Reference no: EM133683645

Questions:

1) Aeschylus wrote much closer in time to Salamis than Herodotus did, and Aeschylus was almost definitely a combatant himself. However, he was also a playwright, writing for dramatic effect, not for historical accuracy. Are historians justified, then, in following his description of events rather than Herodotus' when the two disagree?

2) In real life, momentous decisions often do depend on the interactions of personalities, turns of phrase, and likes and dislikes of individuals who happen to be in positions of power. By foregrounding such elements in his work, is Herodotus being more realistic than later, more "scientific" historians?

3) Herodotus' discussion of Heracles in Egypt is one of his most careful and painstaking attempts to reconcile disparate strands of evidence. Can you think of other examples in the Histories where Herodotus takes great care to account for different traditions about the gods or heroes?

4) Do the presence of literary patterns, such as the "crossing /ogoi," make Herodotus' work any less a work of history? Put another way, are those scholars who argue that he has imposed symbolic patterns on his work justified in nevertheless trusting his historical analysis?

5) Thucydides presents his work as a straightforward recounting of the facts of what happened. Do you think that he has actually done any less ordering and arranging of his facts to bring out patterns than Herodotus did, or is the difference one of presentation, not of method?

6) How accurately does Thucydides record events and causes? How does his work compare to that of other Greek historians, notably Herodotus and Xenophon?

7) What Athenian prejudices does Thucydides display throughout his history? How does his background influence his recording and interpreting of events? How accurately are the Spartans depicted by Thucydides?

8) Why has Thucydides' interpretation of the causes and course of the Peloponnesian War influenced subsequent scholars and writers?

9) How does Thucydides present the unfolding of the crisis over Epidamnus and Corcyra? Does his narration of events, including the speeches presented to the Athenian assembly, prove that war between Sparta and Athens was inevitable?

10) How are we to view the speeches to the Spartan assembly in July 432 B.C., as recorded by Thucydides? Are they accurate accounts or a partisan interpretation?

11) Herodotus states two main purposes for his writing: to record the past and to explain it. Which of these strikes you as more important for the development of historiography?

12) By what standards did Thucydides judge Pericles and Athenian politicians who followed Pericles after 429 B.C.?