HERODOTUS STORY I, HERODOTUS STORY II, HERODOTUS STORY III,
HERODOTUS STORY IV
PART II--ESSAYS
1. Unfortunately, we don't know nearly as much about the
Minoans and Mycenaeans as we would like, and we know even less
about the Dorian invasion and the Dark Ages that followed.
Still, the work of people like Heinrich Schliemann, Sir Arthur
Evans, and Michael Ventris--and the poems of Homer--have given us
enough information to see how the developments of these times
helped lead to later Greek greatness. Comment.
2. The poems of Homer are the greatest legacy of the Dark
Ages to subsequent Greek civilization. In some ways, these books
are the closest thing the Greeks had to a Bible. But Homer's
works are a very strange sort of Bible indeed. Comment.
3. The Spartan political and social system contains many unusual
elements, but the Spartan way of life was well suited for securing
the stability of the Spartan state. Comment.
4. The men who laid the foundations of Athenian greatness in
historic times (Solon, Pisistratos, and Cleisthenes) were, if
anything, greater heroes than Theseus, the legendary founder of
Athens. Comment.
5. The Persian War is one of the great turning points of
history, and a fascinating war as well. Herodotus is right
in thinking it's a story that shouldn't be forgotten. Comment.
6. Herodotus is the first true historian. He is also
one of the greatest. Comment.