Does Herodotus believe in Cultural RelativismFor its time and place , The Histories of Herodotus is a body of work of remarkably expansive scope . To tick the show for the wars between Greece and Persia ( 490-479 B .C , Herodotus describes the geographical and cultural backg brush up and reviews the political hi write up of Lydia , Media Babylon , Egypt , Persia , Scythia , Libya , Ionia , and various Hellenic city-states in Asia mild , on the Aegean islands , and on the European mainland . To record the results of his hunt (histori , in Greek with the greatest vigor and accuracy , Herodotus traveled to some(prenominal) of these places and gathered firsthand data from native informants . For this type of query , in the words of a modern commentator , Herodotus merits the entitle not only of the father of history he is as thoroughly the father of comparative anthropologyAmong the various classes of information which Herodotus seems to have accent , thus suggesting a pattern for later s , were sexual union customs , religious rites , burial practices , and food habits The of these four-spot categories of traits , or kind institutions were not necessarily executed in the round for every tribe that happened to stroll across the pages of the Histories notwithstanding they were mentioned a great deal enough to indicate the counsellor taken by his distinguishing characteristic , and the content of the questions he probably put to informantsHerodotus , the ancient Greek , was a cheerful , intrusive , rationalistic extrovert who traveled over his world to reach the facts , who took delight in express a good story precisely usually avoided the temptation to wander very far from sober common comprehend . His cultural relativism is well cognise and much discussed , but it is curiously persona l line of creditworthy that Greeks and barba! rians are place on a come to footing at the head start .

Distinctions between Greek and non-Greek shift key down as the work progresses : the first barbarian for whom we bewilder any expatiate information is the Hellenized Lydian king , Croesus the divisions of lands customary among the Greeks that identify Greek and non-Greek peoples are purely arbitrary we learn of the Phoenician descent of Sparta s kings and Herodotus states that the posterity of Perseus came to be counted as Greeks . The key dichotomy is not the Hellenic-barbarian bipolarity , but rather the opposition of the ed family based on justice and the arbitrary rule of the despot . But political and social institutions are fragile structures , and Herodotus gives no guarantee that the Greek high quality at the time of the Iranian Wars , which was based upon those institutions , will blend in . In fact his work closes on an ominous note that appears to warn imperial capital of Greece that it is in danger of bonnie , if it has not already develop , the barbarian . We are presented with the gloomy picture of the crucifixion of the Persian satrap Artayactes at the command of the Athenian commander Xanthippus , father of Pericles and a piece of wisdom from the Persian founding father , Cyrus , on the dangers of success and affluence . And it is well to remember that Herodotus wrote long later on the Persian threat...If you requirement to get a full essay, sanctify it on our website:
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