Cl Cv: Herodotus And Persian Wars

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Halicarnassus

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Birthplace of Herodotus; a Greek city in Asia Minor under Persian control

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Herodotus

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"Father of History" - born just after the second Persian invasion, and died shortly before the Peloponnesian War. Traveled extensively throughout the eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea region, conducting his research.

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Historia

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Research or investigation

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Historiography

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More a piece literature than a textbook of hard facts. The writing of history - to the ancients, literature, not science. Focused on the deeds of real men, unlike the fictional accounts of epic.

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Hybris

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Extreme haughtiness or arrogance

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Mutability of human fortune

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Where can a man be considered happy? Large scale - once great cities are now ruined, formerly small cities are now great. Note the importance of Athens' rise to power!
The sudden ability for great men to become insignificant and insignificant men to become great, as shown by Croesus.

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Nemesis

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Destruction; spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris (arrogance before the gods)

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Ring composition

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Writing style of Herodotus. Story that has numerous tangents that eventually return back to the main topic - seems like a digression, but always returns to the starting point.

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Divine retribution

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Cause/effect relationship between deeds and their results.

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Ethnography

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Interest in customs and practices of a culture

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Introduction

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Herodotus' intent: "Great and wonderful deeds not go unsung." Origin of conflict between East and West.

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Tyrannos

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One who illegally seizes and controls a governmental power in a polis. Tyrants were a group of individuals who took over many Greek polises during the uprising of the middle classes in the sixth and seventh centuries BC, ousting the aristocratic governments. Plato and Aristotle define a tyrant as "one who rules without the law, looks to his own advantage rather than that of his subjects, and uses extreme and cruel tactics - against his own people as well as others."

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Prose epic

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Exemplified by the writings of Vergil. An epic which is written rather than memorized. Uses the same style and conventions as other epics.

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Human causes

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People are responsible for their actions, fates, etc., rather than the gods.

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Io

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Abducted by the Phoenicians to Egypt. Story inspired Alexander (Paris) to steal himself a wife (Helen)...turned into a crow by Zeus.

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Europa

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Daughter of a Phoenician king abducted by the Greeks. Justified by the previous abduction of Io. Zeus stole her, as he was a bull.

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Medea

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Another King's daughter stolen by the Greeks. Stressed the Greek/Phoenician relationship even more.

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Helen

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Stolen by Alexander (son of Priam) to be his wife.

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Croesus

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First non-Greek ruler to make Greeks pay tribute. Thought himself the happiest man in the world, although Solon of Athens did not agree. Son, Atys, prophesied to die from spear wound - couldn't prevent that. Told by oracles if he went to war with the Persians, a great empire would fall. Ended up his empire was the one meant to fall, and he ended up being captured by Persians. Was able to be freed by being miraculously saved from being burned. Won favor from Cyrus the king and was able to discover from the oracles that he was the one at fault for his situation - not the gods.

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Solon

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Well-traveled and knowledgeable politician. Gave 3 examples of the happiest men in the world to Croesus who, upon not hearing his own name, kicked him out.

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Cleobis and Biton

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Tied for second happiest people in the world. Were blessed with amazing physical strength, were well-off, and prize-winning athletes. Gained most acclaim for pulling their mother in a cart to a sanctuary. Died because their mom asked the gods to giver her sons what was best for humans.

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Tellus

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Happiest man in the world. Had fine sons who he saw all have children. Was wealthy and had a glorious death on the battlefield, which merited him a public funeral and much praise. Tons of kids = happiness.

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Pisistratus

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Became tyrant of Athens 3 times in 6th century by taking advantage of class and regional struggles.
1. Tricked Athenians by wounding himself and entering the city, claiming to have been attacked, which led to him starting an uprising and later taking over the government, but was kicked out.
2. Dressed up a tall woman to look like Athena and convince people he was meant to rule them. First worked, but he was eventually kicked out.
3. Took over Athens by force of arms.
Centralizes Athenian religion and culture, funds public works and beautification projects, and establishes festivals. Credited with being the one who wrote down the Homeric works.

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Histiaeus

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Tyrant of Miletus. Trapped in Persia, which causes much of the revolt in an attempt to help him.

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Aristagoras

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Acting governor of Miletus. Led a failed expedition to Naxos in an attempt to help the Ionian revolt.

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Harmodius and Aristogeiton

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Assassinated Hipparchus, and were turned into national heroes for doing so.

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Darius

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King of Persia. Xerces' father. Swears revenge upon Athens after they commit 20 ships to the Ionian revolt and contribute to the sack of Sardis.

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Xerxes

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Persian king. Succeeded his father, Darius, to the throne. commanded a massive army of 2 million. Invaded Greece. The idea of not knowing where to stop is one of Xerxes' problems.

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Leonidas

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Leader of the small group of Spartan warriors who fought the massive Persian army of Xerxes and gave Athenians time to evacuate the city.

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Miltiades

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Athenian military commander. Convinced Callimachus, the swing vote between 9 men in a council voting on whether to attack Persia at Marathon or defend the city, to take action against the Persians. Fight at the Battle of Marathon first instance Greek forces took enemy at a run and first time Greeks stood up against Persian soldiers without fear.

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Hippias

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Son of Pisistratus; tyrant

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Hipparchus

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Son of Pisistratus. Exiled Onomacritus (a compiler of oracles) who altered prophecies given by oracles with his own ideas and prompted Xerxes to go to war with the Greeks.

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Mardonius

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Xerxes most trusted adviser. Major factor in Xerxes deciding to invade Greece.

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Artabanus

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Xerxes' uncle. Spoke out against the invasion of Greece, which made Xerxes furious. Xerxes later had a dream warning him that if he did not go on his campaign to Greece, he would fall out of power. Told Artabanus to wear his clothes and sleep in his bed to see if he would get the same dream - which Artabanus did. Made them begin their plans to invade ASAP.

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Themistocles

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Athenian general who prompted Eurybiades to keep the fleet in battle in order for the Greeks to be victorious. Great speaker and strategist.

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Cleisthenes

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Father of Athenian Democracy

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Man with the tattooed head

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Histiaeus needed to send a secret message to Aristagoras telling him to revolt, so he tattooed the message on his most trusted slave's head, waited for the hair to grow back, and then sent him to delver the message.

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Oracle at Delphi

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The most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god Apollo.

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Ionian revolt

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Histiaeus, tyrant of Miletus, is trapped in Persia. Aristagoras' failed expedition to Naxos. Histiaeus encourages revolt. Athens commits 20 ships and contributes to the sack of Sardis. Darius swears revenge upon Athens. Herodotus attributes the revolt to these individuals - but why did so many Ionian cities join with Miletus? Historians are left to piece together the political, social, economic motivation.

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Sardis (Croesus' court and burning of)

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During the Ionian Revolt, the Athenians burnt down the city. Sardis remained under Persian domination until it surrendered to Alexander the Great in 334 BC. Herodotus tells us that in the Lydian account, Croesus was placed upon a great pyre by Cyrus' orders, for Cyrus wanted to see if any of the heavenly powers would appear to save him from being burned alive. The pile was set ablaze, and as Cyrus watched, he saw Croesus call out "Solon" three times. He asked the interpreters to find out why he said this word with such resignation and agony. The interpreters returned the answer that Solon had warned Croesus of the fickleness of good fortune. This touched Cyrus, who realized that he and Croesus were much the same man, and he bade the servants to quench the blazing fire as quickly as they could. They tried to do this, but the flames were not to be mastered. According to the story, Croesus called out to Apollo and prayed to him. The sky had been clear and the day without a breath of wind, but soon dark clouds g

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Battle of Marathon

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During the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. It was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate Greece. The first Persian invasion was a response to Greek involvement in the Ionian Revolt, when Athens and Eretria had sent a force to support the cities of Ionia in their attempt to overthrow Persian rule. The Athenians and Eretrians had succeeded in burning Sardis, but were then forced to retreat with heavy losses. In response to this raid, the Persian king Darius I swore to burn down Athens and Eretria. At the time of the battle, Sparta and Athens were the two largest states.

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Hellesport (Bridging of)

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The Hellenspont is an enormously important body of water which Xerxes wanted to cross. After the bridges fall before Xerxes crosses, he punishes the river by having his men lash it, sink shackles in it, defame it with words, and had the supervisors over the bridge beheaded; good example of hybris.

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Mt. Athos

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In 492 BC, Darius, king of Persia, lost 300 ships under general Mardonius. In 411 BC, the Spartans lost a fleet of 50 ships under admiral Epicleas. The peninsula was on the invasion route of Xerxes I, who spent 3 years excavating a channel across the isthmus to allow the passage of his invasion fleet in 483 BC.

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Thermopylae

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The Persians march through northern Greece, eventually arriving at the mountain pass of Thermopylae. Religious festivals prevent the Greeks from sending more than a small force. Leonidas and the 300 hold the Persians for a time but are betrayed and destroyed. After an indecisive naval battle at Artemision, the Greeks are forced to retreat further south.

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Isthmus

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Where to defend? Fall back to the Peloponnese, defend the north. The Isthmus Conference had voted to protect northern Greece. After the defeat at Thermopylae, pressure to defend at the Isthmus increased. Athens had been evacuated and the city destroyed by the Persians. The Athenians with the fleet at Salamis pushed for a battle there.

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Salamis

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Thanks to the machinations of Themistocles, Greek naval forces were forced into a battle at Salamis. The narrow waters favor the Greeks, Xerxes fears losing the Hellespont, and the Persian navy retreats.

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Peloponnese

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During classical antiquity, the Peloponnese was at the heart of affairs of ancient Greece, possessed some of its mosst powerful city-states: Sparta, Corinth, Argos and Magalopolis, and was the homeland of the Peloponnesian League. The peninsula was involved in the Persian Wars and was the scene of the Peloponnesian War.

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Sestors (end of Herodotus)

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As Greek land forces defeat the Persians at Plataea, the Greek navy burns beached Persian ships at Mycale. Athens stays in Ionia and besieges Sestos, on the European side of the Hellespont. Herodotus ends with Athens poised to cross the Hellespont.

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Croesus' oracles

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Croesus, king of Lydia, tested the oracles to find which gave the most accurate prophecies. Croesus proclaimed the oracle at Delphi to be the most accurate, who correctly reported that the king was making a lamb-and-tortoise stew, and so he graced her with a magnitude of precious gifts. He then consulted Delphi before attack Persia, and according to Herodotus, was advised "If you cross the river, a great empire will be destroyed." Believing the response favorable, Croesus attacked, but it was his own empire that ultimately was destroyed by the Persians.

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Miltiades, speech to Callimachus

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As polemarch, Callimachus had a vote in military affairs along with the 10 strategoi, the generals, such as Miltiades. Miltiades convinced Callimachus to vote in favor of a battle when the strageoi were split evenly on the matter. At Marathon, Callimachus comanded the right wing of the Athenian army. The right and left wings surrounded the Persians after a seemingly suicidal charge by the center line. Although the Greeks were victorious, Callimachus was killed during the fighting.

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Mardonius' speech on the 2nd invasion

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Mardonius came back into favour under Darius' successor Xerxes I, Mardonius' cousin and brother-in-law. Xerxes was at first not interest in renewing the war with Greece, but Mardonius repeatedly tried to convince him that he must avenge Darius' defeat. This view was opposed by another of Xerxes' advisors, Artabanus, who urged more caution in the matter. Herodotus, who portrays Mardonius as a somewhat evil adviser, says that Mardonius simply wanted to become governor of Greece.

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Artabanus' speech on the 2nd invasion

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Artabanus' speech goes against the presumed wisdom that both Xerxes and Mardonius uphold, a wisdom which basically states that war is the only solution to the "Greek problem" and that Persia deserves to possess the whole world due to its universal superiority. Artabanus knows that these prejudices are going to cause a great deal of trouble if the Persians choose to confront the Greeks and he must dissuade Xerxes and Mardonius appropriately. Artabanus says that they should keep the failed Scythian campaign in mind before making their decision and says, contrary to the supposed wisdom of both men, that "the Greeks have a reputation of being very brave, both on the sea and land; there is danger in all this." Artabanus reminds the Persians that the Athenians alone have previously destroyed a Persian contingent at Marathon in a battle which the Persians, who greatly outnumbered the Greeks, should have won.

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Oracle of the Wooden Wall

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Delphian oracle tells Athens to have faith in their wooden walls, which means their navy. They do so and win the battle at Salamis.

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Xerxes' dream before his invasion

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Tall handsome figure scorns Xerxes for changing his mind to invade Greece and orders him to invade.