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.