Th Amos of Herodotus

PREFATO RY NO TE Th e writer wishes to express thanks and ackno wledge indebtedness to P rofesso r Bernadotte Pe rrin , who criticized the o riginal thesis , “ T he T D Samos of Herodotus , and to Professo r . Goodell, who read ff e v that production and o red aluable suggestions for this paper , as H B e . w ll as to Professor . Wright, whose helpful criticism and judg ment have aided in great m easure the preparation of this condensed “ h d e T e . and revise fo rm of the thesis p rop r , Samos of Herodotus E E ERM A L . CO Y AL E U IV I Y N ERS T , un z 1 9 1 2 J e g . 2 59 9 5 5 TH E SAM S ER D T ! O OF H O O US . It is common tradition that Herodotus w a s for several years an R l exile on the island of Samos . aw inson ( Introduction to Trans 1 5 “Th l . e ation of Herodotus, pp however, supposes that transfer f to fi o o residence Samos is most likely a cti n . His acquaintance with its buildings and localities is not greater than might have been one or l s acquired by two eisurely visit , and the length at which he ” n treats the history may be accounted for o moral grounds . It is the purpose of this paper to attempt to establish three points ’ regarding Herodotus treatment of Samian affairs 1 ’ . Herodotus history of Samos indicates above all else direct a influence from S mian monuments, such as the temple of Hera and its votive offerings, Samian architecture and Samian engineering . Samos is often introduced into the text where not really appropriate ’ T chiefly because of the historian s interest in its monuments . his interest grew to the point of absolute and unjustifiable prejudice in — favor of Samians generally in matters of history a prejudice most easily to be explained by long association with the people and the of e monuments their achievem nts . 2 b . Certain passages dealing with Samian political factions, y their very method of treatment show - a n intimate knowledge of ' b . internal affairs, best explained y residence in Samos 3 f ’ l . S amos was so much a part o Herodotus menta equipment that it became the natural object of comparison in discussing mis cella n eous s ‘ on ubjects, and many passages in Herodotus not the n surface derived from S amian sources show, evertheless , indirect l atent Samian origin . ! Th e a e a f or s a e i s d a wn f o a ess Th e S a os of m t ri l thi p p r r r m th i , m ” e o o s ese te a t Y a e U ve s in 19 10 f or th e e ee of Do o H r d tu , pr n d l ni r ity d gr ct r o f P oso hil phy . I IN FL U E N C E O D O F M I M M E . U O NU NT S N HERO OT S SA AN . A Direct In uences r om Tr ea sures in th e H r ( . ) fl f e a T emple a nd E l h r sew e e. Herodotus admits that the Samian narrative in Bk . III is out of the course of his main history of the Persian Wars by saying in “ conclusion : I drew out the story of the Samians to a rather lengthy account because they have constructed the three greatest works of ” ’ i III H e of Hellen c genius ( , then disposes these great works , of one the aqueduct , the mole in the harbor, and temple Hera , in brief paragraph . In view of the fact that Herodotus generally put much stress upon l l matters which were nove to his pub ic ( cf . tiresome engineering 1 9 - 8 0 . 7 details in the description of the taking of Babylon , Bk I , , ‘ 1 9 1 E a lo os one inf er th a t , and the entire gypti n g , Bk . II ) , may these ‘ great landmarks of Samos were so familiar to his hearers that he felt that he needed merely to mention them as something of vast importance and the real goal of the Samian narrative . But it was not necessary to dwell upon the works themselves . Herodotus was eager to talk about Samos, doubtless from a personal interest in it , on l Th e and felt that any digression, Samos wou d be justifiable . Athenian public had reason to feel interested in the early exploits of a people who not only gave Athens a scare while attempting to 440 i reduce Samos in , during the time of Per cles , but could boast of of the greatest engineering works the times . so- l l It must be noted, however, that, while the ca led historica material is ostensibly regarded by Herodotus as so much bait to s to . lead his hearers on , it is , nevertheless , omething be apologized for The l l monumenta aspect of Samos is the rea goal , the whole state a n end ea vor to of ment being disguise his real motive, that exploiting /‘ ” - Samos as a wonder work to his world . Passages which show most plainly S amian influences upon the narrative of Herodotus are tho se which include stories about Samian e m of i monuments , esp cially the te ple Hera , w th its inscribed tablets , of of T paintings and works art all kinds . his was a constant source Th e a mos o H erod otus S f . 7 of of n inspiration to him, and it is from his treatment these that o e gains the keynote to his interest in Samos . h i r r T e S lve Cra te . 14 In his history of the Lydian kings in the first book ( chapters , 2 5 50 , Herodotus describes the magnificent gifts sent to the D A temple of elphi by Gyges , Alyattes and Croesus . detailed list of offerings is given and among them were two craters , one gold, the other silver ; the gold one ultimately finding place in the treasury Cla z omenae l l of D at , while the si ver bowl was eft in the temple elphi ’ sun and used in the spring festival to the . Herodotus final state “ : The D sa ment is people of elphi y that it is the work of the Samian , T heodorus , which is believable , since it is the work of no crude ” artisan . No artists are mentioned in connection with all the nota o T ble gifts sent by Cr esus except the Samian , heodorus, and the inference is that Herodotus is impelled to mention many small offer ings because of eagerness to mention the Samian crater , which would seem to indicate that he made his text elastic for the reference to of x of the specimen Samian art , an e ample distinct influence upon f him o Samian relics . h r n r T e B o z e Cra te . 69 - 0 r . 7 o In Bk I , , the sto y is told of how Cr esus proposed an alliance with Sparta which was promptly snapped up by the Lacedaemonians because, according to Herodotus , once upon a time they had been oe f or favored by Cr sus , who had given them outright enough gold a statue, when they had no other thought than to purchase the gold . The La cedmmonia ns of had made a return gift a bronze crater, ornamented with figures of animals and plants on the outside around “ ” “ the brim . But this crater, says Herodotus , never reached Sar Th e i . dis , for causes concerning which there are two trad tions Lacedaemonians sa y that when the crater reached the Samian country Th e sa the Samians sailed out and captured it . Samians y that when the Lacedaemonians were rather tardy about bringing the crater and w o e hen they reached Samos , perceiving that Sardis and Cr esus wer z s captured, they abandoned the crater in Samos , where private citi en ” purchased it and placed it in th e Herssum ( chapter Herod ’ ’ otus concludes n ixa 82: dv K a i o i d 7r0 86uevoc Aéf ou v d rrtx ouevoc 6 s Eu dprrjv ’ 039 d wa tpeflelna a v inro2 a mwv ( chapter Though he has made a Show l E E . o e 8 . C , in , ll of giving a fairness the two traditions about the crater, the last words show a device of the author to give the Samians the benefit of “ : La ced ae the doubt, hence his conjecture It is probable that the monia ns o sa , after selling the crater, upon c ming to Sparta , would y ” that they had been robbed of it by the Samians ( chapter The fact that Herodotus leaves the question in doubt is evidence f o special Samian influence here . Likewise is the manner in which the tale has been spun out until mention of the crater could be ' be made, for one naturally asks why the crater should mentioned at The ss all . answer must be because it was a treasure of the Her um sa w which Herodotus doubtless and which, to his mind, furnished - T embellishment to the story of the Lydian Spartan alliance . here ’ may be a question whether the Spartans ever accepted Croesus pro osa ls f or p reasons given, and it is doubtful whether the crater episode would have been mentioned had not the relic in the Herssum fired ’ Herodotus imagination .

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