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Notes on Herodotus and Culture
<html><p xmlns:dct=“http://purl.org/dc/terms/”><a rel=“license” href=“http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/”><img src=“http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png” style=“border-style: none;” alt=“Public Domain Mark” /></a><br />This work (by <a href=“https://lucianofsamosata.info/wiki” rel=“dct:creator”>https://lucianofsamosata.info/wiki</a>), identified by <a href=“http://meninpublishing.org” rel=“dct:publisher”><span property=“dct:title”>Frank Redmond</span></a>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</p></html>
Authored by Frank Redmond, 2006
INDIANS
Prior to Herodotus quoting Pindar's famous aphorism that “custom is king of all”, Herodotus says that some Indians are said to eat their own parent's dead bodies rather than burn their dead like the Greeks. Herodotus uses this example to demonstrate that each culture has a particular “nomos” and that each culture finds certain attributes of other cultures to be barbaric and visa-versa.
A certain Indian tribe called the Padaei are said to live on raw meat. Herodotus mentions that these people are very savage, for when a man falls ill, his friends kill him so that no meat is given over to disease. Then, they hold a banquet with their (former) friend as the main dish. In their tribe, it is very rare for a man to live to a ripe age since they are likely to get some disease or other eventually.
There is another tribe Herodotus mentions that seems to have qualities that are both savage and civilized. This tribe, in contradistinction to the Padaei, refuse to take life in any form, choosing rather to live strictly off the wild plants of their country. However, they are uncivilized in that they sow no seed and have no permanent establishments. They are also uncivilized in that they let their sick roam off and die alone without friends and family at their side.
Like other savages who we meet in the Histories, all the Indians copulate in the open. This theme recurs again and again in Herodotus when he discusses peripheral tribes and nations, and is a definite sign of savagery.
ETHIOPIANS
In 2.31, Herodotus mentions that the Ethiopians became more civilized after their encounter with the Egyptians and learned their ways. This implies that the Ethiopians, to Herodotus, were savage before this intervention.
Herodotus in 2.104 seems to be implying that since the Ethiopians and the Egyptians both circumcise their men that the Ethiopians are at least civilized in this respect. Any time a culture shares qualities with the Egyptians that is a sure sign that they are civilized in that respect, for the Egyptians are the epitome of civilization.
The Ethiopians are widely regarded as the tallest and best-looking people in the world. These are signs of civilization since having dignified looks is a sign of royalty and power, not weakness and barbarism.
However, the Ethiopians are savages when it comes to understanding the value of riches. They are said to use pure gold shackles for prisoners without realizing the value of these shackles on the world market.
The Ethiopian king cleverly responds to the Fish-Eaters that he know that their gifts from Cambyses are frauds and tools of manipulation. This is very civilized behavior on the part of the king.
SCYTHIANS
In an act of savagery, the Scythian women, due to their husbands' protracted absence, intermarried with their own slaves and gave birth to a new generation half-breeds.
In another act of savagery, the Scythians blind their slaves. Herodotus thinks this takes place because of the way the Scythians prepare their milk and the fact that they are a nomadic people. (I guess if your slaves are blinded, they can't run off while you are roaming around).
In contrast to the Egyptians who are the oldest of all nations (actually the second oldest acc. to the Egyptians), the Scythians declare themselves to be the youngest of all nations. If Egypt is the epitome of civilization, then the fact that the Scythians are the youngest implies that they are the furthest from civilized life.
Herodotus makes the point in 4.46 that while the Scythians may not be the most admirable nation, they are surely one of the most resilient, or as H. puts it, “[They] have managed one thing […] their own preservation”. But this is a backhanded compliment. Herodotus does not see this as a positive. Instead, he attributes their resiliency to their nomadic, uncivilized way of life which makes it hard for invaders to catch them.
The Scythians at festivals for Ares sacrifice prisoners of war at times. Not only do they slit the throat of the victim, they desecrate the victim by cutting off their right hands and arms and throwing them in the air. Certainly, this is savage behavior.
Similarly, every man drinks the the blood of the first person he kills. Cannibalism is always savage in Herodotus.
The treatment of soothsayers in Scythia is notable for its brutality and savagery. In other civilized cultures like Egypt and Greece, soothsayers and priest are well-regarded; not in Scythia.
There is a Scythian tradition in which the heads of the enemy are brought to the king by soldiers so they can take a share of the loot. No head, no loot. Then the soldier takes the head, skins away a portion of it, and uses the skin as a sort of handkerchief which is a source of pride for the soldier. Many Scythians take these head-skins and sew them together to create a cloak of sorts. These traditions must have been very foreign to Greek ways and are thus savage.
Small detail: when Scythians make oaths, they mix their own blood with some wine and then drink. This is slightly savage behavior.
The treatment of Anacharis by the Scythians is a case of sheer savagery. That he was killed for adopting foreign ways goes to show the lack of cosmopolitanism found in Scythia. Scylus, too, came to a similar end. Since he participated in the Dionysiac rites, he was killed. Alien customs are perceived as bad in Scythia.
The one thing in which the Scythians show some civilized behavior is in war. They are much more sober and calm than the Persians who become disorientated and lost in the Scythian lands. The way in which the Scythians manage themselves in war is vastly superior to the Persian way.
LIMITS OF DARIUS' EXPANSION
Like those who came before him, namely Cyrus and Cambyses, Darius sets out on all ill-fated, ill-planned expedition in an attempt to subdue some far off enemy.
In Cyrus' case, it was the Massagetae who stopped him. We are told by Herodotus that Cyrus prior to battling the Massagetae began to become a little overconfident in his abilities. This definitely contributes to his downfall. Herodotus also makes the point that Cyrus uses non-Persian tactics to try to overcome the Massagetae. He is dishonest in his use of a splendid meal with wine to seduce the Massagetae into a trap. It is this lack of tact and soldierly courage that gets Cyrus in trouble with the Massagetae and their queen. As we know, Cyrus falls and, at least in the way Herodotus depicts it, he brought at all upon himself.
Cambyses' expedition is an even worse failure. He set out to subdue Ethiopia with horrible plans. Little thought went into this expedition unlike Cambyses' invasion of Egypt. Herodotus says: “Having seen all they could, the spies returned to Egypt to make their report, which so angered Cambyses that he at once began his march against Ethiopia, without any orders for the provision of supplies, and without for a moment considering the fact that he was to take his men to the ends of the earth” ( 3.25). This hastiness led to the complete failure of the expedition and they never even made it far enough to even battle any Ethiopians. The Ethiopians intelligently let the desert kill Cambyses' men. It took acts of cannibalism for Cambyses' to abandon the expedition which goes to prove both his madness and lack of practical sense.
One major commonality between these two expeditions is that they are both to the ends of the earth. Both were trying to press on into places that are well beyond the reach of civilization. They both refused to except that expansion has to have limitations. It is a shame that Darius failed to learn from his predecessors' mistakes as he himself pushed on towards another limit of the world - Scythia.
Scythia is a land of troubles for Darius as he runs into plenty of trouble. The barbaric nomadism of the Scythians proves to be quite an obstacle for the armies of Darius. Since he unable to engage his men in a head-on battle, Darius ends up running around Scythia in circles with the Scythians always one step ahead of him. This wears down the army of Darius and frustrates Darius. Also, the Scythians have a superior plan to Darius who seems to have no plan or a very flawed one at that. This lack of good planning was seen in his predecessors to the discredit of Darius who failed to learn from their mistakes. Eventually Darius learns that the Scythians are insurmountable and that he must retreat lest he be destroyed. This is the reason why Darius survives the expedition, for he neither rushes head-on like Cyrus did no does he keep pushing forward like Cambyses to the point of cannibalism. He knows when his time is up to his credit.