Madness in Context in the Histories of Herodotus
By Abigail Rebecca Dawson
PhD Dissertation, University of Auckland, 2006
Abstract: This thesis is a study of the way Herodotus uses madness in his Histories. It aims to examine the changing nature of madness depending on the context in which Herodotus uses it. I also examine some examples of madness in the works of Homer, the Tragedians and the Hippocratic corpus in order to illuminate the varying examples from the Histories. This required close reading of all works in question in the original Ancient Greek as well as examination of secondary literature on the authors and topics concerned.
Herodotus’ use of madness varies according to the context in which he uses it, so he does not have a coherent view of madness. Madness, as Herodotus employs the concept, is often violent, but not always physically; it may be verbal or may be used of a person who expresses a violent idea. Sometimes it is a divine punishment; sometimes it signals transgression against divine law. He also uses madness as a literary device to highlight themes of the various logoi, and to reflect not only the state of the one called mad, but the one who is using the term. His usage is similar in some ways to each of the works of Homer, the Tragedians and the Hippocratic writers.
In conclusion, madness is a device which Herodotus uses to good effect depending on what effect he wishes to make at the time, in a specific logos.
Introduction: Herodotus’ Histories are the first step in European history towards the writing of historical accounts as we know them. Born around 484 BC in Greek-speaking Halicarnassus, part of the Dorian hexapolis (although Herodotus chose to write in the Ionian dialect), he was later exiled for political reasons and died around 430 BC. In the proem, he calls his highly valuable account of the Persian wars against Greece a ‘presentation of inquiry’ (ἱστορίης ἀπόδεξις). This is the starting point of his work. The account of the wars is not, however, the be-all and end-all of his work, although it comprises a large part of it and provides a strand of unification.
Herodotus’ literary style grew out of an environment where oral presentation of artistic works was the main form of transmitting them to a wider audience. In addition to this, the prevailing literary culture was largely of the storytelling kind, in which the epic poetry of Homer and others was of immeasurable influence2 . So when Herodotus began writing history, he did so under the influence of an oral literary background which did not necessarily deal in factual events (although it was conceived that they might have been based on actual events long past). It is therefore not surprising that Herodotus should arrange his accounts in terms of blocks, or logoi, which had a measure of unity in storyline, and which might then be read out to an audience as self-contained units of work.
Click here to read this thesis from the University of Auckland
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By Abigail Rebecca Dawson
PhD Dissertation, University of Auckland, 2006
Abstract: This thesis is a study of the way Herodotus uses madness in his Histories. It aims to examine the changing nature of madness depending on the context in which Herodotus uses it. I also examine some examples of madness in the works of Homer, the Tragedians and the Hippocratic corpus in order to illuminate the varying examples from the Histories. This required close reading of all works in question in the original Ancient Greek as well as examination of secondary literature on the authors and topics concerned.
Herodotus’ use of madness varies according to the context in which he uses it, so he does not have a coherent view of madness. Madness, as Herodotus employs the concept, is often violent, but not always physically; it may be verbal or may be used of a person who expresses a violent idea. Sometimes it is a divine punishment; sometimes it signals transgression against divine law. He also uses madness as a literary device to highlight themes of the various logoi, and to reflect not only the state of the one called mad, but the one who is using the term. His usage is similar in some ways to each of the works of Homer, the Tragedians and the Hippocratic writers.
In conclusion, madness is a device which Herodotus uses to good effect depending on what effect he wishes to make at the time, in a specific logos.
Introduction: Herodotus’ Histories are the first step in European history towards the writing of historical accounts as we know them. Born around 484 BC in Greek-speaking Halicarnassus, part of the Dorian hexapolis (although Herodotus chose to write in the Ionian dialect), he was later exiled for political reasons and died around 430 BC. In the proem, he calls his highly valuable account of the Persian wars against Greece a ‘presentation of inquiry’ (ἱστορίης ἀπόδεξις). This is the starting point of his work. The account of the wars is not, however, the be-all and end-all of his work, although it comprises a large part of it and provides a strand of unification.
Herodotus’ literary style grew out of an environment where oral presentation of artistic works was the main form of transmitting them to a wider audience. In addition to this, the prevailing literary culture was largely of the storytelling kind, in which the epic poetry of Homer and others was of immeasurable influence2 . So when Herodotus began writing history, he did so under the influence of an oral literary background which did not necessarily deal in factual events (although it was conceived that they might have been based on actual events long past). It is therefore not surprising that Herodotus should arrange his accounts in terms of blocks, or logoi, which had a measure of unity in storyline, and which might then be read out to an audience as self-contained units of work.
Click here to read this thesis from the University of Auckland
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