Herodotus, Egypt, and the Athenian Expedition

Conference item

Herodotus’ Egypt has fascinated countless readers over many centuries. In part because the Egyptian logos ostensibly ends with the Persian conquest, readers have less often refected on the historical background against which Herodotus wrote it. After the conquest, Egypt was anything but a quiet province of the Achaemenid Empire, and one major revolt took place during Herodotus’ own lifetime. Starting from an overview of Egyptian restlessness under the Persian domination, I will investigate in the present study the extent to which post-conquest Egyptian history, and especially the major revolt that broke out after Xerxes died and saw the participation of troops of the Delian League in large numbers, may have impacted this part of Herodotus’ Histories. Finally, I will present to the reader a somewhat speculative refection on the original conception that underlies the Egyptian logos.

Authors: Luraghi, N

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Franz Steiner Verlag
• Host title: Historiographie und Vergangenheitsvorstellungen in der Antike
• Publication date: 2019-02-28
• Acceptance date: 2018-09-04
• ISBN: 9783515122702
• Language: English