Assyrian history of Herodotus : The missing and the extant logos

PRUŠA, Libor. Assyrian history of Herodotus : The missing and the extant logos. Graeco-Latina Brunensia. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2023, vol. 28, No 1, p. 107-127. ISSN 1803-7402. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.5817/GLB2023-1-7.

Basic information

• Original name: Assyrian history of Herodotus : The missing and the extant logos
• Authors: PRUŠA, Libor (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution).
• Edition: Graeco-Latina Brunensia, Brno, Masarykova univerzita, 2023, 1803-7402.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Article in a journal
• Field of Study: 60101 History
• Country of publisher: Czech Republic
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: Archiv GLB
• RIV identification code: RIV/00216224:14210/23:00131586
• Organization unit: Faculty of Arts
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5817/GLB2023-1-7
• Keywords in English: Herodotus; Assyria; Histories; Ctesias; Berossus
• Tags: rivok
• Tags: International impact, Reviewed

Abstract

Herodotus wrote down a very brief account of the history of Assyria in his Histories, but he promised to deliver a complete logos as well. We can find two remarks on this future project that (possibly) never materialized in the end. In the preserved text, there are only several mentions of Assyrian kings, history, and customs, but it seems he planned to expand the narrative further, potentially in a separate piece of work. The result was a mysterious Assyrian logos. In this article, I will explore the possible influence of Herodotus' account on the Greek tradition about this eastern land through either one of these logoi, if, in fact, he had any at all. In the first part, I will examine the sources, whether they refer to his more detailed treatise on Assyria, and what can be said about this work in general. In the second part, I will focus on his extant Assyrian logos, whether any later author (most notably Ctesias and Berossus) could have used his work as a source, and who became the authorities on the history of Assyria, considering the changes in the narratives.

Links

• MUNI/A/1208/2022, interní kód MU: Name: Evropské proměny a konstanty: antické civilizace a jazyky v dalším evropském vývoji

Investor: Masaryk University, European Changes and Stability: Ancient Civilizations and Languages in Later European Transformations