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The Oracles of Herodotus
In the Histories, Herodotus shows how the interpretation of oracles plays just as important a role as the content of the oracle itself. Throughout Book One, oracles play an especially prominent part in the life of Croesus, tyrant of Lydia. Herodotus uses oracles as an instrument to undercut absolute power. This paper will focus on the oracles surrounding the rule of Gyges, Croesus, the importance of Herodotus’ meaning in the word kibdhloV and the oracle in Book Eight concerning the Battle of Salamis which unifies one of the main themes of Herodotus’ Histories, kibdhloV and the oracles. ... But when he became obsessed over the beauty of his wife, he forced Gyges, one of Candaules’ aicmojoroV, to watch his wife while she undressed and be witness that she was the most beautiful woman. ... But Herodotus points out to his reader that the Lydians and their kings did not pay attention (epoieunto) to the rest of the oracle, which was not taken into account “prin dh epetelesqh”(1. ...
Herodotus portrays Croesus as a tyrant exceeding his boundaries. ... His greed is even more evident when he believes the oracles to be in his favor for increasing his kingdom. ... He loses one of his sons in a boar hunt, even after a warning in a dream and finally loses his empire due to his own fault (ewutou thn amartada) and the fate prophesied by Gyges’ oracle.
There are three oracles which concern the rule of Croesus. First, Croesus sends out qeopropoi in order to test the oracles. And two oracles, the one in Delphi and the other in Amphiaraus, prove to be truthful. ... Croesus was fully confident that he could destroy the power of Cyrus when he had interpreted what the oracles had said. He considered both oracles to be the only true ones in the world and therefore their responses must also be true. Where could the fault be for one so careful to seek the truth except in that one’s interpretation of the truth? ...
Herodotus often points out how Croesus did not fully grasp the meaning of the oracle, especially the second one concerning the invasion of Persia. ...
Perhaps the most important sections that show the role of oracles in Herodotus are where Cyrus and Croesus are speaking after Croesus has been saved from death on the flaming pyre. ... He acknowledges his own fault (amartada) in his misinterpretation of Apollo’s oracles. ...
The centrality of oracles to the life of Croesus and his fate illustrates one of the reasons why Herodotus features oracles so prominently in his Histories. ... The hubristic confidence with which he marches out against Cyrus is undercut by his false interpretation of the oracles. It is Croesus’ responses to the oracles, his belief, overconfidence, and ensuing actions which bring his reign to an end.
Approximate Word count = 2288
Approximate Pages = 9.2
(250 words per page double spaced)
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