Tales from Herodotus

INTRODUCTION Herodotus: y Father of History (by Cicero) y genuine critical treatment of historical facts y well-educated y born in 484BC (not certain) in Halicarnassus y he travelled to many places (Egypt and Greece) y professional reciter, a prose rhapsodist y the tenor of his history is theological y imbued with the sentiment that we find in Oedipus Tyrannus of Sophocles Defects: 1. this prevents logical analysis and blinds Herodotus to the true causes that underlie events 2. he is far too given to the miraculous a. he was not basing his history on fable b. there are undoubtedly inconsistencies in the history 3. critics accuse him of inability to detect the predisposing causes of events a. he is content to ascribe cause to person, oblivious of the fact that it is the progress of human thought that results in great events (e.g. abolition of slavery) b. no critic can deny his gift for telling a story (he is a consummate artist) c. he has the incomparable gift of making a story live, so much is forgiven because he has given much

THE BATTLE OF SALAMIS (a) Capture of Athens Greek naval commanders determine to abandon their position at Salamis and retire to the Isthmus of Corinth. Then indeed, when Themistocles returned to his ship, Mnesiphilus, an Athenian citizen, asked him what had been decided. Having learned from him that they had decided to put out the ships to the Isthmus and give a naval battle in defence of Peloponnese, he said: If they remove the ships from Salamis, you will certainly have no country left to fight for, for every ally will turn towards his own city and neither Eurybiades nor any other man will be able to hold them; and Greece will be destroyed due to imprudence. But if there is any way, go and try to confuse the plans, if you can somehow persuade Eurybiades to change his mind, so that we can stay here. y y y y this conditional that Mnesiphilus uses means that Athens will be lost if the allies don t fight for Salamis emphatic, last in the sentence, emphasises that Themistocles should act in an intelligent, if not cunning, mind pronoun showing how all of the allies with no exception will leave at the end to emphasise their act. The prepositional phrase should normally be placed after the verb, but is placed at the beginning to emphasise that the Athenians will be abandoned. The use of two successive imperatives (go and try) emphasises Mnesiphilus anxiety and the urgency of a new decision. Short sentence forceful, clear Herodotus places Mnesiphilus words as a long monologue which shows his passion and confidence in his arguments (if)

(b) Urged by Themistocles, Eurybiades recalls the meeting and Themistocles presents the plan of action Themistocles liked the answer very much indeed, and without answering to this he went to Eurybiades ship. On arriving, he said that he wished to discuss with him a matter of common interest. After coming on board, the other ordered him to talk if he wanted to say something. Then, sitting beside him, Themistocles told him in detail all that he had heard from Mnesiphilus and having added many more, thus he persuaded him both to disembark the ship and gather the admirals to their place of meeting. And when actually they assembled, before Eurybiades presented the reasons for the sake of which he had brought them together, Themistocles delivered a long speech because he was in great need. While he was talking, the Corinthian admiral Adeimantus said: Themistocles, the ones who start before the signal at the athletic games are punished. And Themistocles, defending himself, replied: But the ones that are left behind will certainly not win.

Anecdotes: short and amusing stories that teach us something. Adeimantus uses parallelism from the athletic games. However Themistocles answers back in a witty manner, he refers to war-fight, giving the word another meaning and saying that in war, one has to be quick to surprise the enemy.

(c) Speech of Themistocles on the advantages of remaining at Salamis Then he replied to the Corenthian in a mild way and to Eurybiades he said the following: Now it is in your hand to save Greece, if you obey me to give a naval battle by staying here and if you do not set sail again towards the Isthmus. For firstly, we will have a great victory if we fight in a narrow place with few ships against many ships if we have the reasonable outcome of the war. For to give a naval battle in a strait is to our advantage, but to fight in the open sea is to theirs. Secondly, Salamis, where our children and women are put away in safety, is saved. And surely, you will defend the Peloponnesus as well by staying here as by fighting off at the Isthmus and you will not lead our enemies against the Peloponnesus, if you think reasonably. And, if what I expect happens and we win by means of our ships, you will neither have the foreigners upon you at the Isthmus, nor will they advance further than Attica, but they will leave without any order. y Emphasise the speaker s argument: o Parallelism is for emphasis. Using the same structure it says the same thing to emphasise the argument. Contrast by parallel structure. The place and the benefit pros o at the end of the sentence for emphasis o placed at the beginning for emphasis o early in the sentence to indicate that the outcome of the battle will be the same whether they stay here or go at the Isthmus o Use of future indicative shows Themistocles certainty about the outcome of the battle ( , ) o Themistocles implies that it would be absurd to fight at the Isthmus because it would lead the enemy to the people Litotes (meiosis) is an understatement in which the negation intensifies an idea.

(d) Attacked by Adeimantus, Themistocles declares as a detailed argument in favour of staying at Salamis that otherwise the Athenians will sail off at Italy. Eurybiades and the rest are persuaded to remain. The Corinthian Adeimantus attacked Themistocles again while he was saying this, ordering him, who was a landless man, to keep silent and not allowing Eurybiades to permit a man without a country to vote. (And he said this because Athens had been captured and was occupied.)

Then at last Themistocles made many accusations against Adeimantus and the Corinthians and made clear by his words that the Athenians had both a country and land bigger than theirs, as long as they had two hundred ships fully manned; for he said that no-one of the Greeks could repel them, if the Athenians came against them. And declaring this, he passed over to Eurybiades speaking more eagerly: If you stay here (all will be well), and by staying you will be a brave man, but if you do not, you will overthrow Greece. But believe me; if you do not do so, we, just as we are having taken up our households, will travel to Siris in Italy (which has been ours from old time and the oracles tell that a colony must be founded (there) by us). And you, when you will be deprived from such allies, will remember my words. When Themistocles spoke these words, Eurybiades was won over; for if the Athenians left them, the rest would no longer be a match in battle. He chose this plan to fight a naval battle through to the end by staying there. y An idea is expressed twice in different words. An idea that Themistocles had no country. Once by an adjective with a privative which forms an alliteration. The first time it is expressed by a whole sentence. The negative and the word are emphatic. Adeimantus was aggressive and had a contemptuous tone. He wished to diminish Themistocles. no-one of the Greeks could repel them, if the Athenians came against them this is an indirect threat of Themistocles to the rest of the Greeks. There is a climax in Themistocles threats in lines 11-19.

y y y