Formal Evidence for the Etymology of Greek nóos Various attempts have been made to etymologize Greek nóos, but none of these has carried wide conviction. The word permits a large number of formal reconstructions, and this helps to explain both the number of attempted etymologies and the uncertainty of all of them. The crucial problem is the hiatus, which may be accounted for by the loss… Read more
Introduction [In this on-line version, the page-numbers of the printed version are indicated within braces (“{” and “}”). For example, “{69|70}” indicates where p. 69 of the printed version ends and p. 70 begins. These indications will be useful to readers who need to look up references made elsewhere to the printed version of this book.] Since much of the following study will have to do… Read more
Acknowledgments Two people have had a particularly large influence on this book. Gregory Nagy, with his insight into Greek epic tradition, inspired my efforts from the start, and Amy Sabatini, with her insight into comparative religions, gave focus to my efforts at an early and opportune moment; to both of these friends I am deeply grateful. I am likewise grateful to my former teachers, John Finley, Calvert… Read more
Bibliography Alexiou, M. 2002. After Antiquity. Greek Language, Myth, and Metaphor. Ithaca, NY; London. Aly, W. 1969 [1921]. Volksmärchen, Sage und Novelle bei Herodot und seinen Zeitgenossen. 2nd edition. Göttingen. Asheri, D. 2007 [1988]. Erodoto. Le Storie, I: La Lidia e Persia. Testo e commento a cura di David Asheri, traduzione di Virginio Antelami, Mailand 1988; quoted from:… Read more
Conclusions 1. Structure, Semantics, Validity: the Function of Myth in History From the passages analysed, we have seen that the ‘father of history’ remains much indebted to mythical and ritual paradigms. His structures of thought are shaped by the patterns his contemporaries think with: the sacrileges of his historical characters are the same as the acts of the mythical heroes; their madness works the same way;… Read more
Rite de Passage—The Tradition of Starting Over 1. On Terminology I classify stories that deal with ‘coming of age’ by the three steps defined by Van Gennep 1909 and Turner 1964: separation from society, a phase of transition / liminality, and aggregation, the reintegration into society with a new status. Herodotus’ stories do not deal with actual initiation rites, but they show the same structure. Read more
Tricksters and Structure in Herodotus 1. Tricksters in Herodotus? Herodotus’ Histories are populated with highly intelligent characters often reaching their goals by means of cunning and deceit. In her influential 1987 study, Carolyn Dewald has identified “savants”, the wise advisers nobody listens to, as well as “tricksters”, who know more than others and act in unconventional and manipulative ways. These include Artemisia of Halicarnassus, who sinks… Read more
Madness—The Complexity of Morals in the Light of Myth and Cult So far, we have seen how mythical parallels function as a kind of commentary, marking sacrilege as such. Now we will have a look at a group of sacrilegious acts that are connected with madness. They, too, have parallels with mythical paradigms, but are also connected to a ritual phenomenon: cultic ecstasy—a dimension which makes the… Read more
Sacrilege: Myth as a Moral Paradigm Transgression against the divine is a central issue of the Histories and also of a large part of Greek literature. In asking what sacrilege means for Herodotus, we encounter a fundamental difficulty: he does not use an unambiguous terminology. Most translations tend to simplify, while in the original Greek there is a manifold vocabulary in the field of moral transgression, most… Read more
Introduction 1. Herodotus and Myth[1] In the first book of his Histories, Herodotus describes how a Median cowherd receives a child and a message from King Astyages: κελεύει σε Ἀστυάγης τὸ παιδίον τοῦτο λαβόντα θεῖναι ἐς τὸ ἐρημότατον τῶν ὀρέων, ὅκως ἂν τάχιστα διαφθαρείη. καὶ τάδε τοι ἐκέλευσε εἰπεῖν, ἢν μὴ ἀποκτείνῃς αὐτό, ἀλλὰ τεῳ τρόπῳ περιποιήσῃ, ὀλέθρῳ τῷ κακίστῳ σε διαχρήσεσθαι·… Read more
