Sophist Kings: Persians as Other in Herodotus

Description

Sophist Kings: Persians as Other sets forth a reading of Herodotus’ Histories that highlights the consistency with which the Persians are depicted as sophists and Persian culture is infused with a sophistic ideology. The Persians as the Greek ‘other’ have a crucial role throughout Herodotus’ Histories, but their characterisation is far divorced from historical reality. Instead, from their first appearance at the beginning of the Histories, Herodotus presents the Persians as adept in the argumentation of Greek sophists active in mid-5th century Athens. Moreover, Herodotus’ construct of the Sophist King, in whom political reason serves human ambition, is used to explain the Achaemenid model of kingship whose rule is grounded in a theological knowledge of cosmic order and of divine justice as the political good. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgements Introduction 0.1 Greek and Other 0.2 Summary overview 0.3 Note on abbreviations, dates and translations 1 Herodotus and the Histories 1.1 Herodotus 1.2 Historical narrative of the Histories 1.3 Rhetorical purpose of the Histories 1.4 Argument of the Histories 1.5 Persia as the sophistic Other of Greece 1.6 Rhetorical purpose of representing the Persians as sophistic Other 2 Herodotus and the Sophists 2.1 Sophists and their teachings 2.2 Sophist teachings in Herodotus 2.3 Introducing Persians as sophists 2.4 Conclusion 3 Herodotus and the Persians 3.1 Persian ethnos 3.2 Religion in Persia 3.3 Achaemenid religion: Ahuramazdaism 3.4 Persian kingship and empire 3.5 Achaemenid model of kingship 4 Persians as Other in Herodotus 4.1 Herodotus’ map of the world 4.2 Herodotus’ cultural grid 4.3 Egyptian–Scythian axis: Nomos hieros vs nomos phusikos 4.4 Greek–Persian axis: Nomos basileus vs nomos phuseōs 5 Sophist Kings 5.1 Persosophists in Herodotus 5.2 Archetype of the sophist king 5.3 Median sophist kings 5.4 Persian sophist kings 5.5 Achaemenid sophist kings 5.6 Persosophist Greeks Conclusion Notes Bibliography Expanded Table of Contents Index of Passages – Herodotus’ Histories Index of Persons