Herodotus to Elucidate Upon Egyptian

¶ … Herodotus to elucidate upon Egyptian culture with respect to the religion they professed and followed. Herodotus was a Greek historian and is entitled as 'the father of history'. Herodotus was the first writer in the course of European history to ever use the word history in the same meaning that is associated with the word today. Born in an ancient Greek city of southwest Asia Minor on the present day Turkey, Halicarnassus there is little knowledge of his personal life reflected in his writings notably Suda.

His classical work was perhaps the first comprehensive attempt to record secular narrative history and also marked the history of Western historical writing. He was the first writer to ever evaluate geographical, archeological and historical matter critically. Though his basic emphasis has been the Greek civilizations and Persian wars, however he also recorded fascinating histories of Egypt, Thrace and Babylon including detailed studies of pyramids and important historical events.

His work is significant and precious not only because of its accuracy but also for its diversity of information preserved in a fascinatingly simple style of writing: Herodotus of Halicarnassus here displays his inquiry, so that human achievements may not be forgotten in time, and great and marvelous deeds -- some displayed by Greeks, come by barbarians (non-Greeks) may not be without their glory" (Herodotus 1.23) Hence he was dedicated to core towards the task of preservation of human glory. His style is essentially simple, lucid and straightforward.

It is rich with literary flair which is in itself an achievement if one considers that it is the first literary prose ever written in Europe. EGYPTIAN CULTURE IN LIGHT OF HERODOTUS'S WORKS Herodotus had strong religious inclinations. The sense of God's presence pervaded and permeated him to the very pore. Therefore he elucidated a lot upon oracles and signs. Therefore his works about Barbarian or Foreign lands mainly attempt to link the gods of barbarians with those of the Greeks.

His second book is full of instances of constant efforts to prove Egyptian origin for many of the Greek divinities. Critically the historians regard this religious inclination as a drawback and inadequacy of Herodotus to clearly portray the happenings of his time. His being Greek also has its repercussions but it must be noted that his defects are actually the defects of his race and time. However unlike most Greeks he is ready to praise something good among the Barbarians which makes him the fairer minded of his fellow Greeks.

Herodotus's writings particularly Histories Book 2, has laid down the foundation of ethnology in Western historical writing; in it Herodotus captures the religious beliefs of the Egyptian civilization prevailing in his time. Herodotus held ritual and belief as an important injunction of religion or conversely put as a prerequisite for any religious belief which is why his recordings lack a detailed over view of the same.

His description of Egyptian religion comprises of elegant account that set off after the initial remarks in 2.35-41, and ends up with the handling of the dead, animals and humans included. He sketches out an entire frame that marks an internal logic and development contradicting those critics who claim Herodotus's religious perspective was inadequate.

Herodotus starts off with a debate on Egyptian religion with a famous passage that ends on the note: ta polla panta empalin toisi alloisi anthropoisi estesanto ethea te kai nomous, which translates to: generally they have set up customs and laws opposite to all other people (2.35).

This opens up another discussion of Egyptian religious customs wherein he fails to describe certain religious aspects with due subtlety and it is often concluded that Herodotus's ethnography lacks refinement but this could be outdone by the argument that Herotodus's scope is so diverse that he is bound to reflect broadly upon the concept of religion. Most notably, he sheds light on the status of women in Egyptian culture while examining purified bulls and calves (2.41).

In the passages that precede page 41, he mentions women on a number of times, but merely to illustrate Egyptian culture and not in the account of religion. However, he described that there was equality in status of men and women in an Egyptian society and both genders were able to interact with Greek men in religious contexts. These contexts are however vague and unspecified in his book.

In fact Herodotus has thrown minimal light on the subject of women however his portrayal of mythical phoenix is, by no means a vague description. Herodotus describes it as sacred and associates it with the sun, indicating the phoenix's special religious status. He offers little critical analysis of the phoenix story, except in way of highlighting that he is quoting the opinion of Heliopolitans rather than his own.

Beyond this he does not pursue with elaborating on the bird or raising its significance or status from other animals he writes about. This now, can be termed as Herodotus's failure to lay a critical reflection on things he quotes however, it can be argued that it is because of the broadness of his scope that he looks over the subtleties. Herodotus is more interested in the fact that phoenix is a part of Egyptian religious belief than the details of its story.

Herodotus's discussions on mummification (2.85-90) also elucidate his emphasis upon rituals in religion. In the beginning the passage leaves an impression to the reader, of wonder as to why Egyptians practice mummification. Later, Herodotus lifts the curtains of mystery and allows the reader to conclude through his analogy with the disposal of dead bulls and cows (2.41). He wrote that Egyptians practice mummification because they are concerned with the treatment of the dead, humans and animals alike.

His description of religion signifies information not merely about Egyptian culture, but also about the ancient concepts of religion in the general sense. He focuses more profoundly on belief, ritual, practice and performance, revealing that they were significant elements of ancient.