Assignment for Wednesday, January 14:

Read: Herodotus, Book 6.31-131 (Penguin pp. 370-408, Battle of Marathon)

To think about: It is often said that Hdt. is more interested in ‘the renown of people’ (Gk, the ‘kleos andron’) than in anything else. What in the Marathon narrative supports this view? This may well tie into your short paper….

‘One hour or two-page paper’: As you read Hdt.’s account of the Battle of Marathon, make a note of a few things you are not told about the battle or events/people surrounding it. What, that is, does Hdt. seem uninterested in, deliberately exclude, decides is ‘not worth remembering’ (that which is sagely ‘exitela’ J)? Write your short paper about one (or more, if you wish) of these, and try to explain why Hdt. should make such omission(s) – and is it justified or not? One way to approach this is to think about what you would include if you had to write an account of the battle.

Looking ahead: For next Wednesday (remember that Monday is a holiday, so no class), I’ll ask you to read the first two chapters in Yates. For those of you who opted not to purchase this, I’ll put a photocopy in the Classics seminar room (Denny 210), to which I presume you all have access: it will be on the ‘reserve carousel’ in there. You may remove it for photocopying purposes, but please return it immediately thereafter.