Chapter 3: Documents

Herodotus is a widely known historian, known more for his colorful storytelling than as an academic source.This lack of respect as an established primary source is due to the fact there are many colliding narratives that differ from Herodotus. So as a historical source his value is similar to that of a history channel documentary, entertaining but questionable. However it is my feeling Herodotus was one of the world's first anthropologists, not historian.
If we look at the works through the lens of cultural learning, and not historical perspective than Herodotus does have academic staying power. See in most of his writings, it is the observations about the cultures he visits, not his version of their history that grabs the reader. Take this passage in source 3.1, “They carefully educate their sons from the age of five to the age of twenty in only three subjects: riding horses, shooting arrows and speaking the truth.” Here is an example of the incredible ability of Herodotus to teach the reader about the core values of a culture in quick succession. Given that Herodotus was a Greek it is fair to question of his portrayal of the Persians as warmongers. However throughout 3.1 Herodotus praises the Persian culture many times. After praising the style in which the Persians raise their younger men, Herodotus discusses the treatment of the lowest people in the Persian society. “I praise this custom and the following one too. The King does not put anyone to death for a single instance of wrongdoing, and ]no Persian inflicts an extreme penalty on a slave for a single instance of wrongdoing.” Meaning that despite the sheer mass of the empire, slaves while expandable were not seen a worthless humans. A treatment people in captivity have been exposed to time and time again.
So It seems that Herodotus really did take the time to study each civilization from top to bottom while travelling. A trend that is hard even in modern times, to be a tourist in another land and to truly understand the country. Yet it seems Herodotus had an innate ability to understand the power in stories from every angle. The truth is as curious as we are about the ancient Persian Kings, we are equally curious about the life of artists or slaves in ancient Persia. Luckily from the writings of Herodotus we are able to understand just a little bit more.

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