The Old and the Restless - The Egyptians and the Scythians in Herodotus' Histories by Robert J. Hagan

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Their adaptability initiates the beginning of a new identity. They are internationalist and
are sophisticated in that way, but not like the Egyptians, whose sophistication comes with
centuries of learning. Pasargadae, the first capital of the Persians, had no pyramids or great
temples, but under the reign of Darius I, the Persians did have Persepolis, a new city notable for
its grand palatial structures and ornate gateways. As a symbol of their new power, it was
formidable, but as a cultural center it could not compare to the great cities of Egypt. Their
international, luxurious character overshadows the culture of men who from ages five till twenty
“study only three things: horsemanship, archery, and honesty” (1.136).
They even go so far as to import the myths of the Greeks. Rather than claiming to have
had integral part in shaping the pantheon of gods as the Egyptians do (2.04), or being subject to
Greek projection of their myths like the Scythians (4.8-10), the Persians assert their own
interpretation on the Greek mythological program. The Histories opens with the Persian
perspective on the ultimate Greek saga, the Trojan War, and they even adopt Greek myths in
order to claim that it was the Phoenicians who began the series of abductions leading to the
events of the Iliad (1.01-05). It is no surprise that the Achaemenids, who throughout the
Histories attempt to impose their rule over Europe, would not stop at military hegemony, but go
on to cultural hegemony as well. Moreover, this importation suggests a lack of heroic traditions
of their own 28 .
The beginning of many betrayals of the Persians’ most cherished aversion to lying begins
with the acceptance of foreign influence by those they have conquered. The Persians are first
exposed to lying in the Histories while Cyrus is on campaign against the Massagetae (1.204-14).
When given the choice of fighting in Massagetan territory and their own, the Persians
28 Munson, R., “Who are Herodotus’ Persians?”, 467, see n.46.