meant his audience to take his account of the rationalized myths, which he attributes to the Persians? Are we supposed to think that Herodotus accepts these rationalized accounts or not?

5) Herodotus knows other versions of Cyrus' birth story but chooses not to tell them. What are the implications of his choice to tell one that is so obviously parallel to the stories of many famous Greek heroes?

6) Some of the details of Herodotus' account of Cyrus' reign are independently verified by Babylonian records; others are not. Does the verification of some details justify our accepting Herodotus' word for the others? In other words, is he accurate enough in those details that we can check to justify trusting him for those we cannot check?

7) The idea that if X precedes Y, then X must be the cause of Y is a logical fallacy (the post hoc ergo proper hoc fallacy), but obviously, it was powerfully attractive to Herodotus' mind. Can you think of other examples of this fallacy in the Histories?

8) Archaeology has turned up images that seem to correspond fairly well with Herodotus' story of the Scythian snake-woman. Are we justified in concluding, then, that other fantastic stories in his work might conceal some element of (mis)remembered truth, as well?

9) What effect does Herodotus achieve by the Homeric echoes he puts into his account of the size and composition of Xerxes' army?

10) Some scholars believe that the Troezen Decree is genuine, while others are certain it is a forgery. What sort of evidence would indicate that such a record might be a forgery? What are the implications for our evaluation of Herodotus" accuracy if we assume that the decree is genuine?