Herodotos the Pathographer: Persian and Hellenic Grief Displays

Abstract

Herodotos records individual and group displays of emotions, especially grief, Greek and Persian, and those of other ethnic groups. These passages describe pathos originating in specific events in ways comparable to Aiskhylos’ earlier account of the aftermath of the battle of Salamis, an “historical” Attic tragedy, The Persians. Herodotos’ “ethnographic” accounts of mourning, private emotional displays of misery and public ritualized lamentation, typically and proto-typically feature oddity from standard Greek norms (e.g., Skythians, Thrakians, Spartans). They also offer opportunities for the author to debunk Hellenic prejudices (e.g., proper treatment of corpses) and mis-readings of various imperialists, especially King Xerxes exulting and grieving. Herodotos describes gestures, leakage (tears, especially), postures, and wordless vocalics that structure silent and verbally articulated affective experiences, emotions, and funerary practices. Such descriptions apply to persons (e.g., Kroisos, Harpagos, Psammenitos, Masistes’ troops) and peoples (e.g., Egyptians, Thrakians, Sybarites, Milesians, Athenians). Loss—suffering, pity, sympathy (subjects not seen in Achaimenid art)--contribute significant depth to Herodotos’ revelation and revaluation of remarkable deeds and other γενόμενα worthy of Hellenic recollection.