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Did Egyptians resist or accept the Greek rule?
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Tukuler: [QB] https://www.ancient.eu/herodotus/#ampshare=https://www.ancient.eu/herodotus/ Reliability Criticism of Herodotus’ work seems to have originated among Athenians who took exception to his account of the Battle of Marathon (490 BCE) and, specifically, which families were due the most honor for the victory over the Persians. More serious criticism of his work has to do with the credibility of the accounts of his travels. One example of this is[b] his claim of fox-sized ants in Persia who spread gold dust when digging their mounds. This account has been rejected for centuries until, in 1984 CE, the French author and explorer Michel Peissel, confirmed that a fox-sized marmot in the Himalayas did indeed spread gold dust when digging and that accounts showed the animal had done so in antiquity as the villagers had a long history of gathering this dust. Peissel also explains that the Persian word for `mountain ant’ was very close to their word for `marmot’ and so it was established that Herodotus was not making up his giant ants but, since he did not speak Persian and had to rely on translators, was the victim of a misunderstanding in translation. This same scenario could apply to other observations and claims found in Herodotus' histories, [URL=http://y]though certainly not all. [/b] In the interests of telling a good story, Herodotus sometimes indulged in speculation and, at other times, repeated stories he had heard as though they were his own experiences. [/URL] Early Life & Travels While little is known of the details of his life, it seems certain that he came from a wealthy, aristocratic family in Asia Minor who could afford to pay for his education. ... His ability to travel, seemingly at will, also argues for a man of some means. It is thought he served in the army as a Hoplite in that his descriptions of battle are quite precise and always told from the point of view of a foot soldier. Herodotus' penchant for storytelling, & his obvious talent for it, have alarmed & annoyed critics since antiquity. He moves fluidly through his work from culture to culture and is always most interested in telling a good story and less so with fact-checking the details of the tales he heard and repeats in his pages. It is this tendency of his, as noted, which has given rise to the centuries of criticism against him. The Histories While it is undeniable that Herodotus makes some mistakes in his work, his Histories are generally reliable and [URL=http://y]scholarly studies in all disciplines concerning his work (from archaeology to [b]ethnology[/b] and more) have continued to substantiate all of his most important observations[/URL]. [...] His penchant for storytelling, and his obvious talent for it, have alarmed and annoyed critics since antiquity but this very quality in the Histories is also what has made the work so greatly admired. Herodotus is able to bring a reader into the events of the stories he relates by creating vivid scenes with interesting characters and, sometimes, even dialogue. He was hardly an impartial observer of the world he wrote about and often gives personal opinions at length on various people, customs, and events. =-= That's why I liken him to a modern travelogue writer. [/QB][/QUOTE]
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