“Herodotus and Egypt.”
Presented by: Professor Peter Hunt, University of Colorado, Boulder, Department of Classics
Book II of Herodotus’ Histories, written in Greek in the 5th century BC, contains 75 pages devoted to Egyptian customs and history. By that time Greek traders and mercenaries had lived in Egypt for centuries and Herodotus claims himself to have visited many of the monuments there. We might expect a wealth of detailed first-hand information from him. His account, however, contains glaring mistakes ranging from the “mane” of the hippopotamus to egregious chronological blunders to invented pharaohs and false generalizations—such as his claim that the Egyptians do everything in the opposite way from the rest of humanity. This lecture will try to explain the oddities of Herodotus’ account and will assess what Herodotus can still contribute to our knowledge of ancient Egypt—particularly Egypt of the Saite and Persian periods.
Peter Hunt is a professor in the Department of Classics at the University of Colorado at Boulder. His research interest is classical Greek history, a field on which he has published two books: Slaves, Warfare, and Ideology in the Greek Historians (Cambridge 1998) and War, Peace, and Alliance in Demosthenes’ Athens (Cambridge 2010). He has taught graduate-level courses on Herodotus and has a layperson’s fascination with ancient Egypt.
DATE: Monday, October 21st, 2013 at 7:00 pm
COST: Free to ESS members; a $2 donation is suggested for non-members
VENUE: Ricketson Auditorium, Denver Museum Nature & Science
Presented by: Professor Peter Hunt, University of Colorado, Boulder, Department of Classics
Book II of Herodotus’ Histories, written in Greek in the 5th century BC, contains 75 pages devoted to Egyptian customs and history. By that time Greek traders and mercenaries had lived in Egypt for centuries and Herodotus claims himself to have visited many of the monuments there. We might expect a wealth of detailed first-hand information from him. His account, however, contains glaring mistakes ranging from the “mane” of the hippopotamus to egregious chronological blunders to invented pharaohs and false generalizations—such as his claim that the Egyptians do everything in the opposite way from the rest of humanity. This lecture will try to explain the oddities of Herodotus’ account and will assess what Herodotus can still contribute to our knowledge of ancient Egypt—particularly Egypt of the Saite and Persian periods.
Peter Hunt is a professor in the Department of Classics at the University of Colorado at Boulder. His research interest is classical Greek history, a field on which he has published two books: Slaves, Warfare, and Ideology in the Greek Historians (Cambridge 1998) and War, Peace, and Alliance in Demosthenes’ Athens (Cambridge 2010). He has taught graduate-level courses on Herodotus and has a layperson’s fascination with ancient Egypt.
DATE: Monday, October 21st, 2013 at 7:00 pm
COST: Free to ESS members; a $2 donation is suggested for non-members
VENUE: Ricketson Auditorium, Denver Museum Nature & Science
posted by Classics Department
