Historical Sciences Studies

The Image of Achaemenid Emperors in the Writings of Aeschylus and Herodotus: Comparing the Narratives

Ehsan allah Sebtosheikh; Farajollah Ahmadi; Roozbeh Zarrinkoob

Volume 15, Issue 4 , February 2024, , Pages 27-50

https://doi.org/10.22059/jhss.2024.370407.473680

Abstract

This Study depicts the narratives of Aeschylus and Herodotus about the Achaemenid emperors and tries to show how they gave a narrative about the Achaemenid emperors and what sources ... Read More This Study depicts the narratives of Aeschylus and Herodotus about the Achaemenid emperors and tries to show how they gave a narrative about the Achaemenid emperors and what sources they relied on in this regard. Its importance lies in a better understanding of Herodotus’s historiography and its use of Aeschylus’s narration among other sources. The main question and the problem that has been raised is to what sources did Aeschylus and Herodotus use in their narration and what narration they give. The approach and the research Methodology of this study is a thought. This means that it puts the narratives of Aeschylus and Herodotus next to each other to find out how they gave a narrative about the Achaemenid emperors. The thesis is that Aeschylus, who himself witnessed the Persian campaign, while giving a first-hand account, rewrote it based on the model of Greek tragedies, and Herodotus, while largely is influenced by Aeschylus’ account of the Achaemenid emperors and Xerxes’ campaign to Greece, he used other sources in his narration. As a result and data, the narratives of Aeschylus and Herodotus about the Achaemenid emperors and Xerxes’s campaign to Greece show similarities and differences. Based on the model of Greek tragedies, Aeschylus’s narrative tells the story of Xerxes’ campaign as a king whose delusions lead him to do brazen actions that involve an inevitable fate from the gods. Herodotus’ narrative is largely derived from Aeschylus’s narrative. The ups and downs that Herodotus depicts in the lives of the Achaemenid emperors and especially Xerxes and the influence of the intervention of gods and fate in their lives are all reminiscent of the ancient Greek tragedies, here specifically the Persians of Aeschylus. At the same time, Herodotus also uses other sources and gives more details than Aeschylus to show the reasons and agents of this campaign as a historian. Despite this, Aeschylus’s narrative is decades ahead of Herodotus’s narrative and is closer to the time of the event. Also, his narration of the Achaemenid emperors, as narrated by Atossa, Darius and Xerxes, has significant differences from Herodotus’s narration

Tarn’s Alexander and the Dream of a United World

Seyed zein al abedin Majidi; Roozbeh Zarrinkoob

Volume 13, Issue 3 , December 2021, , Pages 105-126

https://doi.org/10.22059/jhss.2021.324053.473408

Abstract

In 1927 a British historian by the name of William Tarn (1869-1957) with the appearance of a biography of Alexander in the sixth volume of The Cambridge Ancient History produced ideal ... Read More

The Legend of Wide Religious Prosecutions during the Reign of Shapūr II

Rouzbeh Zarrinkoob; Jamshid ghahremani

Volume 10, Issue 2 , March 2019, , Pages 79-96

https://doi.org/10.22059/jhss.2019.265898.473034

Abstract

Since some of the Roman emperors launched massive religious prosecutions against Christians, a large number of them entered Iran during the rule of the Parthians. Christians even enjoyed ... Read More

The Localization of Parsua, Parsuaš, Parsamaš and Parsumaš: a recosideration

Roozbeh Zarrinkoob; Kiumars Alizadeh

Volume 9, Issue 1 , June 2017, , Pages 39-58

https://doi.org/10.22059/jhss.2018.227846.472790

Abstract

There exist many discussions about the localization of Parsua/Parsuaš and Parsamaš / Parsumaš in Assyrian, Urartian, Babylonian and Elamite sources. In ... Read More

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Author = Roozbeh Zarrinkoob

The Image of Achaemenid Emperors in the Writings of Aeschylus and Herodotus: Comparing the Narratives

Abstract

Tarn’s Alexander and the Dream of a United World

Abstract

The Legend of Wide Religious Prosecutions during the Reign of Shapūr II

Abstract

The Localization of Parsua, Parsuaš, Parsamaš and Parsumaš: a recosideration

Abstract