In his book The Histories, Herodotus writes mostly of the wars the Greeks had with the Persians, and in many cases, he looks into the perspective of the Persians’ view of the Greeks. Herodotus states that he does not want to pass judgment on who is to blame and only wants to state the facts from his knowledge of why the Greeks might have been treated unjustly and for the occurrences of the many wars (Herodotus 1.4).

As most people know from Homer’s Iliad, the Trojan War occurred when Paris a Persian prince kidnapped Helen, and the Greeks went to Troy to claim her. What Herodotus tells us that the Persians claimed happened is that it was the Greeks who started the unjust acts of kidna

Herodotus also gives the accounts of the great Persian kings Cyrus, Darius and Xerxes. These were the most successful Persian kings and in my opinion, Herodotus seems to show a great respect for their accomplishments and the way in which they came about these accomplishments through their politics and wise decisions. I find that what was most impressive about these kings was their openness to the suggestions of their advisors and even their captives.

Speaking a lie is also considered the most disgraceful thing to do and owing money the next most disgraceful thing. Persians fear being in dept for the reason that “a man who owes money is bound also to tell lies” (1.57). A Persian, even the king is not allowed to sentence a person to death for one offence, a person can only be severely punished if his offences outnumber his services. These customs to Herodotus are the ones he considers to be most admirable (1.57).

Herodotus described in detail the loyalty of the grandfather, Zopyros the Elder, to Darius in putting down the Babylonian rebellion and regaining the capital city of Babylon, heroic deeds that Herodotus concluded by relating the praise and gifts that Darius bestowed upon Zopyros the Elder (Balcer, 33).

pping by taking Medea, the king of Persia’s daughter. To the Persians, kidnapping was not an indirect act of war since they believed “that no young woman allows herself to be kidnapped if she does not wish to be” (1.4). Therefore the Persians believed that Helen wanted to be with Paris and that the attack on Troy was the first act of aggression that led to the Greeks being the enemies of the Persians. By giving out this information, it is obvious that Herodotus tries to be non-judgmental and tries to give both sides of the story.

Some topics in this essay:
Persians Herodotus, Herodotus Persian, According Persians, Greeks Troy, Solon Croesus, Trojan War, Darius Xerxes, Greeks Persians, Kenneth Waters, Despite Xerxes, persians barbarians, greeks persians, iliad trojan war, homer’s iliad, trojan war, iliad trojan, herodotus greek, herodotus respect, obvious herodotus, herodotus describes, social structure, homer’s iliad trojan,