Mycale, in Caria of Asia Minor; and here likewise the Greeks win a signal victory. It has already been observed, that these events are the most remarkable of those tending towards the object of the History, and that they are all contained in the five last Books: this is so true, that those whose inclination and curiosity do not extend beyond the desire of obtaining some knowledge of the manner in which the valour of the West, aided by an inscrutable Providence, succeeded in repelling the countless tribes of the East, generally confine their study of Herodotus to the Books which contain the description of the course of the war; and few historians would probably have carried their researches any further. But Herodotus, whose genius for expatiating eminently qualified him for the investigation of causes, while his natural simplicity of character inclined him to devote his talents to the service of his fellow-creatures, saw that, if he confined his History within such narrow limits, the Greeks would form but an indistinct idea of the difficulties with which their ancestors had to contend. It was necessary to shew them, that the heroes of Marathon, of Thermopylæ, of Salamis, of Platea, of Mycale, had conquered the conquerors of the world: it was therefore indispensable to present to their view the history of the Persians. Hence the history of that extraordinary and highly-civilized people forms the connecting chain throughout the whole of the Nine Books; to the various links of which, Herodotus, with most surprising art, attaches the histories of the other barbarians, the manners and customs of foreign nations, the wonders of distant lands, and even the antiquities and early traditions of the Greeks themselves. This leads us to a contemplation of the more complicated machinery of the First Book. Clio opens, accordingly, with the writer's declaration of his intention to commemorate the actions of the barbarians 46 Lib. ix. 98, 104. and the Greeks, and likewise to record the causes of the hostility between those two races of men". It seems, at first, rather extraordinary, that he should have gone so far back into the annals of time, as to produce the mutual rapes 48 of women committed by the Europeans and the Asiatics, which led, in the end, to the Trojan war 49. But this objection is answered by the Historian himself". It seems, in fact, to have been a principle of the Persian polity, that any insults offered to the countries under the Great King's sceptre, even centuries previous to their being united to his empire, were held as insults to his own person: this principle is illustrated by a curious anecdote in the Ninth Book ", and was indeed the ostensible motive of Darius in undertaking the Scythian campaign "2. Absurd as it may appear, it was unquestionably founded on good political reasoning: for when once a country like Persia, in her glory, is inspired with the spirit of conquest, and therefore has enormously aggrandized her territory, it becomes absolutely necessary that pretexts for distant warfare should be always at hand, in order to occupy those restless characters, who otherwise would, in all probability, busy themselves in fomenting rebellion in their own country. 52 Herodotus, however, evades giving his opinion upon events of so early a date 53; and, choosing a period of time nearer his own day, declares his intention of pointing out the prince whom he knew was the first, in times comparatively modern, to commence hostilities on the Greeks: after which, he will enter upon the course of his History. Deeply convinced that the noblest attribute of History is to instruct mankind by attracting their attention to the mutability of human affairs, he informs us, that he shall commemorate alike the feeble and the powerful states: 47 The Preface to Clio. 48 Lib. i. 1, &c. 49 Lib. i. 5. 50 Τὴν γὰρ Ασίην καὶ τὰ ἐνοικέοντα ἔθνεα βάρβαρα οἰκειοῦνται οἱ Πέρσαι, τὴν δὲ Εὐρώπην καὶ τὸ Ἑλληνικὸν ἥγηνται κεχωρίσθαι. Lib. i. 4. 53 Lib. i. 5. "for those," says he, "which of old were great, most of "them have now become small; while those which in my "time were great had previously been small: convinced, “therefore,” he continues, in a strain of deep moral feeling, "that human greatness is ever variable, I shall com"memorate both alike." Ere therefore we are presented with the records of the victory won by the Greeks over the Persians, we shall have to contemplate a long course of human events, by which we shall be enabled to understand better the real bearings of the question with regard to the importance of the Grecian stand for freedom, and, at the same time, be improved in heart and mind by the numerous examples of the instability of worldly greatness. 55 Croesus, then, was the first who commenced hostilities on the Greeks 54: he it was who subjected the colonies of that nation residing in Asia. But who was this Crœsus? The consideration of this question affords an opportunity of going back to the early ages of the Lydian empire 5 : nor can we blame the Historian for taking advantage of the opportunity, particularly if we consider that the subject must have been fraught with interest to the people for whom he professedly wrote. In order, however, that the object of the History may not be lost sight of, the origin and progress of the kingdom of Lydia are dismissed in a few words, and Croesus is again brought before the reader 5. He is represented as uneasy at the growing power of Cyrus, king of the Persians, who had already subdued the kingdom of the Medes, and was marching from conquest to conquest"; he draws upon himself the arms of the Persian hero: he is taken prisoner, and his country subdued 59. 56 "The history now proceeds to inquire who this Cyrus "was, that overturned the kingdom of Croesus; and in "what manner the Persians came to obtain the supremacy " of Asia 60 " The conquest of Lydia had proved them to be a people of some importance: they had, however, but 60 lately shaken off the yoke of the Medes: the Historian therefore goes back to the early history of the Medes1, of which he gives a sketch down to the destruction of that empire, by the victory which Cyrus won over Astyages. But the Medes themselves had been formerly dependent on the Assyrians, who possessed the supremacy of Upper Asia during five hundred and twenty years; it was therefore natural that Herodotus should give some account of that remarkable people; but had this been done at the place where they first appear in this historic scene, the reader's attention would have been too much diverted from the history of the Persians, which must now be regarded as the main stream, flowing through the whole work, into which all the others are made to fall: add to which, that an excellent opportunity occurs for completing the vast picture in the account of Cyrus's subsequent enterprises 64. 66 Cyrus, having conquered Media, and overthrown Croesus, king of Lydia, left to his generals the task of subduing the Asiatic Greeks"; and marching in person against the Babylonians and their dependent nations, compelled them to submit to his power. Herodotus tarries awhile only on the most important and interesting subjects: hence he does not mention the Bactrii and Sacæ, whom Cyrus did, we know, reduce: and if the Historian expatiates somewhat on the Massagetæ, it is only because the war against that nation was unsuccessful, and led to the death of the founder of the Persian monarchy". Cyrus was succeeded by his son Cambyses". Proud of his power, this latter marched into Egypt. That country was in those days the most interesting in the world; and it was here that the learned among the Greeks suspected that their arts, sciences, and religion, had their rise: it is, therefore, fair to assume that the Greeks must have looked upon Egypt with nearly the same feelings as we do on Greece and Rome: the Greeks, moreover, were now beginning to visit Egypt, from motives of commerce, instruction, and curiosity. It was consequently of the utmost importance to give the Grecians a correct idea of that portion of the world: Herodotus, therefore, consecrates the whole of his Second Book to the history of the kings of Egypt, and an account of the productions and curiosities of that extraordinary region, together with the manners and religion of the inhabitants. This history is traced, in a succinct manner, from the most early period, down to that of the invasion by Cambyses; when it merges into the history of the Persians. After the conquest of Egypt, Cambyses marched against the impostor Smerdis", who had usurped the throne of Persia: his death was caused by an accident. Soon after the decease of Cambyses, the cheat of Smerdis the Magus was discovered "3: he was put to death, and Darius was elected King". This prince subdued once more the Babylonians, who had revolted". These events of the Persian history form the ground-work of Thalia, the Third Book. Prompted by ambition, or more probably by the necessity of employing the restless spirits of his vast dominions, Darius formed the design of enslaving the Scythians". Those tribes were but little known, excepting to their neighbours, and the Grecians settled in the towns on the frontier of Scythia: it is natural, however, to suppose that the Greeks must have been desirous of having some information respecting that curious people, particularly as there were already some Grecian colonies settled in Thrace, and on the European and Asiatic shores of the Euxine Sea. Moreover, the Scythians were in that state of barbarous society, to the accounts of which men of all ages, who enjoy the blessings of civilization, listen with 71 Lib. iii. 64. 72 Lib. iii. 69. 73 Lib. iii. 86. |