Chapter 5. Five Problems with Loving to Learn Prima facie the love of learning should be the least problematic of any leadership trait. Obviously all leaders need to know things and pay attention to things in order to help their followers, but this is not all that a love of learning in the context of leadership entails. A love of learning can be distracting: fascinating subjects unrelated… Read more
Chapter 6. Three Problems with Wanting To Be Honored The love of being honored is the leadership trait in the ancient Greek world that most resembles high-voltage electricity. As we have seen (pp. 76–77), it is a primary source of Cyrus’ energy and enthusiasm for leadership, but it may also interfere with the wellbeing of the followers. There is no shortage of examples of the tragic consequences of… Read more
Chapter 6. Royal Usurpations in Iranian Literary Traditions I: The Inscription of Narseh at Paikuli The inscription of Narseh at Paikuli recounts the events that led to the accession of Narseh, the youngest son of Šābuhr I and king of Armenia [1] . According to NPi, following the death of the king of kings, Warahrān II [2]… Read more
Chapter 7. Royal Usurpations in Iranian Literary Traditions II: The Evidence of the Šāhnāme Up to this point, we have found strong evidence for the composition of the Sasanian inscriptions within the framework of an oral tradition in (1) the appearance of a high formulaic density in the narrative of Kerdīr’s inscriptions, together with the presence of formulaic parallels in two epigraphic corpora that are more than… Read more
Chapter 8. Preliminary Conclusions In this study we have argued that the murder of King Bardiya and his helper Gaumāta—both of whom we consider to be historical personalities—gave rise to two distinct narratives, each targeting a specific audience. As a means to cover up the murder of Bardiya and Gaumāta, Darius’ royal chancellery cast one account—the one preserved in the Bisotun inscription, as well as in “diplomatic”… Read more
Appendix I. Formulaic Analysis of Kerdīr’s Inscriptions In the present appendix, formulae (or repetitions) that have occurred at least twice, word for word, are underlined; in contrast, formulae that are variations from other encountered word-clusters, and thus represent “varying formulae,” are presented in bold. The present texts merely serve the purposes of formulaic analysis and are not intended to be a critical reproduction of Kerdīr’s inscriptions. … Read more
Appendix II. Thematic Analysis of Kerdīr’s Inscriptions Theme 1: Naming u-m kunēd nām …… nām kerd hēm Theme 2: In the past, in the future pad ān zamān ōy zamānfrāzdar zamān Theme 3: After death parrōn ō widardān rōn ō widardān rōn Theme 4: Throughout the empire pad dar ud šahr ō šahr, gyāg… Read more
Bibliography Sources Classical Authors Ahbel-Rappe, Sara. 2010. Damascius’ Problems and Solutions Concerning First Principles. Oxford. Ambaglio, Delfino. 1980. L’opera storiografica di Ellanico di Lesbo: Introduzione, tra-duzione delle testimonianze e dei frammenti, commento storico. Ricerche di Storiografia Antica 2. Pisa. Arnaud-Lindet, Marie-Pierre. 1990. Orose: Histoires (Contre les Païens), vol. 1: Livres I–III. Collection des universités de France. Read more
Acknowledgments Anthony A. Long, Giovanni R. F. Ferrari, and Mark Griffith supervised my first work on this topic in Berkeley. I am grateful for their continuing support. That 2003 dissertation did not yet discuss Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Plato’s Phaedrus, the biographical genre, or Isocrates’ Philip (whereas it gave significant attention to the Crito and the Euthyphro), so it was a long process of development that has led… Read more
Introduction αἱ δὲ βίον σοφίῃσιν ἐκόσμεον. And some gave life the ornament of their wise arts. Orphic Catabasis, P. Bon. 4, fol. 3r, line 7 This book is a study of the professional, literary, political, and theoretical links between the school of Isocrates and the schools and careers of recognized philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. Read more
