Tiara Badie
@02732463
October 26, 2015
Essay 2 Rough Draft Years ago, when kingdoms still existed and democracy was just beginning to form, there were not many options for recording important events. There were no iPhones, Google, or Google maps to tell people what happened or where it happened. Most information was passed orally or by scribes. Historians such as the Deuteronomistic History (DtrH), Herodotus and Thucydides were around to explain the events around them. All three of these historians are similar and different in the content of their stories and they way they told them. They are similar because they all helped to give accounts of what was said and done during the time period that they are writing about; for DtrH that time period …show more content…
Even though Herodotus tends to use direct speech, he often leaves out parts that he believes to be ill advised or could possible cloud the reader’s judgment on the golden ways of democracy. His rhetorical strategy displays a fine balance between speech and narrative. He commonly alters certain speeches to convey his own reflection of the event, which usually surrounds the events of politics or war. He also often lets his own opinions dictate his writings. Unlike Thucydides who admitted some of the faults with his histories, Herodotus was caught up in that many of his stories did not add up. When describing the Padaioi Indians he says, “It is the practice of all these Indians I have described up till now to have intercourse out in the open just like animals…the seed they ejaculate into their wives is not white like that of the rest of men, but black like their skin…” ([Hrt] 3.101). This is a prime example of something that Herodotus manipulated based on his own opinions. Herodotus’ rhetorical habits allowed him to adapt traditional elements for his own …show more content…
He is more along the line of an actual historian that wants to recount the event or action word for word instead of adding fluff. He is credited with being unique in that most times he is believed to give almost exact renditions of what was said. However, even though Thucydides is dense he is still guilty of interjecting his opinions and views on the ways of politics. When talking of democracy he goes to state that it is one of mob rule by the uneducated. In The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponesian War, Thucydides explains his use of speeches and the purpose that they serve. He admit s that not all of his speeches were heard firsthand by him and that he had a habit of making the speakers say what was in his opinion, “demanded of them by various occasions,” ([Thucyd.] 1.22). Thucydides’ accounts are also less romantic and more detail oriented. He was less concerned with the passion of the event and more so focused on the exact knowledge of what