War in Herodotus' The Histories: The Power of Glory

In the thousands of years since human civilization began, there have been few constants that have survived to this day and age. The majority of these constants come from the most basic of human necessities: the needs to eat, drink, procreate, and interact with others. Human culture has - for the most part - been shaped around these biological needs. However, one of the most potent constants in human societies has been the human need for conflict. Dating back to the oldest civilizations, the stories that have survived have been primarily stories of great conflict, as we see in the epics of Homer, the dark tragedies of Aeschylus, and in the first history book ever written: Herodotus' The Histories. The conflicts presented in these texts are almost primarily the great wars of the time, and the ascent and overthrow of the great rulers.

In The Histories, the tales of many generations are told, from the fall of Troy to the battle of Thermopylae. Although Herodotus presents many different themes and stories of the time, the most consistent theme is that of war. The majority of The Histories focuses upon the Greco-Persian war, and the wars that preceded it. Although there is quite a bit of anti-war sentiment presented in the book, and some stories tell of the horror of the wars, much of the text glorifies war and plays into the cultural belief that war is a necessary part of society, and that victories on the battlefield are to be valued. Because of the way that these stories are presented, The Histories should be considered a text that has a pro-war slant, a text that glorifies and justifies the ancient wars it retells.

There are numerous points in the text where it becomes apparent that Herodotus is writing to glorify war - or at least to justify certain wars, specifically in the case of the Greco-Persian war. The first of these is in the first paragraph of the book, as Herodotus introduces himself and puts forth his mission. "Herodotus ... here displays his inquiry, so that human achievements may not become forgotten in time, and great and marvellous deeds - some displayed by Greeks, some by barbarians - may not be without their glory..." (I, 1). From the very first statement, Herodotus places forth a bias (whether he knows it or not). By referring to non-Greeks as "barbarians," Herodotus sets up the Persians as an "other" figure, generating a subjective mentality within his readers' minds. This helps to justify the conflict that will then result between the Greeks and the Persians, and allows the Greeks to be portrayed in a more positive light when they are eventually victorious.

By declaring the events within as "...great and marvellous deeds...," Herodotus once again proves a bias towards the glory of war. The majority of the events within the text are wars; from the wars of the Persian King Croesus and his subsequent defeat (I, 25-92), to Xerxes' campaign against Greece (VII, 4-IX, 122), and others in between, Herodotus' focus is clear. He does not describe these wars in a way that is designed to create anti-war sentiment within his readers, but instead simply describes the events, often in ways that are strikingly similar to a modern-day sports commentator. The purpose of these descriptions is to impress the reader and glorify the actions of the soldiers in these battles. Simply because this text exists as a medium of retelling and emphasizing these wars and victories, and because it does not put forth these events in a negative light, it must be considered at least somewhat pro-war.

There are some powerful anti-war statements in this book, such as Croesus' speech after a failed invasion to Cyrus, the victor of the conflict. "No one is fool enough to choose war instead of peace - in peace sons bury fathers, but in war fathers bury sons" (I, 87). Granted, it is likely that Croesus would not have been so enlightened and anti-war with his words had he succeeded in his military venture. While his words are a powerful statement, and are reflected in a few other places in the text, these anti-war statements are few and far between within the lengthy descriptions of armies and battles. The anti-war statements seem to be self-contradictory; because of the way that Herodotus consciously goes out of his way to impress the readers with feats of war. He does this when he calculates the number of Xerxes' soldiers (VII, 184-186), in describing the battle that this gargantuan army engages in at Thermopylae against the Spartans (VII, 198-239), and in other stories. The Spartans (and other Greeks) in the story are not put forth as victims of Xerxes' invasion, but instead as glorious soldiers that die valiantly in an epic battle.

Eventually, it becomes apparent that Herodotus does privilege war - albeit certain types of war, and certain victors. He does not present the wars in his text as cautionary tales to later societies, but as stories to be praised and remembered. He also sets up the Persian race as a barbarian figure, something other-than-human, justifying the Greeks in their wars against them. This text embodies the status quo of the culture it was written in, a status quo that has changed very little in the centuries since, the status quo that war is not only worth remembering, but worthy of praise and the highest value of honor.