Classical Athens: How Does Herodotus Present the Persians?

How Does Herodotus Present the Persians?
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(Date of submission) How Does Herodotus Present the Persians? Originally from the city of Greek in the Persian kingdom, Herodotus became a famous author and historian in his own right. He extensively researched and wrote about the Persian traditions and beliefs, but he focused primarily on their religion. He claimed that the Persians had no images or altars in his writings. However, they offered sacrifices to the moon, the sun, the earth, and other natural elements that they considered sacred until they reached an advanced period when they started to adore Urania. The Persians learned about Urania from the Arabians and Assyrians as a custom. The aim of the paper is to discuss and analyze how Herodotus presents the Persians, their customs, feasts, and other values that influenced their lives. Presentation of Persians by Herodotus According to Herodotus, Persians enjoyed substantial meals and sweetened substances. Therefore, Herodotus presents Persians as people who loved feasting, particularly during birthdays. They drank a lot of wine and spent their time debating weight-loss difficulties with friends in their stupor. When people of comparable social standing met, they kissed on the lips, while those perceived inferior were kissed on the cheeks. In cases when the gap was significant, the subordinates prostrated on the ground. As Herodotus notes, this aspect was exhibited by Persians who were under the Medes’ control. On matters of religion and traditions, Persians regarded conditions like leprosy as taboo in their cities. When a male person dies, he or she is never buried unless animals rip them. After the body is ripped by animals, it is covered in wax before being buried in the ground. The Magi acted as priests in the Persian society, but they were very different compared to other nations such as Egypt. Herodotus also notes that Persians lacked images of gods, shrines, or altars. They strongly believed that the presence of such things was foolishness. Further, Persians believed that gods were not similar to humanity, contrary to the beliefs of Greeks. They would make pilgrimages to mountain peaks to offer sacrifices to Zeus, also known as the “Great God.” Zeus was regarded as the powerful God who represented “the whole circuit of the firmament.” Herodotus also notes that Persians offered “to the sun and moon, to the earth, to fire, to water, and to the winds.” The religious and cultural practices among the Persians were usually passed through the generations. At a later period, as Herodotus notes, Persians started to worship Urania. Urania was a goddess from the Arabians and Assyrians. While worshipping the gods, Persians never raised an altar, never played flutes, were adorned by chaplets and lacked consecrated barley cakes. In this case, there were no altars, so the man who wanted to offer sacrifices brought his sacrifice to an unpolluted ground, and he was allowed to call on the name of the deity at that place. The person sacrificing is allowed to pray for benedictions on himself and to request the well-being of the emperor and the whole Persian population. He then slices the sacrificed animal into pieces, boils th...