The Greek historian Herodotus (circa 484-425 BCE) begins his History by telling us that he writes in order “that great and marvelous deeds, some displayed by the Hellenes, some by the barbarians, not lose their glory. . . .” However, the later Roman writer Plutarch (circa 46-119 CE) thought that Herodotus went much too far in extolling non-Greeks, i.e. barbarians; so he labels him philobarbaros (a barbarian-lover) in his scathing essay “The Malice of Herodotus.” While later historians agree that Plutarch went far overboard in his criticism of Herodotus, he was certainly right about one thing, Herodotus has a vast appreciation for the many cultures around him.
For example, he devotes the entire second book, out of the nine that comprise the History, to Egypt, a country that Herodotus himself had visited and whose complex and venerable civilization clearly fascinated him. This lecture will examine Herodotus’ depiction of the customs, folk tales, and religious practices of such cultures as Libya, Syria, Phoenicia, and Persia in order to see what ideas and values from these cultures Herodotus wanted to convey both to his immediate Greek audience and to us.
Lecturer bio:
Cynthia Rutz received her PhD from the University of Chicago in 2013. Her dissertation topic is Shakespeare’s King Lear and its folktale analogues, a subject on which she has delivered several lectures. For several years, she worked with Mortimer Adler on his Paideia Project, an education reform project which encourages high school and elementary school teachers to help students think critically through Great Books seminars and coaching. Her academic interests include mythology, folktales, Milton, Willa Cather, and ancient Greek philosophy and literature. She joined the Basic Program in 1991, served as Staff Chair from 1999 to 2004, and is currently Director of Faculty Development at Valparaiso University.
