Herodotus is named the Father of Historical past. His e book in regards to the wars between the Persians and the Greek metropolis states was a set of his historia—his inquiries—which is the place we get the very phrase “historical past” from.
But he’s additionally identified to some because the Father of Lies. His work accommodates could diversions. If he discovered a story that he thought would curiosity his viewers, regardless of how far-fetched, he would come with it in his work. Listed here are ten of the weirdest tales from Herodotus, the historicity of which I go away to you.
10 Gyges Usurps The Throne
Earlier than Herodotus can inform us about King Croesus, he decides we’ve to be taught the unusual occasions of how Croesus’s household got here to carry the throne of Lydia. Evidently the previous king of Lydia, a person by the identify of Candaules, was somewhat happy with his spouse. Nothing flawed in that, you would possibly suppose. However Candaules had a fetish for exhibiting his queen off to his bodyguards. One member of the guard, Gyges, used to should take heed to the king’s speeches on the subject of his spouse’s beautiful magnificence.[1]
Maybe Gyges’s eyes started to glaze over someday because the king subjected him to a different eulogy to the queen. Candaules instructed him, “It seems you don’t consider me once I inform you how pretty my spouse is. Effectively, a person all the time believes his eyes higher than his ears; so do as I inform you—contrive to see her bare.” Gyges tried to get out of spying on the queen, however the king insisted that he conceal himself within the queen’s chamber.
Gyges did as he was commanded and noticed the queen in all her bare glory. The queen additionally noticed him. Enraged at her husband’s actions, she gave Gyges a selection: Kill the king or die himself. Gyges didn’t want a lot persuading. Candaules was murdered, and Gyges married the queen and took the throne himself.
9 Croesus And The Oracle
From Gyges sprang a dynasty of kings which ended with Croesus on the throne of Lydia. Croesus was so rich that the saying “as wealthy as Croesus” remains to be used. He was supposedly the primary particular person to mint gold cash. Croesus is vital to Herodotus’s historical past as a result of earlier than the Persians may assault the Greek mainland, they first needed to conquer Lydia. Croesus had phrase that the Persians have been coming, however he didn’t know what to do. He did what many within the historic world did and turned to oracles to get the recommendation of the gods. However which oracle ought to he use?
Croesus despatched messengers to probably the most well-known oracles on this planet and requested all of them the identical factor: “What’s King Croesus doing proper now?” All of the messengers have been to ask the query on the similar time, and if any of the oracles obtained the reply proper, then that was the one Croesus would belief. Croesus determined to make the reply tough to guess—he could be cooking a tortoise and a lamb in a bronze pot.[2] The oracle of of Delphi obtained it proper, so Croesus requested whether or not he ought to go to warfare with Persia. He obtained the response, “If Croesus goes to warfare he’ll destroy an ideal empire.” Croesus took this to imply the warfare would go properly for him, and he marched his armies out.
Croesus’s forces have been destroyed, and he was forged down from his throne. An amazing empire had been destroyed.
8 Mummification
To the traditional Greeks, the Egyptian civilization appeared impossibly previous. Herodotus knew that any info he may reveal in regards to the Egyptians could be eagerly leaped on by his viewers. How may he resist that almost all Egyptian of arts, mummification?
Herodotus provides us the main points of the three types of mummification the Egyptians use.[3] For the richest folks, a fancy set of instruments and strategies is used to protect the physique. An iron hook is used to tug the mind out by way of the nostril, whereas a pointy stone is used to chop open the stomach, and all the interior organs are eliminated. Candy-smelling herbs, spices, and perfumes are packed into the cavities earlier than the physique is dried in salt to cease it from rotting. These unable to afford this should make do with having embalming fluids injected into the physique. For the poorest folks, the intestines have been cleared out, and the physique was left to lie in salt for 70 days.
One curious proven fact that Herodotus shares with us about mummification is that the our bodies of rich girls weren’t despatched on to the embalmers. The corpses have been allowed to rot for a number of days to discourage the embalmers from taking “liberties” with them—an early reference to necrophilia.
7 Gold-Digging Ants
When Herodotus describes the Persian Empire, his inquiries go into all points of the Persian world, and that features the fabulous beasts which might be purported to dwell there. One of the wonderful oddities that the Persians are supposed to own have been gold-digging ants.[4] The ants dwell within the sands of the deserts close to India and are apparently the scale of canines. Because the ants dig their burrows, they throw up mounds of sand that are full of gold. Gold hunters chase the ants on camelback. After they discover a mound, they load their camels with baggage of the gold-rich sand and journey away as rapidly as attainable. The ants are swifter than some other animal and would all the time catch those that search to plunder their nests if not for the truth that they take their time to kind up their troops.
Curiously, there have been those that don’t discover this story as absurd because it appears. Within the Himalayas, there are marmots, which could have mutated in legend into furry, massive ants that dig in areas with excessive gold concentrations. For generations, locals have gathered up the gold mud that the marmots produce.
6 Polycrates And The Ring
Polycrates was the tyrant of the island of Samos for whom all the things appeared to go proper. His wars have been all the time profitable, his insurance policies have been all the time sensible, and even the climate was with him. For us, he would possibly sound like the best ally. Within the historic world, nevertheless, luck was one thing that it was attainable to have an excessive amount of of.
The Egyptian pharaoh Amasis wrote to his fellow ruler to warn him about his good luck.[5] Amasis stated that the gods wouldn’t enable a mortal to have an endless streak of fine fortune. Someday, there could be a reckoning that will destroy Polycrates and his allies. He urged that the tyrant ought to take the factor he valued most on this planet and throw it into the ocean, in order to interrupt his luck in an orderly means. Polycrates determined to comply with this recommendation. He took a gold and emerald ring from his finger and flung it into the ocean.
A number of days later, a fisherman caught an unlimited fish. He supplied his haul as much as Polycrates as a present match for a king. Whereas the cooks have been reducing up the fish, out fell Polycrates’s ring. This was an excessive amount of good luck for Amasis, who instantly broke off contact with Polycrates. Polycrates did certainly finally endure a horrible comeuppance. He was captured by the Persians, and he could have been impaled and hung up on a cross.
5 Would You Eat Your Mother and father?
The Greeks liked a great suppose. Their philosophers tried to find what issues have been pure legal guidelines (physis) and what have been merely social conventions (nomos). Is it a common legislation that killing is flawed? Individuals nonetheless debate that right this moment. Herodotus provides us an instance of a Persian making an attempt a philosophical experiment.
Darius, the Persian king, referred to as all Greeks current at his court docket collectively and requested them a startling query: “What would it not take so that you can eat your fathers’ useless our bodies?”[6] The Greeks have been greatly surprised. No sum of money may make them try this; it was evil. The Persian king nodded. Then he talked to some Indians and requested them what it might take to not eat their fathers’ our bodies however somewhat burn them. The Indians have been horrified. They thought it was evil to not eat the useless our bodies of their fathers.
4 Darius Calls for Tribute
Darius the Persian king was not content material to sit down round asking philosophical issues. The Greek metropolis states had been meddling within the affairs of his domains. He demanded they cease and undergo his authority. To point out that they have been below his management, all Darius requested of cities was that they offer his messengers a token present of earth and water.[7] Many cities, conscious that they have been no match for the good empire, did precisely as they have been requested. Athens and Sparta, nevertheless, didn’t.
When the king’s messengers reached Athens, they have been met with scorn. They have been thrown right into a pit the place criminals have been normally tossed. Themistocles, a number one Athenian, wished to have them put to dying for defiling the Greek language with their “barbarian calls for.”
The Spartans have been much more forthright with the messengers. After they demanded earth and water, the Spartans threw them in a properly, saying they might discover water there.
3 Cross-Dressing Assassins
Not all of the Greeks have been so inhospitable. Amyntas, king of the Macedonians, readily gave Darius the earth and water he requested for. He additionally placed on an ideal feast for his friends. The Persians had enjoyable, however they’d yet another request. In Persia, they stated, it was the customized for married girls and concubines to come back in and entertain the friends.[8] Amyntas stated that was not their customized, however they might do it the Persian means.
The ladies got here in however sat aside from the boys, as was their customized. The Persians complained that this was horrible, to see the ladies and be tempted. Amyntas once more complied and let the ladies sit with the Persians. The Persians started to fondle the ladies. Alexander (not the Nice), son of King Amyntas, was enraged. He begged his father to go to mattress in order that he may cope with the Persians. Amyntas left. Alexander instructed the Persians they might sleep with any lady they selected, however it is perhaps higher in the event that they waited to sober up first. The Persians agreed to relaxation.
Alexander gathered all of the beardless males he may discover and dressed them up as girls and gave them daggers. When the Persians started to fondle the “girls” that evening, the daggers have been produced, and all of the Persians murdered of their seats.
2 Thermopylae
The Battle of Thermopylae is among the most well-known in European historical past. The Persian military which invaded Greece was the most important that had ever been seen. It appeared unattainable to cease them. At some extent the place the mountains got here all the way down to the ocean, a power of 300 Spartan warriors and their allies (numbering within the 1000’s) blocked the Persians’ path. Within the narrows, the Persians couldn’t outflank the tiny quantity ranged in opposition to them.
The Spartans knew they have been more likely to die, however what they did in preparation shocked the Persians. As a substitute of being melancholy, the Spartans spent their time tending to their hair.[9] They did additionally restore a ruined wall so as to add to their defenses, however one wall and shiny hair didn’t appear more likely to flip the battle.
Xerxes, the Persian king, waited, pondering the Spartans would develop frightened and flee. They didn’t. Xerxes despatched in his overwhelming forces however needed to watch as they have been repelled many times. He was at a loss for what to do till an area instructed the Persians of a path over the mountains that will enable them to take the Spartans within the rear.
The Spartans realized of this transfer in time to run away. As a substitute, they stayed and fought to permit their allies to make their escape.
1 Whipping The Sea
Regardless of commanding the most important empire on this planet, Darius’s try to overcome Greece failed. He pulled his forces again to Persia. The Persians couldn’t perceive their loss. When Darius’s son, Xerxes, ascended to the Persian throne, he determined to complete his father’s conquest.
Xerxes referred to as one other enormous military for the invasion. As a substitute of conveying the power by boat, Xerxes had a bridge of boats constructed throughout the Hellespont—the slim hole of water which separates Europe from Asia.[10] The boats have been lashed along with ropes of papyrus to permit for the movement of the water. Simply as the military approached, a storm got here up and scattered the boats. King Xerxes was displeased.
Xerxes commanded that the Hellespont obtain 300 strokes of a whip for defying him. He additionally ordered that fetters be thrown into the water to indicate that the ocean was shackled to his command. To essentially rub it in to the water, he had iron manufacturers heated red-hot and plunged into the ocean. In some ways, the Hellespont obtained off calmly. The boys who constructed the bridge have been beheaded.
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