LSO 190 Assignment #1

Question 1
The difference between the Persians and the Greek is that the Persian don’t have any image of
god, no temples nor alar, in fact they though they signs of foolishness. Instead, they believed in
giving offering to sun and the moon, earth, to fire, to water and to the wind. Furthermore
Persian offer sacrifice by raising no altar, light no fire, no sound of flute no putting wreath and
no barley cake. The sacrifice is done by bringing the victim to a spot which is considered to be
pure of pollution and sacrificed to the intended god.
Question 2
Herodotus found the way Persians greet themselves very interesting. If Persian of equal status
happen to meet in in the streets it is mentioned they greet each other by a kiss on the lip,
furthermore if Persians of inferior status meet on the streets they are greeted by a kiss on the
cheek. However it is believed if there is a significant difference in status, the inferior
recumbents on the ground and displays respect. Secondly the Persians celebrate their birthday
day with delectable feasts. The rich celebrate their birthday by preparing an ox, a horse, a
camel, and a donkey to be baked and served, while the poor cook smaller kinds of cattle. Both
the rich and poor celebrate themselves with an abundance of dessert and wine.
Question 3
Herodotus reveals that the Greeks had unnatural lust. Men tend to have more than one wives
and even more concubines. Furthermore, it is said that a man feels proud if he has many sons in
the family, additionally the man with the largest number of sons is rewarded by the king. This
proves Greek society is dominated by men.
Question 4
In my opinion, I believe Herodotus admired the way Persians adopted foreign customs to
improve their civilization. For example the Persian adapted the dress style of Medes, since it
was considered to be superior. Furthermore, they even adopted the Egyptian breastplate to
fight in wars. Secondly, I believe Herodotus admired the fact that Persians considered telling lie
and owing debt to be a disgraceful act.