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Status:
Available4.5
23 reviews
ISBN 10: 1477318321
ISBN 13: 9781477318324
Author: Herodotus, C B R Pelling
In the 5th century BCE, Herodotus wrote the first known Western history to build on the tradition of Homeric storytelling, basing his text on empirical observations and arranging them systematically. Herodotus and the Question Why offers a comprehensive examination of the methods behind the Histories and the challenge of documenting human experiences, from the Persian Wars to cultural traditions.
In lively, accessible prose, Christopher Pelling explores such elements as reconstructing the mentalities of storyteller and audience alike; distinctions between the human and the divine; and the evolving concepts of freedom, democracy, and individualism. Pelling traces the similarities between Herodotus's approach to physical phenomena (Why does the Nile flood?) and to landmark events (Why did Xerxes invade Greece? And why did the Greeks win?), delivering a fascinating look at the explanatory process itself. The cultural forces that shaped Herodotus's thinking left a lasting legacy for us, making Herodotus and the Question Why especially relevant as we try to record and narrate the stories of our time and to fully understand them.
Chapter 1 – Why did it all happen?
(a) “Mother, what did they fight each other for?” – 1
(b) The words – 5
(c) Narrative: Show, not tell – 11
(d) Explanation: A game for two – 13
(e) Historical consciousness – 15
(f) Reconstructing mentalities – 17
Chapter 2 – To blame and to explain: Narrative complications
(a) The proem – 22
(b) The exchange of abductions (1.1–5) – 25
(c) Payback and its complications – 30
(d) Whose fault is it anyway? – 34
(e) Them and us – 38
Chapter 3 – How can you possibly know?
(a) Putting in the working – 40
(b) Scientific and historical explanation – 46
(c) Stories in cahoots – 55
Chapter 4 – Adventures in prose
(a) Something different? – 58
(b) Hecataeus – 62
(c) Other peoples and their past – 66
(d) Rhetorical finger-pointing – 68
(e) Sameness and difference – 75
Chapter 5 – Hippocratic affinities
(a) Medical science – 80
(b) Harmonious balancing – 84
(c) Corroboration and revision – 88
Chapter 6 – Explanations in combination
(a) Hippocratics – 94
(b) Herodotus – 101
Chapter 7 – Early moves
(a) Croesus and Candaules – 106
(b) Croesus: Pride, aggression, downfall – 110
Chapter 8 – Empire
(a) Croesus again – 114
(b) From Cyrus to Xerxes – 119
(c) Blame? – 123
Chapter 9 – Herodotus’ Persian stories
(a) The world of the court – 129
(b) Biography? – 133
(c) Be careful what you say... – 136
(d) Overconfidence? – 139
(e) But are we so different? – 142
Chapter 10 – The human and the divine
(a) Divine perspectives – 146
(b) Enigmatic divinity – 149
(c) Historical explanation? – 156
Chapter 11 – Explaining victory – 163
Chapter 12 – Freedom
(a) Inspiration – 174
(b) The unruly free – 181
(c) Freedom from and freedom to – 184
Chapter 13 – Democracy
(a) Democracy and freedom? – 190
(b) Characterizing the dēmos – 192
(c) Democracy in and out of focus – 195
Chapter 14 – Individuals and collectives
(a) Self-expression? – 199
(b) Narrative shape – 200
(c) Individuals and communities – 201
(d) An Athenian virtue? – 204
(e) National characteristics? – 210
Chapter 15 – Then and now: Herodotus’ own day
(a) Shadows of the future – 214
(b) Thinking backwards and forwards – 223
(c) Back to the future – 229
Chapter 16 – Why indeed? – 232
Notes – 237
Bibliography – 301
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Tags: Herodotus, C B R Pelling, Herodotus, question
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