CLA 395

Ionian Revolt

(Around 499) After being conquered by the Persian Empire under Darius, the Ionian cities first remained quiet. However, after increases in taxes, reduced access to the Hellenic market, and the imposition of "barbarian tyrants", the Ionian cities began to revolt after Miletus first revolted. Though the revolt was eventually unsuccessful, this is often seen as the beginning of the Persian war as significant Athenian and Eretrian assistance was provided to the Ionians. Reportedly it was during the Ionian Revolt that Persia became interested in Greece (specifically Athens) and Darius swore vengeance for those lost in Ionia.

Helen

Helen of Troy/Sparta plays various roles in the Trojan War, depending on the source. In Homer, Helen recognizes her role in the center of the conflict, and acts as a storyteller in her weaving. However, as a result, she is not entirely trustworthy, and Homer also portrays as having similar characteristics to Odysseus, such as being sly, crafty, and observing, which are heroic characteristics. Stesichorus, on the other hand, argued that Helen never went to Troy, and instead a phantom of her did. Herodotus describes both accounts, though he removes the action of the gods, and in giving the different accounts, he establishes the importance of methodology.

Miltiades

Herodotus cites Miltiades as the Athenian general who convinced the Athenians to confront the persians at Marathon by persuading Callimachus to cast his vote for the Athenians to fight after a tie. Miltiades is trusted with command at Marathon and waits some unknown number of days before leading the Greek hoplites into battle at a run. Though some other historians do not acknowledge him as persuading Callimachus to break a tie as the disagreement among the Athenians is not acknowledged, he is always credited for the Athenian victory at Marathon.

Greek Herakles

In Greek mythology, Herakles was a demigod, the son of Zeus, and was known for his super-strength. Hated by the goddess Hera, he was required to perform twelve supposedly impossible tasks, among which were defeating the three-headed Geryon and dragging Cerberus, the hound of Hades, up from the Underworld. However, both Herodotus and Hecataeus argued that these stories, while not entirely untrue, lacked much credibility, and sought to rationalize them. The stories of Herakles were an example of elements of Greek myth that both Herodotus and Hecataeus dismissed as absurd, but didn't want to believe that it was entirely false, because it was a major part of their world and religion. Therefore, they sought to establish more credible versions of the myth of the Greek Herakles, arguing that reason explains the stories just as well and far more realistically.

Herodotus

Most well known for his Histories, Herodotus is alternatively known as the "father of lies" and the "father of history." A Greek historian from Halicarnassus who was active in the mid-5th century BC, he travelled through most of the known world after being exiled from Halicarnassus for not supporting the tyranny. His works establish the importance of context, credibility, and sources. Scholars argue that Herodotus is one-of-a-kind. He focuses not only on history, but also its connection to geography and culture, and rationalizes stories that seem unbelievable to him.

Paris/Alexander

Son of Priam and Hecuba, who is the known for his abduction of Helen, which was the cause of the Trojan War. In the Iliad, he is sometimes effective in battle, and he will be responsible, with Apollo's help, for the death of Achilles. In general, however, he is seen as greatly inferior to Hector, who taunts him as handsome but unwarlike. He uses the bow, which tends to be regarded as an unmanly weapon. He is defeated in a duel by Menelaus, has to be rescued by Aphrodite and then consoles himself by making love to Helen.

Sophocles

Sophocles is an Athenian tragic playwright, who was born in the 490s BC. He first competed against Aeschylus in 468 BC and he lived to compete for the last time at the Dionysia of 406 BC. He wrote more than 120 plays and won at least 20 victories. Among them, seven survived, including Ajax, Antigone, Oedipus Tyrannus, Oedipus at Colonos, Electra, Trachiniae, and Philoctetes. Thus, he was markedly the most successful of the three great 5th-cent playwrights. It is interesting to notice that he was second often and never thrid.

Homer

The existence of a poet called Homer was accepted throughout Antiquity, but nothing was known of the author who makes only fleeting appearances in his own work in the form of first-person pronouns. Homer is considered as the author of Iliad and Odyssey, yet it remained to explain how and when the text came to be written down. The ancient biographies of Homer were then composed several centuries later. Thus, it is hard to know the exact fact about Homer.

Morphology of the Folktale

Theorized by Vladimir Propp in 1928. Propp claimed that there were 31 variations in the functions of the folktale and that 7 archetypal characters were common in most folktales. These archetypes include the villain, donor, helper, princess, hero, false hero, and the dispatcher. While these archetypes can be combined into fewer than seven characters, they are usually persistent throughout folktales. Criticism of this theory largely focused on the lack of attention towards the orality of folktales.

48. Anaximander

First Greek presocratic philosopher to write a prose treatise; he lived from about 610 to about 546. He believed that everything on earth was made from a matter which he called "boundlessness". He is also credited for creating one of the first maps, which showed a view of the world as having three continents and being surrounded by the river Ocean. He theorized that the world was at first entirely covered in water, but as opposites were "separated out" there became a distinction between the dry and the wet. He saw this process as continuous and thus believed that one day the world would be completely dry and everyone and everything would die. Herodotus uses this idea when discussing how the land of Egypt dries up in 2.14.

Aeschylus

Aeschylus, who was born in 525 BC, is the first extant Greek tragedian. A member of the Athenian elite, he was a hoplite warrior in the battle of Marathon in 490 BC. He began writing plays around 499 BC, and won his first stage prize in 484 BC. In 472, his play Persians won first prize, and is known for being the only extant historical Greek tragedy. He became known as an extremely successful playwright, and wrote between 70-90 plays, though only 7 are extant. He was the first tragedian to use stage backdrops, and pioneered staging by doing this. Uninterested in character, he focused largely on situation and events in his plays and used the chorus to take over the vacuum of interiority. He was also very interested in big themes such as human suffering and the gods' justice.

Rhampsinitos

Also named as Ramses, to whom a folktale is attached in Herodotus 2.121. The builder of his treasury left a secret entrance and after his death his two sons stole therefrom. One being trapped, the other beheaded him, avoided capture himself, and at last was reconciled to the king.

Aristotle

Aristotle was a philosopher taught by Plato who lived roughly between 384 and 322. His Poetics argued that poetry was a more philosophical (and thus more valuable) pursuit than history because poetry presents universals whereas history presents particulars.

Solon on Happiness

In Herodotus's story of Solon telling Croesus the secret to happiness, Solon argues that the main requirements are long-life, being relatively well-off, having children and grandchildren, and having an honorable death. Other possibilities were being dutiful children and helping out one's parents as much as possible, and being successful in athletic contests; money and power didn't necessarily contribute to happiness. However, Solon was insistent that one could not know if he had had a happy life until after he had died. The goal was to die as soon as you can so one's happiness could not end. Other scholars, such as Anaxagoras and Democritus added that happiness was internal, not external, and that one shouldn't aspire to too much, because individual nature is bounded.

Cerberus

In his Histories, Herodotus was quite interested in the stories of Herakles and the difference between the Greek and Egyptian Herakles, and he worked to reconcile the differences by rationalizing the Greek stories. The historian Hecataeus, who was active in the 5th century as well, also attempted to rationalize Greek myth, and focused on Herakles's tasks. In his final task, Herakles was required to go to the Underworld and bring Cerberus, the hound of Hades, back up to the living world. However, Hecataeus dismissed this telling, and rationalized that instead, the 'hound of Hades' was likely a very poisonous snake that Herakles needed to catch, but it had gained its reputation for delivering quick death with its venom, and in determining this, Hecataeus introduced the importance of zoological probability in rationalization. The tasks of Herakles were an example of a piece of Greek myth that the historians were reluctant to dismiss altogether but knew that the original story was not entirely credible.

Geryon

In his Histories, Herodotus was quite interested in the stories of Herakles and the difference between the Greek and Egyptian Herakles, and he worked to reconcile the differences by rationalizing the Greek stories. The historian Hecataeus, who was active in the 5th century as well, also attempted to rationalize Greek myth, and focused on Herakles's tasks. In one of these tasks, Herakles was supposed to steal the cattle of Geryon, and Geryon was a monster who had three heads. However, Hecataeus dismissed this telling, and rationalized that instead, Geryon likely had three sons instead of three heads, establishing anatomical correctness as a factor in realistic interpretation. The tasks of Herakles were an example of a piece of Greek myth that the historians were reluctant to dismiss altogether but knew that the original story was not entirely credible.

Myth

In studying Herodotus and Homer, as well as other ancient writers, one encounters the problem of distinguishing history from myth. However, there are some distinguishing factors. Firstly, myth often relies on the role of the divine, in which the gods' actions underpin most, if not all, events and they play a significant role in the causal structure and help identify the human condition. Myths, as well as history, often also are concerned with the human condition and focus greatly on human emotion. There is also a large focus on the relationship between the past and the present, with an emphasis on one's ancestors.