Material Culture in the Work of Herodotus: Between Memory and Text

Abstract

In his multi-layered and complex work, Herodotus of Halicarnassus mentions a large number of remains of material culture of various kinds. As a rule, certain isolated stories from the past are tied to these materialities, which the father of history fits into his narrative and finds a place and purpose for them in his work as a whole. Given that these materials and the stories related to them appear in different social and cultural contexts, this paper points out their political and ideological implications for the society that preserves and transmits them. However, Herodotus himself was not free from cultural and ideological frameworks and perspectives, particularly evident in his description of other peoples – the Egyptians, Scythians, and Persians – whom he tried to bring closer to his Hellenic audience and their cultural-ideological framework. Consequently, in the second part of the paper, we will point out the sign and role of material culture in the context of Herodotus’ depiction of the Other. The first part of the paper analyzes three examples of materialized memory that relate to the Greek past and are located in the Greek social and cultural context. The first two examples, which refer to votive offerings and parts of the landscape at Delphi, indicate how narratives are created and attached to material objects to convey a certain political message through them. The third example refers to a bronze statue representing a man riding a dolphin to which the story of the singer Arion is related. In connection with that story, it is pointed out that the local community’s positive memory of its ruler has been preserved in its elements. The second part of the paper analyzes how the connection between materiality and memory is presented in Herodotus’ accounts of the Others – the Egyptians and the Scythians.