The Mirror of Herodotus: The Representation of the Other in the Writing of History (Volume 5) (The New Historicism: Studies in Cultural Poetics)

Herodotus's great work is not only an account of the momentous historical conflict between the Greeks and the Persians but also the earliest sustained exploration in the West of the problem of cultural difference. François Hartog asks fundamental questions about how Herodotus represented this difference. How did he and his readers understand the customs and beliefs of those who were not Greek? How did the historian convince his readers that his account of other peoples was reliable? How is it possible to comprehend a way of life radically different from one's own? What are the linguistic, rhetorical, and philosophical means by which Herodotus fashions his text into a mirror of the marginal and unknown? In answering these questions, Hartog transforms our understanding of the "father of history." His Herodotus is less the chronicler of a victorious Greece than a brilliant writer in pursuit of otherness. Part One: The Imaginary Scythians: Space, Power And Nomadism -- Introduction -- The Scythians Of Herodotus: The Scythian Mirror -- 1. Where Is Scythia? -- 2. The Hunter Hunted: Poros And Aporia -- 3. Frontiers And Otherness -- 4. The Body Of The King: Sapce And Power -- 5. Space And The Gods: The 'self-cooking' Ox And The 'drinks' Of Ares -- Part Two: Herodotus, Rhapsode And Surveyor -- 6. A Rhetoric Of Otherness -- 7. The Eye And The Ear -- 8. The Histories As Representation. François Hartog ; Translated By Janet Lloyd. Translation Of: Le Miroir D'hérodote. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Herodotus' great work is not only an account of the momentous historical conflict between the Greeks and the Persians but also the earliest sustained exploration in the West of the problem of cultural difference. This title asks fundamental questions about how Herodotus represented this difference. In the Histories, the Scythians are "others" with a special position: they are, after the Egyptians, those to whom Herodotus devoted the most space, and yet, in contrast to Egypt, their country could offer scarcely any marvels or curiosities worth reporting.