The Herodotus
1. 1. What specific details in Herodotus’s description of Nubian culture, society and geography are consistent with the information provided in Traditions & Encounters? What details are inconsistent or contradictory?
According to Herodotus, the Ethiopians were the handsomest and tallest men that ever lived. Their customs greatly differed with those of other human beings and specifically on how they elected their kings. They chose the tallest and strongest men to rule over them. The spies were informed that the kings lived for 120 years or more and this is because they only ate boiled flesh and milk. For the Ethiopians, silver was the most valuable and scarce metal. They made coffins from crystal whereby they dried the body in some way and covered the whole body with some gypsum and adorned the body with painting until the body resembled a living man. Gypsum was abundant in this area and they hollowed it to create room for the dead body and placed it in a crystal pillar. One was able to view the body through the pillar without any unpleasant odor and all parts of the body were clearly visible. The body was kept in the crystal pillar for a whole year by the next of kin and it was given fruits and also honored with sacrifice continually. When the year elapses the body in the pillar was set up at a place near the town. (Robin, 1998)
2. Do any parts of Herodotus’s account strike you as farfetched? If so, then how might one explain these perceptions or myths?
In one instance Herodotus says that kings lived for more than 120 years and they only ate boiled flesh and milk. In as much as the life expectancy might have been higher, a life expectancy of more than 120 years seems far fetched. Herodotus in saying this might have wanted to portray the powers of such kings and their immortality.
In another case, Herodotus describes the table of the sun as a meadow in the city skirts, where there was boiled flesh from all types of beasts. This meat was stored by magistrates each night and in the day people would come to eat. This seems far fetched because the area is on a desert and there was scarcity of food. In saying this, Herodotus might have wanted to illustrate the wealth of the Nubians.
3. How much of Herodotus’s information was based on his own personal experience? How much was based on other sources and hearsay? Does he distinguish between the two?
In the excerpts from Herodotus’s histories, most of the information is given on account of the experiences by Herodotus himself however in some instances it is clear that he got some information from the spies. He stated that spies were told the kings lived for over 120 years and ate boiled flesh and meat. This suggests that he might have gotten that information from the spies. Evidence of hear say is also clear when he writes that it was said that the Ethiopians were the handsomest and tallest men in the entire world.
4. Based on all of the above, would you consider Herodotus’s account useful as a historical source? Why or why not?
Herodotus’s accounts though they have a lot of exaggerations and hearsay, are a useful historical source; these excerpts have some truth in them, and if one was to carefully analyze them, they give a picture of the aspects of the Nubian’s lives. Such excerpts are very useful as they give first accounts of the actual happenings in that period; they are also useful because they provide the foundation for secondary sources. posse.