Herodotus: The Father of History | Croesus, Solon, and Human Happiness (Lecture 10)

Lecture 10: In this lecture, we continue our examination of the story of Croesus, king of Lydia. The lecture summarizes Herodotus’ narration of Croesus’ history, beginning with the misdeeds of his ancestor Gyges and moving through the events of Croesus’ own life.

The lecture pays close attention to Herodotus’ account of the Athenian sage Solon’s visit to Croesus’ court and discusses how Herodotus uses this encounter of Greek and Asian to underline his portrayal of the differences between the two peoples, their worldviews, and their characters, as well as to articulate one of the foremost themes of the Histories, the changeability of human fortune. The lecture then discusses Herodotus’ account of Croesus’ downfall, brought about by his own errors in judgment and encompassing the loss of his son and his kingdom to Cyrus, king of the Persians. The lecture ends by noting this logos’ structural and thematic affinities with Greek tragedy and by recapitulating some of the foremost themes that Herodotus brings out.

Essential Reading:
Herodotus, Book I.6–92.

Supplementary Reading:
Chiasson, “The Herodotean Solon.”
Immerwahr, Form and Thought, pp. 154–161.
Shapiro, “Herodotus and Solon” and “Learning through Suffering.”

Lecture 11: https://www.bitchute.com/video/dSC75x4Uqf3h/