Humanities Homework Help

PART 1: Answer the following in 300 words after reading the source below.

Herodutus is considered the father of history, what does his description of Xerxes tell us about the relationship between Greece and Persia?

https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/ancient/herodotus-…

PART 2: Write a response to these two posts below from my classmates.

Response 1: As far as current scholars know, Herodutus he only wrote one book titled ‘The Histories’, a lengthy and in-depth documentation of the Persian Wars (490-479 BCE), the legendary struggle between the much smaller Greek city-states of West and their foe to the East of them, the extensive Persian Empire. Not only did Herodotus document this crucial moment in Greek history—the direction of all the major European civilizations would’ve been much different if this war had been won by the Persians -‘The Histories’ also remain as the earliest known example of an historical investigation in this region of the world and Western civilizations first attempt to research its vast past. With this pivotal point of documentation, Herodotus has been named “the Father of History.”

To go into more detail about the relationship between Greece and Persia we first need to discuss the government in the same way the document does. Persia was a monarchy (ruled by a royal family with a king as the main leader ). However the size of the empire was such that he(the king) could not efficiently rule alone. He employed a number of governors called Satraps to rule different provinces across Persia. Greece however, was made up of independent city-states who had different types of government. For example, the province of Sparta was ruled by an oligarchy whereas Athens was a democracy. Another way the document describes the difference between Greece and Persia is the society itself. Persians had the king, aristocrats, and free citizens without the slaves. On the other hand, The Greeks had two types of Greek societies. The Spartan social structure was made up of slaves, warriors, generals, and the two kings. Athenian social structure was made up of slaves, citizens and soldiers, scholars, priests, and politicians. Athenian style society was much more complex than most Grecian societies.

Response 2: Through the description of Xerxes given by Herodotus, a Greek author, you can tell the relationship between Persia and Greece was strained and angry. In the story, Xerxes’s first attempt in bridging across the Hellespont failed, leading to Xerxes whipping the strait three hundred times and throwing fetters into the water. This was an exaggeration, if not just a lie, about Xerxes and the way he acts. No man, nevertheless a general of an army, would command his men to whip water, an inanimate object that has no feelings. Additionally, the childish acts shown here are seen throughout the entire story with Xerxes having more than one tantrum, showing that Herodotus feels that the Persians are immature and loud.

Secondly, Herodotus uses the word ‘barbarian’ to describe the Persian army. This word has connotations of being uncultured, savage, brutal, and rude. Overall, this word has a negative meaning to it, showing the dislike Herodutus holds not only toward Herodotus but the army under him and the Persian people in general.

Another way Herodutes shows his dislike toward Xerxes is through the foreshadowing given by Artabanus, the uncle of Xerxes. In Artabanus’ quote, he states that the worst punishment falls upon those with the most attention-grabbing attitudes, which Xerxes has. This quote foreshadows how Xerxes ambitions were crushed due to his death, which was caused by overconfidence and poor planning. Additionally, Herodotus describes Xerxes in a poor manner, showing how highly he thinks of himself, sometimes seeming like he sees himself as a God, helping prove the quote from Artabanus. Overall, Herodotus teaches a lesson through Xerxes by making him overconfident, loud, and attention-seeking, showing how that will get you nowhere in life, just like Xerxes.

Xerxes is described as a childish, overconfident, and loud man by Herodotus. Through the use of over-exaggeration, negative words, and foreshadowing, the reader can tell how much Herodotus, the figurehead for Greece, dislikes Xerxes, the figurehead for Persia, showing the strained relationship between the two countries.