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Herodotus and Samos

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2013

B. M. Mitchell
Affiliation:
St Anne's CollegeOxford

Extract

The purpose of this paper is to re-examine Herodotus' Samian narrative and to attempt to analyse the nature of its sources. In the light of this analysis I shall try to explain some of the peculiarities of the accounts of the reign of Polykrates, the career of Maiandrios and the part played by the Samians in the battles of Lade and Mykale. It will be argued that, in view of his sources, he could neither have over-emphasised the wealth and power of Polykrates nor transferred facts belonging to his predecessor to Polykrates himself, and that, consequently, we should adopt a longer chronology for Polykrates than some recent discussions have suggested and follow Herodotus' chronological implications rather than Thucydides' synchronism in book i 13.6 of the reign of Polykrates with that of Cambyses of Persia (530–522 B.C.). Herodotus' narratives of Lade and Mykale become more comprehensible if they are examined in relation to his sources.

There can be no doubt that Herodotus' Samian material was obtained at first hand on a visit or visits to Samos which lasted for a considerable time. His knowledge of Samian proper names, references to the work of Samian artists and offerings in the Heraion, his disproportionately long account in Book iii of Samian internal politics and his generally favourable attitude to the Samians all point to this conclusion.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies 1975

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