CONTEXT: WHO WAS HERODOTUS?
Herodotus was a 5th century B.C.E. historian. He wrote The Histories three hundred years after Homer’s Iliad was written. He is often regarded as the ‘father of history.’ This is because Herodotus was among the first of historians to prefer rational explanations of human events, rather than the mythical or the supernatural. In order to understand the past, Herodotus looked to the actions, character and motivations of men. However, it is important to note that Herodotus often attributed much of his history to the ‘providence’ of the gods, and chose to recreate the information he ascertained with an element of ‘show’ to make it more pleasurable for the reader. This could possibly effect the reliability of the source.
Extract: The histories BY HERODOTUS. BOOK II.118
"Enough, then, of Homer and the Cyprian poems... After the rape of Helen, a great force of Greeks came to the Trojan land on Menelaus' behalf. After disembarking and disposing their forces, they sent messengers to Ilion, one of whom was Menelaus himself. [3] When these were let inside the city walls, they demanded the restitution of Helen and of the property which Alexandrus had stolen from Menelaus and carried off, and they demanded reparation for the wrongs; but the Trojans gave the same testimony then and later, sworn and unsworn: that they did not have Helen or the property claimed, but all of that was in Egypt, and they could not justly make reparation for what Proteus the Egyptian had. [4] But the Greeks, thinking that the Trojans were mocking them, laid siege to the city, until they took it; but there was no Helen there when they breached the wall, but they heard the same account as before; so, crediting the original testimony, they sent Menelaus himself to Proteus."
GROUP WORK TASK:
Group 1: Where does Herodotus believe Helen was kept and why?
Group 2: What are Herodotus’ reasons for the Greeks laying siege to the city of Troy?
Group 3: How does Herodotus’ account of the reasons for the war, differ from that of Homer’s Iliad?
You have 2 minutes to discuss your answer with your group before sharing it with the class!
Group 2: What are Herodotus’ reasons for the Greeks laying siege to the city of Troy?
Group 3: How does Herodotus’ account of the reasons for the war, differ from that of Homer’s Iliad?
You have 2 minutes to discuss your answer with your group before sharing it with the class!