Free Essays on Herodotus

Though a Greek historian, Herodotus’ views on the Persians can be considered objective despite the bad blood that existed throughout the many years of Greek and Persian battles. The Greeks and the Persians fiercely fought each other for centuries, and many ancient sources such as Homer’s Iliad and the Trojan War, depict the Persians as the evil wrong doers. Herodotus however carefully analyzes the Persians through documents and oral accounts, and to a great extent gives accounts on them that reflect modern anthropological characteristics. In his book The Histories, Herodotus writes mostly of the wars the Greeks had with the Persians, and in many cases, he looks into the perspective of the Persians’ view of the Greeks. Herodotus states that he does not want to pass judgment on who is to blame and only wants to state the facts from his knowledge of why the Greeks might have been treated unjustly and for the occurrences of the many wars (Herodotus 1.4). As most people know from Homer’s Iliad, the Trojan War occurred when Paris a Persian prince kidnapped Helen, and the Greeks went to Troy to claim her. What Herodotus tells us that the Persians claimed happened is that it was the Greeks who started the unjust acts of kidnapping by taking Medea, the king of Persia’s daughter. To the Persians, kidnapping was not an indirect act of war since they believed â€Å"that no young woman allows herself to be kidnapped if she does not wish to be† (1.4). Therefore the Persians believed that Helen wanted to be with Paris and that the attack on Troy was the first act of aggression that led to the Greeks being the enemies of the Persians. By giving out this information, it is obvious that Herodotus tries to be non-judgmental and tries to give both sides of the story. To the Greeks, the Persians were known as barbarians. If one reviews their customs and religion, he will find that they are indeed very civilized, the very opposite of barbari... Free Essays on Herodotus Free Essays on Herodotus Though a Greek historian, Herodotus’ views on the Persians can be considered objective despite the bad blood that existed throughout the many years of Greek and Persian battles. The Greeks and the Persians fiercely fought each other for centuries, and many ancient sources such as Homer’s Iliad and the Trojan War, depict the Persians as the evil wrong doers. Herodotus however carefully analyzes the Persians through documents and oral accounts, and to a great extent gives accounts on them that reflect modern anthropological characteristics. In his book The Histories, Herodotus writes mostly of the wars the Greeks had with the Persians, and in many cases, he looks into the perspective of the Persians’ view of the Greeks. Herodotus states that he does not want to pass judgment on who is to blame and only wants to state the facts from his knowledge of why the Greeks might have been treated unjustly and for the occurrences of the many wars (Herodotus 1.4). As most people know from Homer’s Iliad, the Trojan War occurred when Paris a Persian prince kidnapped Helen, and the Greeks went to Troy to claim her. What Herodotus tells us that the Persians claimed happened is that it was the Greeks who started the unjust acts of kidnapping by taking Medea, the king of Persia’s daughter. To the Persians, kidnapping was not an indirect act of war since they believed â€Å"that no young woman allows herself to be kidnapped if she does not wish to be† (1.4). Therefore the Persians believed that Helen wanted to be with Paris and that the attack on Troy was the first act of aggression that led to the Greeks being the enemies of the Persians. By giving out this information, it is obvious that Herodotus tries to be non-judgmental and tries to give both sides of the story. To the Greeks, the Persians were known as barbarians. If one reviews their customs and religion, he will find that they are indeed very civilized, the very opposite of barbari...

How to Use In, An or Auf Properly

How to Use In, An or Auf Properly Although German is a straightforward language once you learn the rules, you cant always directly translate every word from English. In fact, the more you study some words, the more confusing they may become. Three German prepositions, in particular, can be tricky for beginners: in, an and auf.   What Is a Preposition? A preposition is a word that is typically paired with a noun (or pronoun, like he or she) that helps you understand that words relationship to another part of the sentence. For example, prepositions can refer to the nouns position in space or time. Like put your feet  under  the table, or go shopping  after  class. But many English prepositions have different meanings. Under can be below, but it can also mean less than. Some prepositions are colloquial or you just have to memorize them, like get down with.   The same goes for German. You can memorize the meanings of the prepositions, but not all will be a direct translation of the English counterpart.   These are all two-way prepositions, meaning the noun/pronoun that follows this  preposition  will be conjugated in the accusative (if it is used to express motion/action, like I walk into the store) or dative (if it is used to express a location or position, like I stand in the street). In English, the preposition does not change the noun/pronoun it precedes.   In Means: in, into, to Examples: Ich stehe in der Straße. (I stand in the street.) Die Frau ist in der Universitt. (The woman is in the university, as in she is physically inside the university building. If you want to say you are enrolled in the university, you say, an der  Universitt, as in at the university. See below.)   An Means: at, to, up next to   Examples: Ich sitze an dem Tisch. (I am sitting at the table.) Die Frau ist  an der  Tankstelle. (The woman is at the gas station, as in she is literally standing up next to the vertical gas pump. It can be helpful to think about a side-by-side, vertical encounter to remember when to use an as in up next to.)   Auf Means: on, on top of Examples: Die Backerei ist auf der Hauptstraße. (The bakery is on the main street.) Die Frau ist  auf  der Bank. (The woman is on the bench, as in she is literally sitting on top of the horizontal bench. A horizontal encounter is often key for auf.)   Other Considerations Some verbs come standard with a preposition. Think about hang out or hang up in English; the preposition is an important component of the verb that actually changes the meaning of it.