Histos .

,:qq8, :-
Cop,right :qq8 1homas Harrison
HERODO1LS CONCEF1ION OI IOREIGN
LANGLAGES
*



Introduction
In onc of thc most famous passagcs in his Histories, Hcroootus has thc Athc-
nians givc thc rcasons vh, thc, voulo ncvcr bctra, Grcccc ,8.:..,: first
ano forcmost, thc imagcs ano tcmplcs of thc goos, burnt ano rcquiring
vcngcancc, ano thcn thc Grcck thing, bcing of thc samc blooo ano thc
samc languagc, having common shrincs ano sacrificcs ano thc samc va, of
lifc.
:
\ith racc or blooo, ano vith rcligious cult, languagc appcars as onc of
thc chicf octcrminants of Grcck iocntit,. 1his imprcssion is confirmco in
Hcroootus accounts of forcign pcoplcs: languagc isvith rcligious customs,
orcss, hairst,lcs, scxual habitsonc of thc kc, itcms on Hcroootus chccklist
of similaritics ano oiffcrcnccs vith forcign pcoplcs.
.
1hat languagc vas an
important clcmcnt of vhat, to a Grcck, it mcant to bc a Grcck, shoulo not
pcrhaps bc thought surprising. As is vcll knovn, thc Grccks callco non-
Grccks , a tcrm usuall, takcn to rcfcr pcjorativcl, to thc babblc of

*
1his papcr has bccn oclivcrco in a numbcr of oiffcrcnt vcrsions at St. Anorcvs,
Ncvcastlc, ano at thc :qq; Classical Association AGM. I shoulo likc to cxprcss m, thanks
to all thosc vho took part in thc subscqucnt oiscussions, ano cspcciall, to Robcrt Iovlcr,
Alan Griffiths, Robcrt Farkcr, Anna Morpurgo Davics ano Stcphanic \cst for thcir cx-
trcmcl, valuablc commcnts on vrittcn orafts, to Hubcrt Fctcrsmann for kinol, scnoing
mc offprints of his publications, to Aorian Gratvick for his cxpcrt aovicc on a point of
octail, ano to Davio Colclough ano Lucinoa Flatt for thc rcpcatco hospitalit, vhich al-
lovco mc to unocrtakc thc bulk of thc rcscarch. All rcfcrcnccs arc, unlcss spccifico, to
Hcroootus.
:
Or culturc: Eoith Hall, Inventing the Barbarian ,Oxforo, :q8q, :6. Scc also on this pas-
sagc ]. M. Hall, Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity ,Cambriogc, :qq;, -, arguing against an
csscntialist ocfinition of Grcckncss on Hcroootus part. ]. M. Hall insists also that lan-
guagc ano oialcct shoulo bc sccn as inoicia rathcr than as critcria of cthnicit, ,c.g., p.
:;;,. 1hc bcst moocrn oiscussion of Grcck nationalit, is I. \. \albank, 1hc problcm
of Grcck nationalit,, Phoenix ,:q:, :-6o, rcprintco in his Selected Papers ,Cambriogc,
:q8, :-:q.
.
Scc thc list of rcfcrcnccs to forcign languagcs that makc up Appcnoix :. Comparc
thc tablcs of topics in Hcroootus cthnographic scctions prcparco b, ]. L. M,rcs, Herodo-
tus, the Father of History ,Oxforo, :q, ;, ano b, G. Lachcnauo, Mythologies, Religion et Phi-
losophie de lHistoire dans Hrodote ,Faris, :q;8, :.. Both tablcs cmphasisc thc consistcnc, of
Hcroootus critcria for inclusion, ncithcr fcaturcs languagc.
. Thomas Harrison
forcign spccch.

Nor shoulo it bc thought surprising of an, pcoplc. Comparc

this ocfinition from an Arabic-English oictionar, of thc thrcc lcttcr root ae-
ja-ma: spcaking incorrcct Arabic, oumb, spccchlcss, barbarian, non-Arab,
forcigncr, alicn, Fcrsian. Folish fricnos inform mc that thc, invariabl, fino
thcmsclvcs scizco b, uncontrollablc laughtcr on hcaring spokcn Czcch:
Czcch allcgcol, sounos likc Folish spokcn b, a fivc-,car-olo chilo, or vhilc
cating potatocs.

Hcroootus himsclf ascribcs a vcr, Grcck-sounoing linguis-

tic snobbcr, to his barbarians. 1hc Eg,ptians call all vho arc not of thc
samc languagc ,, barbarians ,..:8.,.

,Frcsumabl, hcrc vc arc

to unocrstano that thc, callco thcm thc Eg,ptian for barbarians.
6
, Hcrooo-
tus Fcrsians also hao iocas of languagc vhich rcflcctco baol, on thc Grccks:
pcoplc of thc samc languagc as onc anothcr shoulo not, Maroonius sa,s,
makc var on onc anothcr but makc pcacc through hcralos ,;.q..,. 1his is,
of coursc, vhat thc, oo, at lcast vcll ano for long cnough to ocfcat thc Fcr-
sians. 1hcrc is pcrhaps also an implication in Maroonius rcmark that thosc
of oiffcrcnt languagcs arc a fit objcct of aggrcssion.
;

In othcr rcspccts, hovcvcr, Hcroootus conccption of forcign lan-
guagcsor thc Grcck conccption of forcign languagcs implicit in thc Histo-
ries, for thc oistinction bctvccn thc tvo vill occasionall, bc vcr, grc,is
vcr, much morc surprising, morc complcx ano morc contraoictor, than, at
first sight, it might appcar. Hcroootus vas not, of coursc, a profcssional phi-
lologist: vc havc no rcason or right to cxpcct a consistcnt or a rationalizco
thcor, of thc naturc of languagc implicit in his Histories, lct alonc cxplicitl,
prcscntco, just as vc cannot takc for grantco thc cxistcncc of an, singlc
Grcck vicv of languagc of vhich hc is thc rcprcscntativc. \hat hc givcs us
is a substantial boo, of matcrial, scattcrco in a vioc varict, of contcxts, sug-
gcstivc of assumptions of thc naturc of languagc vhich arc vcr, oiffcrcnt

Scc E. Hall, op. cit. ,n. :, . 1hc linguistic associations of thc tcrm arc rc-
flcctco most strongl, ,in thc Classical pcrioo, at Ar. Av. :qq-.oo, Fl. Menex. ..a, Fl. Ep. 8
c. 1hc ioca that thc tcrm vas onomatopocic is aovancco b, Strabo, :....8.

Ano Folish corrcsponoingl, sounos snobbish to Czcch cars. Scc, hovcvcr, E. Hall,
op. cit. ,n. :, -, for cxamplcs of culturcs vhcrc languagc is not so privilcgco as a critc-
rion of cthnic or national iocntit,. A Grcck parallcl for thc Arabic ae-ja-ma is thc tcrm
solccism, allcgcol, ocrivco from thc incorrcct Attic of thc pcoplc of Soli in Cilicia: scc
Strabo, :....8, D.L. :.: ,cf. thc tcrm usco of thc Sauromatac, .::;,.

Hcroootus obscrvation appcars to havc a basis in fact: cf. thc inscription from Abu-
Simbcl ,ML ;a., in vhich Grcck soloicrs of Fsammctichus arc ocscribco as alloglosos,
for Eg,ptian attituocs to forcign languagcs morc broaol,, scc S. I. Donaooni, Gli
Egiziani c lc linguc ocgli altri, VO ,:q8o, :-:, rcprintco in his Cultura dell Antico Egitto
,Romc, :q86, :q-.o6.
6
Scc Lcgrano ao loc., II.:;q n. .
;
Cf. Fl. Resp. ;oc-;:c.
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages

from our ovn. 1hc purposc of this papcr is to tr, to tcasc out thc assump-
tions unocrl,ing this matcrial. I vill conccntratc on four main arcas: his
knovlcogc of forcign languagcs, his prcscntation of forcign languagcs ,ano
thc ocgrcc of avarcncss of languagc oiffcrcncc cviocnt in his narrativc,, thc
Grcck conccptualisation of forcign languagcs, ano finall, thc imaginco rcla-
tionship bctvccn Grcck ano forcign languagcs.


. Herodotus Knowledge of Foreign Languages
Hov much oocs Hcroootus knov of an, forcign languagc? Hov s,stcmatic
is his intcrcst in forcign languagcs?
It is probablc that Hcroootus coulo not rcao or spcak an, languagc
othcr than Grcck. \c might havc cxpcctco a Halicarnassian to havc bccn
ablc to unocrstano Carian. Hcroootus oocs tcll a stor, of hov thc promantis
of thc oraclc of Apollo Ftoos, vhcn consultco b, thc Europian M,s on bc-
half of Maroonius, spokc in a barbarian languagc ,8.:..,: at first, thosc
thrcc Grcck-spcakcrs vho hao bccn ocputco to takc notcs vcrc at a loss at
this marvcl, but thcn M,s snatchco thc vax tablct from onc of thcir hanos
ano bcgan to vritc, for hc unocrstooo that thc oraclc vas in Carian.
8
Elsc-
vhcrc Hcroootus introouccs thc qucstion of vhcthcr thc Carian languagc
ocrivcs from thc Caunian or vice versa, but cannot scttlc it ,:.:;.,. A glancc at
thc rangc of rcmarks maoc b, Hcroootus on othcr forcign languagcs shovs,
hovcvcr, that thcrc is nothing hcrc to suggcst a spccial knovlcogc or cvcn a
spccial intcrcst in Carian.
q
Nor can vc mcrcl, takc for grantco from Hc-
roootus Carian backgrouno that hc vas ablc to unocrstano thc Carian lan-
guagc.
:o


8
Scc L. Robcrt, Lc Caricn M,s ct loraclc ou Ftoon ,Hcroootc, VIII, :,, Hellenica 8
,:qo, .-8. Robcrt authoritativcl, oismisscs thc iocas that thc oraclcs vcrc oclivcrco in
Carian as a rulc or that thc stor, of M,s is cviocncc of thc Carian origins of thc cult. Hc
is, hovcvcr, cxccssivcl, ooubtful on thc qucstion of vhcthcr thc promantis spokc Carian
cvcn on this onc cxccptional occasion, bclicving rathcr ,pp..q-o, that M,s rcao vhat hc
vas looking for into an incomprchcnsiblc babbling: scc hcrc Gcorgcs Daux, M,s au
Ftion ,Hcroootc, VIII, :,, Hommages W. Donna ,Bruxcllcs, :q;, :;-6..
q
Scc Appcnoix :.
:o
Cf. H. Dicls, Dic Anfangc ocr Fhilologic bci ocn Gricchcn, Neue Jahrbuch fr Philolo-
gie . ,:q:o, :-. ,at p.:,, Robcrt, op. cit. ,n. 8, 8: Au Vc sicclc, oans lcs villcs caricnncs,
il nc ocvait , avoir pcrsonnc, si hcllcnisc ft-il, qui nc st toujours lc caricn. Carian oc-
crccs issuco in Grcck oo not impl, gcncral bilingualism as supposco b, D. ]. Moslc,,
Grccks, Barbarians, Languagc ano Contact, Ancient Society . ,:q;:, . Contrast thc cxcm-
plaril, cautious approach of S. Hornblovcr, Mausolus ,Oxforo, :q8., .; ano n. :6, :-
.
Thomas Harrison
In thc casc of othcr languagcs, hc shovs himsclf ignorant b, his intcrcst.
Iamousl, hc asscrts that all Fcrsian namcs cno in thc lcttcr sigma,
::
so rcvcal-
ing that hc kncv all his Fcrsian through its Grcck forms ,:.:q,
:.
ano also
ignoring his ovn cviocncc of thc namcs of Fcrsian vomcn such as Atossa or
Fhaco,mc. As Mc,cr commcntco on this passagc, Mit Rccht bcvcrkt cr,
oass oic Fcrscr sclbst oavon nichts vusstcn, oic Entocckung zcigt uns, oass
Hcrooot kcin \ort pcrsisch kanntc.
:
Hcroootus sccms to havc mistakcn all
pictographic scripts for Eg,ptian, so that thc oiscovcr, of various Hittitc ano
othcr ncar-Eastcrn monumcnts convincco him that hc hao founo traccs of
thc campaign of Scsostris, a scmi-m,thical Eg,ptian king, in Asia Minor,
Fhocnicia, ano cvcn 1hracc.
:
Hc also claims to havc sccn, ano to havc bccn
ablc casil, to rcao, cxamplcs of Caomcian lcttcrs inscribco in thc tcmplc of
Apollo Ismcnias in 1hcbcs ,.q-6:,, thcsc inscriptions, in immaculatc Grcck
vcrsc, hc bclicvco to havc bccn inscribco b, contcmporarics of Ocoipus ano
his fathcr Laius.
:

Hcroootus mistakcs ma, somctimcs bc amusing, but his ignorancc is
ncithcr unusual nor surprising. 1hcmistoclcs vas a rarc cxamplc of a Grcck
vho coulo spcak a forcign languagc, hc lcarnt Fcrsian vcll cnough, Flutarch
tcll us, in a ,car, to bc ablc to convcrsc flucntl, vith Xcrxcs ano incur thc
jcalous, of thc Fcrsian nobilit, b, his intimac, vith thc king ,Them. .q.,.
:6


::
Or san as thc Dorians, unlikc thc Ionians, call it: for thc significancc of this cthnic
oistinction, scc ]. M. Hall, op. cit. ,n. :, :.-.
:.
Ior Hcroootus knovlcogc of forcign languagcs, scc E. Mc,cr, Forschungen zur Alten
Geschichte ,Hallc, :8q., :q.-, H. Dicls, op. cit. ,n. :o, : ff., R. Schmitt, 1hc Mcoo-
Fcrsian namcs of Hcroootus in thc light of thc ncv cviocncc from Fcrscpolis, AAntHung
. ,:q;6, .- at p. ,rcprintco in ]. Harmatta ,co., Studies in the Sources on the History of
pre-Islamic Central Asia ,Buoapcst, :q;q, .q-q,, S. \cst, Hcroootus cpigraphical intcr-
csts, CQ ,:q8, .;8-o. S. Manoclls h,pothcsis, 1hc languagc, castcrn sourccs, ano
litcrar, posturc of Hcroootus, AncW .: ,:qqo, :o-8, that Hcroootus kncv Aramaic
founocrs simpl, on thc fact that Hcroootus novhcrc rcvcals his knovlcogc of Aramaic as
hc is happ, to rcvcal his ignorancc of othcr languagcs. H. Immcrvahr, Form and Thought
in Herodotus ,Clcvclano, :q66, :86 ano n. :::, rcmarks that Hcroootus statcmcnt on Fcr-
sian namcs is s,mbolic of thc cxtcrnal magnificcncc, as vcll as thc unit, of thc Fcrsians.
Is this cquall, truc, hovcvcr, of his obscrvation on Grcck fcstivals ,:.:8..,?
:
Mc,cr, op. cit. ,n. :., :q. Scc, hovcvcr, I. Gcrshcvitch, 1hc Olo Fcrsian Lisp, in
G. Gnoli ano A. Fanaino ,cos., Proceedings of the First European Conference on Iranian Studies
,Romc, :qqo, I.::-, for a rathcr claboratc altcrnativc cxplanation of Hcroootus mis-
takc as thc rcsult of thc manncr of transcription of Fcrsian namcs b, Elamitc scribcs.
:
S. \cst, Scsostris Stclac ,Hcroootus ..:o.-:o6,, Historia : ,:qq., ::;-.o.
:
S. \cst, op. cit. ,n. :., csp. .qo-.
:6
Cf. 1huc. :.:8.:, Corn. Ncpos Them. :o, D.S. ::.;, Val. Max. 8.; cxt. :. Ior a
rathcr lcss tolcrant attituoc to forcign languagcs on 1hcmistoclcs part, scc Flut. Them.
6. ,on vhich scc bclov, scct. ,. Lcss rcliabl,, Alcibiaocs is saio to havc imitatco
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages

1his vigncttc sccms to shov 1hcmistoclcs languagc skills as ,ct anothcr rc-
flcction of his spccial intclligcncc, thc objcct rathcr of avc than imitation.
:;

Evcn in thc contcxt of Alcxanocrs conqucst of Fcrsia, vc hcar that Fcuccs-
tas vas thc onl, Maccoonian to lcarn Fcrsian ,Arr. Anab. 6.o.,.
:8
1huc,-
oiocs shovs no grcatcr a ocgrcc of scnsitivit, to forcign languagcs than Hc-
roootus: hc ocscribcs vhat must havc bccn a lcttcr in Aramaic vith thc
catch-all tcrm ,.o..,.
:q
Ior thc most part inocco thc
Grccks sccm to havc thought ,likc thc British tooa,?, that thc burocn of rc-
sponsibilit, la, on forcigncrs to unocrstano thcm.
.o
1hc castc of intcrprctcrs
in Eg,pt through vhom thc Grccks ano Eg,ptians maoc thcmsclvcs unocr-
stooo vcrc Eg,ptian chilorcn brought up ano coucatco b, thc Grccks, not
thc othcr va, arouno ,..:6.,.
.:
As this cxamplc shovs, vhcn thc Grccks

Fausanias in his mcoism, ano aooptco Fcrsian orcss ano Fcrsian spccch, Athcnacus :.,
c, ano F,thagoras is saio to havc lcarnt Eg,ptian aftcr a lcttcr of introouction from
Fol,cratcs to Amasis, D.L. 8..
:;
Dubuisson, b, contrast, Rcmarqucs sur lc vocabulairc grcc oc lacculturation,
RBPh 6o ,:q8., -., sccs 1hcmistoclcs lcarning of Fcrsian as prcscntco as a purcl, prac-
tical unocrtaking, ocvoio of an, intcrcst in Fcrsian culturc, Alcibiaocs aoaptation to oif-
fcrcnt customs is sccn as a pcrvcrsion. 1hat Hcroootus at lcast cnvisagco complctc cul-
tural assimilation as possiblc is suggcstco b, thc stor, of Miltiaocs son, 6.:..
:8
1hough scc Arr. Anab. .6.6 for thc diglssos Laomcoon.
:q
Scc A. Momigliano, Alien Wisdom ,Cambriogc, :q;, q, C. N,lanocr, Assyria
Grammmata: rcmarks on thc .:st Lcttcr of 1hcmistoclcs, Opuscula Atheniensia 8 ,:q68, ::q-
6, \cst, op. cit. ,n. :, ::q ano n. :. N,lanocr ingcniousl, ocmonstratcs that 1hcmisto-
clcs .:st lcttcr contains cviocncc of knovlcogc in Grcccc of thc invcntion of Olo Fcrsian
script. M.-I. Baslcz, Ltranger dans la Grce Antique ,Faris, :q8, :86, assumcs that thc lan-
guagc lcarnt b, 1hcmistoclcs vas also Aramaic. Ior 1huc,oiocs knovlcogc of things
Fcrsian, scc also R. Schmitt, Achaimcnioischcs bci 1huk,oiocs in H. Koch ano D. N.
Mackcnzic ,cos., Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte der Achmenidenzeit und ihr Fortleben ,Bcrlin, :q8,
6q-86.
.o
Momigliano, op. cit. ,n. :q, ;-8, :8-:q. Ior thc Grcck attituoc to forcign languagcs,
scc in gcncral M. Lcjcunc, La Curiositc linguistiquc oans lAntiquitc Classiquc, in Con-
frences de lInstitut de Linguistique de lUniversit de Paris 8 ,:qo-8, -6:, V. Rotolo, La
communicazionc linguistica fra alloglotti ncll antichita classica, in Studi classici in onore di
Q. Cataudella vol. : ,Catania, :q;., q-:, ano a numbcr of ovcrlapping cssa,s b, ].
\crncr, Kcnntnis uno Bcvcrtung frcmocr Sprachcn bci ocn antikcn Gricchcn, Phi-
lologus : ,:q8q, :6q-;6, Nichtgricchischc Sprachcn im Bcvusstscin ocr antikcn
Gricchcn, in F. Hanocl ano \. Mcio ,cos., Festschrift R. Muth ,Innsbruck, :q8, 8-q,
Zur Ircmosprachcnproblcmatik in ocr gricchisch-romischcn Antikc, in C.\. Mullcr, K.
Sicr ano ]. \crncr ,cos., Zum Umgang mit fremden Sprachen in der griechisch-rmischen Antike,
Falingcncsia 6 ,Stuttgart, :qq.,.
.:
Is it significant that thc oraclc of Ammon aoorcsscs Alcxanocr in Grcck ,Rotolo, op.
cit. ,n. .o, q6-; ano n. q on Flut. Alex. .;, vhilc Grcck oraclcs in gcncral ,cf. thc stor, of
M,s, 8.:.., spcak onl, in Grcck? Grcck oraclcs vcrc, of coursc, consultco b, non-
6 Thomas Harrison
cnvisagco thc proccss of lcarning a forcign languagc, thc, oio so as somc-
thing unocrtakcn b, chilorcn rathcr than aoults.
..
Onl, in thc Roman pc-
rioo, as a function pcrhaps of thc Romans strongcr cthos of assimilating
forcign culturcs,
.
oo vc scc an, signfor cxamplc, vith a markcol, morc
complimcntar, vicv of 1hcmistoclcs from Cornclius Ncposthat compc-
tcncc in a languagc othcr than oncs ovn vas consiocrco aomirablc.
.
Evcn
thcn it is haro not to vonocr hov grcat a grasp thcsc authors rcall, hao of
thc practicalitics of multilingualism to imaginc it possiblc for Mithrioatcs or
Clcopatra to havc spokcn up to tvcnt, fivc languagcs ,or hov Ncpos coulo
havc imaginco it possiblc that 1hcmistoclcs spokc Fcrsian bcttcr than thc
Fcrsians,might Mithrioatcs ano Clcopatras knovlcogc of forcign lan-
guagcs havc bccn thc function of thcir status as thc oangcrous cncmics of
Romc?
.

A oistrust of forcign languagcs is also rcflcctco in a numbcr of parablcs
of thc oangcrs, inocco thc ultimatc impossibilit,, of cultural intcgration. So
vc havc thc stor, of thc Sc,thian king Sc,lcs, introoucco b, Hcroootus as
an illustration of thc Sc,thian hatrco of forcign customs ,.;6.:,. Sc,lcs, hav-
ing lcarnt thc Grcck languagc ano lcttcrs,.;8.:,
.6
from his Istrian mothcr,
bccamc morc ano morc cnvclopco into Grcck culturc until, on thc cvc of his
initiation into thc m,stcrics of Dion,sus, his housc vas struck b, a thunocr-
bolt from thc goo, his pcoplc, as a rcsult of his initiation, sct up his brothcr
in his placc ano killco him ,.;8-8o,. 1hc Mcoian king K,axarcs offcrs somc
Sc,thian suppliants thc opportunit, to coucatc a group of chilorcn in thc

Grccks ,c.g. Crocsus in Book I,, but thcrc arc not sufficicnt grounos to spcculatc thc cxis-
tcncc of a full, pol,glot clcrg, ,as oocs M.-I. Baslcz, op. cit. ,n. :q, 6o,. Crocsus ano thc
H,pcrborcans arc scarccl, cvcr,oa, barbarians, ano Crocsus at an, ratc vas assistco in
his consultation of Dclphi b, thc Athcnian Alcmcon, 6.:.... Sophoclcs ocscription of
thc oak of Dooona as , Trach. ::68, cannot bc takcn as cviocncc that oraclcs
at Dooona vcrc givcn in a rangc of voiccs ,cf. Hot ..-;,.
..
Cf. :.;., .;8.:, HHAphr. ::-::6, Fl. Prot. .c, Dissoi Logoi DK qo B 6, :.. 1hc
Sc,thians ano Amazons oo lcarn to unocrstano cach othcr as grovn-ups, .:::-::;, but it
is intcrcstingl, onl, thc Amazon vomcn vho arc ablc to lcarn thc malc Sc,thians lan-
guagc, .::.:, ano cvcn thcn thc, onl, grasp it impcrfcctl,, .::;.
.
Scc M. Dubuissons ocscription, op. cit. ,n. :;, :, of Romc as la citc hctcrogcnc ct
assimilatricc par csscncc, lc crcusct oc lItalic puis ou monoc. Morc gcncrall,, scc \. G.
Runciman, Doomco to Extinction: thc polis as an cvolutionar, ocao-cno, in O. Murra,
ano S. Fricc ,cos., The Greek City ,Oxforo, :qqo, ;-6;, 1. ]. Corncll, The Beginnings of
Rome ,Lonoon, :qq,, chs. -6.
.
1hcmistoclcs: Ncpos, Them. :o.
.
Clcopatra: Flut. Ant. .;.-. Mithrioatcs: Flin, NH ;.88, ..6;, Aul. Gcll. NA :;.:;,
Val. Max. 8.; cxt. :6. Contrast thc morc moocst, ano morc plausiblc, linguistic accom-
plishmcnt of Ennius, Aul. Gcll. NA :;.:;, or of F. Licinius Crassus, Val. Max. 8.;.6.
.6
1hc tvo arc almost univcrsall, sccn as scparatc stagcs in thc lcarning of a languagc.
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages ;

Sc,thian languagc ano in archcr, ,:.;.,: aftcr bcing harshl, trcatco b,
K,axarcs onc oa,, for rcturning cmpt,-hanoco from a hunt, thc, havc thcir
rcvcngc b, killing onc of thc bo,s in thcir chargc ano fccoing him to thc
king ,:.;.,. Most illuminating pcrhaps is thc stor, of thc origin of thc tcrm
Lcmnian occos to ocscribc outragcousl, blooo, actions ,6.:8,. 1hc Athc-
nian vivcs kionappco b, thc Lcmnians at thc fcstival of Artcmis at Brauron
taught thcir chilorcn thc Attic languagc ano thc manncrs ,, of thc
Athcnians. As a rcsult thc, soon oominatco thc purc-brco Fclasgian chil-
orcn of Lcmnos. 1hc Fclasgians askco thcmsclvcs vhat thcsc Athcnian chil-
orcn voulo achicvc vhcn thc, vcrc mcn, ano so killco thcm ano thcir
mothcrs. 1hc Attic languagc ano a charactcristic Attic frccoom of spirit go
hano-in-hano hcrc.
.;
But anothcr moral shouts out morc clcarl, from all
thcsc storics: that cach shoulo kccp to his ovn.
Hcroootus oocs, noncthclcss, introoucc a numbcr of forcign voros
,largcl, tcrms for cxotic, untranslatcablc, traoc itcms, into his Histories.
.8
Ivan
Linforth applauoco Hcroootus for bcing so sparing in his usc of forcign
voros, hc complains, b, comparison, of moocrn travcl-books somctimcs
rcnocrco ncarl, unintclligiblc b, forcign voros.
.q
\hcthcr or not hc uscs
thcm oftcn or sparingl, is a oifficult, sincc largcl, subjcctivc, qucstion: vc
cannot knov hov man, forcign voros hc hao at his oisposal. \c ma, pcr-
haps juogcthough it is again a subjcctivc qucstionthat Hcroootus im-
parts his knovlcogc of forcign voros vith a ccrtain rclish, as if thc, vcrc, in
his mino, prizco souvcnirs of his cnquirics ,hovcvcr thosc cnquirics vcrc
carrico out,. Rathcr morc concrctcl,, vc can comparc his knovlcogc of for-
cign voros vith that of othcr authors.
If vc takc thc list of loan voros from thc Ncar East compilco b, 1ho-
mas Braun, Hcroootus cmcrgcs as incluoing in his Histories all but onc of thc
archaic ncar-castcrn loan voros,
o
ano a substantial proportion, fivc out of

.;
Ior Lcmnian occos, scc also E. Hec. 886-; ano A. Cho. 6:-8 vith Garvic ao loc. Cf.
also thc linguistic rcsistancc of thc kionappco vivcs of thc first Milcsian vivcs, :.:6, ano
thc uncann, parallcl prcscrvco b, thc carl, ninth-ccntur, chroniclcr Ncnnius in his His-
toria Brittonum ,tr. ]. Morris, ch. .; of thc Armorican British vho ocstro,co thc vcstcrn
parts of Gaul to thc grouno, ano oio not lcavc alivc thosc vho piss against thc vall. 1hc,
marrico thcir vivcs ano oaughtcrs ano cut out thcir tongucs, lcst thcir ocsccnoants
shoulo lcarn thcir mothcrs tonguc. 1hat is vh, vc call thcm in our languagc Lctc-
vicion, that is, half-oumb, bccausc thcir spccch is muoolco.
.8
Scc Appcnoix .. Cf. Immcrvahrs obscrvation, op. cit. ,n. :., .: n. ::8, that Hc-
roootus main linguistic intcrcst vas in oiffcrcnccs of vocabular,.
.q
I. M. Linforth, Grcck goos ano forcign goos in Hcroootus, UCPClPh q ,:q.6, :-.
,at p. ::,.
o
Scc Brauns list, 1hc Grccks in thc Ncar East, CAH III
.
pt., :-: ,at pp. .-6,, scc
also for an cxccllcnt oiscussion of thc backgrouno of contacts unocrl,ing thc loan of
8 Thomas Harrison
cightccn, of thosc voros Braun classcs as classical loan voros. Of coursc,
rcfcrcnccs to forcign voros in cxtant Grcck litcraturc arc harol, a rcliablc
guioc to gcncral Grcck usagc, vc ccrtainl, cannot arguc from thc silcncc of
othcr sourccs that Hcroootus vas thc first to oiscovcr a forcign voro. 1hc
comparison of Brauns list vith Hcroootus, hovcvcr, onl, strcngthcns thc
imprcssion oravn from thc oiscrcpanc, bctvccn his knovlcogc of archaic
ano of classical loan voros that Hcroootus knovlcogc of forcign voros is
largcl, or cxclusivcl, sccono-hano, ano that it is oravn from Grcck sourccs.
Of thc fivc classical loan voros from Brauns list, for cxamplc, ,vrit-
ing tablct,, ,a finc tcxtilc,
:
, ,lincn,, ,camcl, ano
,cinnamon,, onl, clcarl, appcars first in thc Histories.
1hc othcr four tcrms all appcar in carlicr authors, Acsch,lus or Finoar, or
in onc casc in Hcroootus contcmporar, Sophoclcs.
.
1hosc classical loan
voros from Brauns list that Hcroootus oocs not incluoc in his Histories
largcl, appcar in latcr sourccs, so pcrhaps suggcsting that Hcroootus covcr-
agc of forcign voros currcnt in Grcck vocabular, vas prctt, gooo, but thc,
also appcar in a vioc varict, of sourccsorators, philosophcrs ano pla,-
vrights as vcll as, lcss surprisingl,, in Xcnophonconfirming thc imprcs-
sion of thc lack of an, particular profcssional cxpcrtisc in forcign voros.

In short, it sccms that, although Hcroootus ma, havc bccn aocpt at gathcr-
ing togcthcr thc forcign voros for oricntal cxotica vhich vcrc familiar in

voros, \. Burkcrt, The Orientalizing Revolution ,Cambriogc Mass., :qq., -o, ano for ao-
oitional loan voros, c.g., A. G. McGrcao,, Eg,ptian voros in thc Grcck vocabular,,
Glotta 6 ,:q68, .;-, B. Hcmmcroingcr, Dc la Mcconnaissancc oc quclqucs ct,molo-
gics Grccqucs, Glotta 8 ,:q;o, o-66, ano R. Schmitt, Mcconnaissancc altiranischcn
Sprachgutcs im Gricchischcn, Glotta q ,:q;:, q-::o, csp. q;-:oo. No list of loan voros
can bc finall, authoritativc: I usc Brauns mcrcl, as an cxamplc.
:
Frooucco from filamcnts spun b, a mollusc. Hcroootus onl, incluocs thc aojcctivc
bussinos, :..oo, ..86.6, ..q., ;.:8:...
.
: Fi. fr. .h . ,Machlcr,, H. Batr. . ,or ,: S. fr. ;. Raot, A.
Pers. :.. : A. fr. :. : A. Suppl. .8. 1hc voro ,.:.6.., 8.q8..,
usco to ocscribc thc Fcrsian postal scrvicc ,for thc ct,molog, of vhich scc Hcm-
mcroingcr, op. cit. ,n. o, :, is forcshaoovco b, , A. Ag. .8.. 1hc tcrms
, o staocs, ..6, 6...., ano ,thc bcncfactors of thc king, 8.8.,
for vhich tcrms scc ]. \icschofcr, Dic Ircunoc uno \ohltatcr ocs Grosskonigs,
Studia Iranica q ,:q8o, ;-.:, arc parallclco rcspcctivcl, at S. fr. .o Raot ano at S. frs. :8,
6 Raot.

Is. 8.., Antiph. :.:.6 KA ,, plcogc,, Xcn. Anab. :..6, S. fr. :oq Raot
,,, Orph. Lith. .6;, 6: Abcl, Fl. Phaed. ::oo ,, jaspcr,, Ar. fr. .. KA, Antiph.
.:6. KA ,, cooking pot,, Ar. Eq. :.q6, Pl. 8o6 ,, brcao bin, cf. , RAL
.o ,:q6, ff., no. :o,, Anth. Pal. .:.. ,, hcnna,, 1hphr. HP q.;.., Anth. Pal.
.:. ,, naro,, S. fr. 8q Raot ,, harp,, Arist. Pol. ::b: ,, harp,,
Hcrmipp. q: KA, Ar. Lys. ;o ,, moth,, 1hphr. HP q.:.., q.;.. ,, galbanum,.
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages q

culturco Grcck circlcs, hc vas in no scnsc a pionccr in thc invcstigation of
forcign languagcs. Inocco it is ooubtful if thcrc vcrc an, such pionccrs.
1hough thcrc ma, havc bccn a grcatcr intcrcst shovn in oialcctical oiffcr-
cnccs vithin thc Grcck languagc, thcrc is no sign, arguabl, until Hcs,chius,
of an, s,stcmatic inquir, into forcign voros.

Hov rcprcscntativc is Hcroootus of thc gcncral ocgrcc of knovlcogc of
or intcrcst in forcign languagcs among thc Grccks? Surcl,, givcn thc ocgrcc
of contact bctvccn thc Grcck ano barbarian vorlos in practicc,

thcrc
must also havc bccn a grcatcr ocgrcc of linguistic contact as vcll. Still, hov-
cvcr, thc point stanos that, vhilst Hcroootus ano othcr authors usco a smat-
tcring of forcign tcrms to injcct spicc ano colour into thcir tcxts, littlc status
sccms to havc bccn attachco to thc morc s,stcmatic knovlcogc of forcign
languagcs. 1hat Hcroootus, of mixco Carian ano Grcck backgrouno ano a
man ,lcaving asioc thc qucstion of thc cxtcnt of his actual travcls, at very least
vith a profcssco intcrcst in forcign culturcs ano an apparcnt oclight in rc-
vcaling his knovlcogc of forcign languagcs, shoulo bc no morc knovlcogc-
ablc than hc is is stark tcstamcnt to this.


. Herodotus presentation of foreign languages
Hcroootus is also gcncrall, not scnsitivc to thc qucstion of thc languagc in
vhich his non-Grccks spcak.
6
1hcrc is probabl, onl, onc clcar instancc ,if
,ou cxcluoc an oraclc that is spokcn in Carian on thc grounos that it is prc-

Cf. Lcjcunc, op. cit. ,n. .o, 6, spcaking of lcxicons as vcll as of historians ano gcog-
raphcrs: il sagit toujours oc mcnucs curiositcs oc collcctionncurs, oinoications isolccs,
fournics au hasaro oc la ocscription ocs vctcmcnts, ocs armcs, ocs habitations, ocs moocs
oc vic, ocs coutumcs, ocs lois, ocs cro,anccs chcz lcs populations barbarcs: lcs mots vicn-
ncnt sinscrcr oans cc pittorcsquc cthnographiquc, oont lantiquitc ctait frianoc. Ior oif-
fcrcnccs bctvccn oialccts, scc OCD

s.v. glossa, glossar,, ano thc argumcnt of K. Lattc,

Glossographica, Philologus 8o ,:q., :6-;, that Flato ma, havc hao acccss to a collcc-
tion of lcxical corrcsponocnccs. Contrast ].M. Hall, op. cit. ,n. :, :;.

Ior contacts bctvccn Grcccc ano thc Ncar-East, scc Braun, op. cit. ,n. o, ano n. :
bclov for Grcck-Fcrsian contacts, scc also nov M. L. \cst, The East Face of Helicon ,Ox-
foro, :qq;, 6o6-. on thc o,namics of intcrnational transmission, commcnting ,p. 6o;,
that thcrc must havc bccn far morc vho lcarnco this or anothcr oricntal tonguc in unrc-
coroco circumstanccs. Ior contacts bctvccn Grcccc ano Eg,pt, scc M. M. Austin, Greece
and Egypt in the Archaic Age, PCPhS Supplcmcnt . ,Cambriogc, :q;o,, 1. Braun, 1hc
Grccks in Eg,pt, CAH III
.
., .-6.
6
As Anna Morpurgo Davics commcnts in thc hanoout to a lccturc Grccks ano Bar-
barians: hov can a grcat culturc bc monolingual?, first oclivcrco as a \cbstcr lccturc at
Stanforo in April :q88, in historical narrativc, thc ncccssar, cxistcncc of intcrprctcrs is
oftcn forgottcn.
:o Thomas Harrison
sumabl, bclicvco to bc supcrnatural
;
, of a Grcck spcaking a forcign lan-
guagc in thc Histories: Histiacus, thc originator of thc Ionian Rcvolt, ano for
a long timc bcforchano a courticr of Darius, is cxplicitl, statco to havc
shoutco out to a Fcrsian soloicr vho vas chasing aftcr him in thc Fcrsian
languagc , , that hc vas Histiacus thc Milcsian
,6..q..,. 1his stor, is matchco b, a singlc instancc of a Fcrsian spcaking
Grcck. At thc 1hcban banquct throvn b, Attaginus in honour of Mar-
oonius ano thc Fcrsians bcforc Flataca, a Fcrsian vas scatco ncxt to a Grcck
on cvcr, couch. 1hcrsanocr, a man of Orchomcnus, hao a couch-matc vho
spokc Grcck , , q.:6.., ano vho gavc him a vcrbal
mcmorial of thcir mcal togcthcr: thc information that of all thosc scatco bc-
forc thcm, ano of thc arm, cncampco b, thc rivcr outsioc, in a short timc
thc ovcrvhclming majorit, voulo bc ocao. At thc samc timc as hc saio thcsc
things hc crico. 1o ask vhcthcr thc othcr Grccks ano Fcrsians vcrc having
cquall, mcaningful convcrsations, or to gcncralizc on thc basis of this stor,
that thc Fcrsians coulo mix vith othcr pcoplcs vithout thc provision of in-
tcrprctcrs
8
is surcl, to prcss this anccootc furthcr than it allovs. A Grcck-
spcaking Fcrsian ,vith thc linguistic status of thc rcmaining Fcrsians lcft
convcnicntl, vaguc, might simpl, havc sccmco prcfcrablc to Hcroootus to
h,pothcsising a vholc rcgimcnt of intcrprctcrs.
q

On othcr occasions vc simpl, cannot takc for grantco in vhat languagc
Hcroootus cnvisagcs convcrsations as taking placc. Onc othcr possiblc in-
stancc of Grccks vho spcak Fcrsian comcs from thc stor, of a Spartan cm-
bass, to C,rus ,:.:.:,. 1hc Spartans varn C,rus that hc must not mcoolc
vith thc Grcck citics of Asia Minor, or hc vill havc thcm to ansvcr to.
C,rus thcn turnco to thc Grccks prcscnt ano cnquirco of thcm vho vcrc
thcsc Spartans ano hov man, vcrc thc, that thc, shoulo comc ano pro-
nouncc to him in this fashion. 1his is onc of a numbcr of storics in Hcrooo-
tus ano clscvhcrc of Fcrsian kings asking vhcrc on carth is Athcns or
Sparta, thc tcnocnc, of thc storics is to rcinforcc thc status of thc Grcck cit-
ics as thc pluck, unocroogs, thc bravc Davios in thc strugglc against thc

;
Rotolo, op. cit. ,n. .o, q8, counts Aphrooitcs spccch at HHAphr. ::-6 as thc first
instancc of bilingualism. 1hc Dclphic oraclc also managcs to spcak onc voro of Lib,an
,.:.,. Ior forcign languagcs as an analog, for mantic posscssion, scc bclov, scct. III.
8
As Moslc,, op. cit. ,n. :o, . Manocll, op. cit. ,n. :., :o;, posits a gcncral rulc that
vhcn thcrc is no inoication in thc tcxt that hc usco an intcrprctcr as an intcrmcoiar,,
thcrc is no justification for assuming that hc usco onc. Onl, vhcrc hc spccificall, tclls thc
rcaocr that hc nccoco an intcrprctcr, arc vc justifico in assuming that thc implico narra-
tor oio not knov thc languagc in qucstion
q
Such problcms, vhcthcr practical or historiographical, arc avoioco b, thc oiffcrcnt
scating arrangcmcnts at Alcxanocrs Opis banquct, Arr. Anab. ;.::.8.
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages ::

Fcrsian Goliath.
o
1hc octail of thc Grccks prcscnt at Darius court is quitc
inciocntal. Nov, of coursc, vc knov that thcrc vcrc Grccks at Darius
court,
:
ano vc might gucss that thc, coulo spcak a spattcring at lcast of Fcr-
sian. In gcncral, it is rcasonablc to supposc also that thcrc vas a far grcatcr
ocgrcc of contact bctvccn Grcccc ano Fcrsia, ano b, cxtcnsion of linguistic
contact, than appcars to bc thc casc at first sight. But vc cannot safcl, prc-
sumc that Hcroootus cnvisagco thc convcrsation in Fcrsian, or inocco that
hc cvcr thought to think about it.
Somctimcs Hcroootus makcs cxplicit thc prcscncc of intcrprctcrs, for
cxamplc ouring C,rus intcrvicv of Crocsus on thc p,rc ,:.86.6,, or in thc
contcxt of Darius ocmonstration that thc Callatian Inoians voulo not burn
thcir parcnts for an, sum of monc,, vhcrcas thc Grccks voulo not ,as thc
Callatian Inoians oo, cat thcir parcnts ,.8.-,, Camb,scs commanoccrs
somc fish-catcrs to intcrprct vith thc Ethiopians ,.:q.:,, Darius talks
through an intcrprctcr to thc Samian S,loson ,.:o.,, Hcroootus rcfcrs to
his ovn intcrprctcr on his ,allcgco, travcls in Eg,pt ,..:6.6,, hc also rcfcrs to
thc ncco for scvcn intcrprctcrs to accompan, Sc,thians on visits to thc Ar-
gippaci ,..,.
.
Hovcvcr, on othcr occasions, for cxamplc thc carlicr con-
vcrsation bctvccn S,loson ano Darius ,.:q,, or in vrittcn corrcsponocncc
bctvccn pcoplc of oiffcrcnt nationalitics, for cxamplc thc cxtcnoco corrc-
sponocncc of thc Samian Fol,cratcs ano thc Eg,ptian king Amasis ,.o-,,
Hcroootus oocs not appcar to bothcr himsclfan, morc than his moocl,
Homcrvith thc qucstion of thc languagc spokcn. 1hough vc ma, vonocr
in somc instanccs vhcthcr thc prcscncc of intcrprctcrs constitutcs a markcr
of thc cspcciall, alicn naturc of thc oialoguc at issucso, Hcroootus mcn-
tion of an intcrprctcr ouring Darius scminar on comparativc funcrar,
practiccs comcs onl, aftcr thc introouction of thc Callatian Inoians

thcrc

o
Scc 1. Harrison, Acsch,lus, Atossa ano Athcns in E. Dabrova ,co., Ancient Iran and
the Mediterranean World ,Krakov, forthcoming,.
:
Ior contacts bctvccn Grcccc ano Fcrsia, scc D. M. Lcvis, Sparta and Persia ,Lciocn,
:q;;, ano his Fcrsians in Hcroootus in M. H. ]amcson ,co., The Greek Historians. Papers
presented to A.E. Raubitschck ,Falo Alto, :q8, :o:-:;, scc also nov M. C. Millcr, Athens and
Persia in the Fifth Century ,Cambriogc, :qq;,, csp. chs. -. Ior viocsprcao cpigraphic cvi-
ocncc of Iranians in thc Acgcan ,not just Asia Minor,, scc M.-I. Baslcz, Frcscncc ct
1raoitions Iranicnncs oans lcs Citcs oc lEgcc REA 8; ,:q8, :;-. Ior aristocratic con-
tacts bctvccn thc Fcrsian ano Grcck vorlos, scc also thc ingcnious rcconstruction of L.
M. \hitb,, Ion of Chios ano thc margins of thc Dclian Lcaguc, in E. Dabrova, op. cit.
,n. :,, ano nov L. Mitchcll, Greeks Bearing Gifts ,Cambriogc, :qq;,, ch. 6.
.
Cf. Moslc,s intcrprctation of this passagc, op. cit. ,n. :o, .: thc, took vith thcm
scvcn intcrprctcrs, cach of vhom spokc scvcn oiffcrcnt languagcs.

Both this suggcstion ano thc phrasc I ovc to Stcphanic \cst: thc samc highlighting
of thc alicn clcmcnt might bc sccn, shc suggcsts, in thc contrast bctvccn Solons intcr-
vicv vith Crocsus ,vhcrc no intcrprctcr is mcntionco, ano Crocsus vith C,rus.
:. Thomas Harrison
is b, no mcans alva,s an, apparcnt rh,mc or rcason to thc prcscncc of ab-
scncc of intcrprctcrs. \c cannot thcn assumc on thc basis of storics such as
Solons visit to thc court of Crocsusan,va, chronologicall, impossiblc,
ano thc lack of an, mcntion of intcrprctcrs thcrc, that L,oians vcrc ablc
to unocrstano Grcck.

Again Hcroootus prcscntation of forcign languagcs is not out of kccping
vith that of man, Grcck vritcrs. 1hough thc Grcck tragcoians oio somc-
timcs tr, to convc, barbarian spccch through cacophon,, othcr acoustic
cffccts, ano thc usc of scattcrco itcms of forcign vocabular,

ano of cpic vo-

cabular,, in gcncral thc, follov thc convcntion that barbarians spcak
Grcckthough attcntion is at thc samc timc oravn rcpcatcol, to thcir bar-
barous spccch,
6
ano though spcaking Grcck can bc takcn as proof of bcing
a Grcck.
;
1hc Grcck comcoians appcar to havc bccn rathcr morc intcr-
cstco in languagc oiffcrcncc, if onl, bccausc thc, sav thc comic opportuni-
tics of forcign ,incluoing rcgional Grcck, acccnts.
8
1hcir imprcssions of for-

Moslc,, op. cit. ,n. :o, . Ior Grcck intcrprctcrs, scc csp. Moslc,, op. cit. ,n. :o,, B.
Rochcttc, Grccs ct Latins facc aux langucs ctrangcrcs, RBPh ; ,:qq, -:6, scc also thc
commcnts on thc prcscncc of intcrprctcrs in Hcroootus of M. L. \cst, op. cit. ,n. ,
6o8-q ,1hc passagcs ma, not bc historicall, rcliablc, but at lcast thc, bcar vitncss to Hc-
roootus assumptions ano cxpcctations,.

E. Hall, op. cit. ,n. :, :;, for forcign languagcs in tragco,, scc Hall :;-.:, ;6-q, ::;-
:.:, :;;-8:. Ior thc charactcrisation of thc Fcrsians in A. Pers., scc also C. Morcnilla-
1alcns, Dic Charaktcrisicrung ocr Auslanocr ourch lautlichc Ausorucksmittcl in ocn
Persern ocs Aisch,los sovic ocn Acharnern uno Vgeln ocs Aristophancs, IF q ,:q8q, :8-;6.
Ior Fcrsian namcs in Acsch,lus, scc R. Schmitt, Die Iranier-Namen bei Aischylos (Iranica
Graeca Vetustiora I) ,\icn, :q;8,. F. D. Arnott, Public and Performance in the Greek Theatre
,Lonoon, :q8q, :, comparcs thc colouring of thc languagc of Acsch,lus Persians vith
thc Gcrman officcr in an Amcrican- or British-maoc var film spcaking acccntco English
vith a fcv Gcrman phrascs throvn in.
6
c.g. A. Suppl. ::;-:q. In thc samc va,, though Orcstcs ano F,laocs in Acsch,lus
Choephoroi arc saio to aoopt Fhocian acccnts ,6o-,, thc, continuc to spcak in Attic trimc-
tcrs that shov no sign of an, phonctic imitation: E. Hall, op. cit. ,n. :, ::8, A. Davics,
1hc Grcck notion of oialcct, Verbum :o ,:q8;, ;-.8 at p. :. ,though cf. F.1. Stcvcns,
Colloquial cxprcssions in Acsch,lus ano Sophoclcs, CQ q ,:q, q-:o at p. q6,. As
Davics points out, that |Orcstcs] thcn proccocs to spcak in bcautiul Attic trimctrcs oocs
not altcr thc import of thc scntcncc as cviocncc of oialcct svitching in cvcr,oa, spccch.
;
Fhiloctctcs, S. Phil. ..-, nccos to hcar Ncoptolcmus spcak bcforc knoving that hc
is Grcck ,but cf. E. Hel. 8-,.
8
In gcncral scc: S. Hallivcll, 1hc sounos of thc voicc in Olo Comco, in E. M. Craik
,co., Owls to Athens ,Oxforo, :qqo, 6q-;q, C. Brixhc, La languc oc lctrangcr non-Grcc
chcz Aristophanc in R. Lonis ,co., Ltranger dans le Monde Grec ,Nanc,, :q88, ::-8, R.
Schmitt, Fcrscr uno Fcrsischcs in ocr altcn Attischcn Komooic, Acta Iranica . ,:q8,
q-;.. 1hcrc is a vast scconoar, litcraturc on inoivioual passagcs in Aristophancs. Ior
Ar. Ach. q:-:.., csp. :oo, scc O. Hanscn in Icstschrift Max Vasmcr ,\icsbaocn, :q6,
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages :

cign spccch ma, somctimcs contain authcntic clcmcnts of forcign languagcs,
thc, offcr somc guioc at lcast to thc rcgional oiffcrcnccs in pronunciation
vithin Grcccc.
q

It is onl, pcrhaps vith Xcnophons Anabasis, that vc scc a morc rcalistic
apprcciation of languagc oiffcrcncc. 1huc,oiocs is conscious of thc practical
opportunitics of thc oiffcrcnccs in Grcck oialccts,
o
but his portra,al of for-
cign languagcsfor cxamplc of thc Eur,tanians vho, so it is saio, spcak a
languagc vhich is almost unintclligiblc ano cat thcir mcat rav ,
, .q.,is csscntiall, caricaturco. In thc Anabasis,
hovcvcr, vc scc namco intcrprctcrs ,:...:;, :.8.:.,
:
ano a makcshift intcr-
prctcr ,..,, noticcabl, also thc languagc spokcn b, an intcrprctcr is on
onc occasion spccifico ,..,.
.
,B, contrast, 1huc,oiocs tcrms thc Carian
Gaulitcs ,8.8.., though it ma, makc morc scnsc to supposc him
trilingual.

, Sccncs likc that of thc slavc pcltast vho comcs forvaro from thc
ranks to intcrprct vith his ovn pcoplc, thc Macronians ,.8.,, of thc cup-
bcarcr vho to thc amuscmcnt of all prcscnt unocrstanos Grcck ,;...,, of
thc intcrprctcr vho rccogniscs 1issaphcrncs brothcr ,...,, or of thc intcr-
vicv through an intcrprctcr vith somc Fcrsian vomcn at a spring ,..q-:o,
sccm to rcflcct thc rcal attcmpt of Xcnophon to gct b, in forcign lanos.
1hc convcntion that barbarians spcak Grcck has collapsco unocr thc vcight
of his cxpcricncc.
Hcroootus intcrprctcrs, b, contrast, sccm to bc applico to thc narrativc
likc a linguistic panacca. Ccrtainl, Hcroootus oocs not cntcrtain thc possi-
bilit, of Sc,thian intcrprctcrs vho can spcak all scvcn languagcs rcquirco
for a journc, to thc Argippaci, but hc appcars to imaginc that thc Grccks
prcscnt at Darius intcrvicv of thc Callatian Inoians vcrc ablc to unocr-
stano thc Inoians b, mcans of a singlc Callatian-Inoian-to-Grcck intcr-
prctcrsurcl, a rarc commooit,.

1his passagc must rcflcct thc fact that

:;;-8o, K. ]. Dovcr, Maia ,:q6, ;-8, \. Branocnstcin WZKSO (Wiener Zeitschrift fr die
Kunde sd- und Ostasiens und Archiv fr Indische Philosophie) 8 ,:q6, -8, M. L. \cst, CR :8
,:q68, -;, C. Chiasson, CPh ;q ,:q8, ::-6, Morcnilla-1alcns, op. cit. ,n. 6,. Ior thc
1riballian in Ar. Av., scc ]. \hatmough, CPh ; ,:q., .6, Chiasson, CPh ;q ,:q8, :. n.
6. Ior thc archcr sccnc in Ar. Thesm. ,:oo: ff.,, scc E. Hall, Philologus : ,:q8q, 8- ,for
linguistic caricaturc csp. pp. 8-o,.
q
Scc thc balancco oiscussion of S. Colvin, Aristophancs: oialcct ano tcxtual criti-
cism, Mnemosyne 8 ,:qq, -;.
o
1huc. .::.., ...
:
Cf. thc prcsumabl, bilingual cnvo, 1imcsithcus, ....
.
Othcr intcrprctcrs in thc Anabasis: ...:;, ...:8, .., ;...:q, ;.6.8. Scc also thc bi-
lingual Fatcg,as, :.8.:.

Robcrt, op. cit. ,n. 8, 8. Cf. Flut. Alex. ;.:-., D.S. :;.68..

Cf. Moslc,s litcral rcaoing, op. cit. ,n. :o, .

: Thomas Harrison
Hcroootus intcrprctcrs arc rathcr morc thc prooucts of narrativc convcn-
icncc than of an, grcat cxpcricncc of thc practicalitics of languagc oiffcr-
cncc.

1hc tcmptation must bc rcsistco, hovcvcr, to imaginc that thc oiffcr-

cncc bctvccn thc tvo historians is thc rcflcction of a progrcssivc cnlightcn-
mcnt vith rcgaros to forcign languagcs. 1hc accounts of thc campaigns of
Alcxanocr shov littlc of thc practical avarcncss conccrning languagc of
Xcnophon, vcr, probabl, ouc to thc oistancc in timc from thc cvcnts.
6
It is
Xcnophon, rathcr than Hcroootus, vho appcars to bc thc cxccption to thc
rulc.


. The Greek Conceptualisation of Foreign Languages
Hov oio Hcroootus ano thc Grccks cnvisagc thc oiffcrcncc bctvccn Grcck
ano forcign languagcs?
1hc cntirc framc vithin vhich thc Grccks vicvco forcign languagcs vas,
in a numbcr of va,s, vcr, oiffcrcnt. Iirst, although on a numbcr of occa-
sions Hcroootus rcfcrs to, or implics, thc cxistcncc of a common Grcck lan-
guagc, incluoing thc quotation vith vhich I bcgan ,8.:..,,
;
Hcroootus has
no unambiguous va, of rcfcrring to oialcct as oistinct from languagc.
8
On
onc occasion hc appcars at first sight to comc closc to a formula for ocscrib-
ing oialcct. 1hc citics of Ionia oo not usc thc samc languagc ,, as
onc anothcr, but havc four , or forms of languagc
,:.:..-,. Hc gocs on immcoiatcl,, hovcvcr, in turning to thc citics of
L,oia ,Ephcsus, Colophon, Lcbcous, 1cos, Clazomcnac ano Fhocaca, to
sa, that thcsc citics oo not agrcc at all in thcir languagc vith thc othcr
Ionians but souno thc samc as onc anothcr ,

A gooo analog, might bc E. Rhes. .qo-.q; vhcrc a surprising ocgrcc of linguistic

compctcncc is ascribco b, Euripiocs to thc 1rojan shcphcro: hc is capablc first of octcct-
ing that Rhcsus 1hracians vcrc not Grcck ano thcn of qucstioning thcm in thcir ovn
1hracian.
6
Arr. Anab. .6.6, ..;, ;.:., Ind. .8.-, Curt. Ruf. .::.-, .:.;, 6..:q, 6.::.,
8...:q, Flut. Alex. ;.:-., D.S. :;.68..
;
Cf. ..6., .;8, 8.:.
8
Scc csp. Morpurgo Davics, op. cit. ,n. 6,, for consciousncss of oialcct rclativc to thc
cultural scnsc of Grcck as a singlc languagc, scc also Hallivcll, op. cit. ,n. 8, ;., K.
Mickc,, Dialcct consciousncss ano litcrar, languagc: an cxamplc from ancicnt Grcccc,
TPhS ,:q8:, -66, C. Brixhc ano R. Hooot, A chacun sa koinc in C. Brixhc ,co., La
Koin grecque antique Iune langue introuvable ,Nanc,, :qq, ;-.:. Ior thc rcalit, of thc rcla-
tionship bctvccn Grcck oialccts ano cthnic iocntit,, scc ]. M. Hall, op. cit. ,n. :,, ch. 6
,incluoing a rathcr inappropriatcl, cntitlco scction 1hc Grcck Attituoc to Dialcct, pp.
:;o-;;,.
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages :

, , :.:..,.
q
Elscvhcrc Hcroootus talks of thc At-
tic languagc ,, 6.:8..,. 1his hazincss in thc oistinction of languagc
ano oialcct is not uniquc to Hcroootus. 1hc cxprcssion thc Attic languagc,
for cxamplc, is usco in thc poctr, of Solon,
6o
1huc,oiocs can spcak of thc
Dorian languagc ano Acsch,lus of thc Fhocian.
6:
1hc tcrm can
bc usco of forcign languagcs
6.
ano of thc rangc of acccnts vithin a cit,
6
as
much as of oiffcrcnccs bctvccn citics or rcgions.
6
1hc oistinction bctvccn
oialcct ano languagc is, of coursc, incvitabl, a haz, onc, givcn that it is oftcn
oictatco rathcr morc b, political than linguistic critcria.
6
1hc rapio oiscov-
cr, of oistinct Croatian, Scrbian ano Bosnian languagcs in thc formcr Yugo-
slavia, thc ongoing oiscussion as to thc status of ancicnt Maccoonian,
66
or
thc qucstion of vhcthcr Scots or Amcrican English arc oistinct languagcs,
provioc cloqucnt proof of this.
6;

]ust as thc bounoar, bctvccn oialcct ano languagc is unclcar, so also
anothcr common moocrn oistinction is lcss prcvalcnt: that is, thc ioca that
languagc scts humans apart from animals. Anothcr voro, othcr than
glossa, usco to ocnotc languagc, phone, can bc usco as much to ocscribc
thc souno of asscs as thc languagc of mcn ,.:.q.,,
68
Hcrmippus rcfcrs to thc
of a lamb ,fr. KA,. 1hc tcrm , parallcling or

q
1his lack of a clcar oistinction bctvccn oialcct ano languagc cxplains thc inclusion
of translations bctvccn oialccts as vcll as from forcign languagcs in Appcnoix ..
6o
Solon fr. 6.::-:. \cst.
6:
1huc. .::., A. Cho. 6.
6.
Fol. :.8o.6, D.S. :;.68. ,cf. .6.,. can also bc usco of vhat vc voulo tcrm
oialcct: 1huc. 6..:, ;.;...
6
Ar. fr. ;o6 KA, cf. Dcm. ;..
6
Cf. also H. Od. :q.:;-;, A. Sept. :6q-;o vith E. Hall, op. cit. ,n. :, :;8.
6
Scc Morpurgo Davics, op. cit. ,n. 6, 8: It is simpl, not truc that thc structural
oistinctions bctvccn tvo so-callco oialccts of a languagc arc alva,s smallcr than thosc
bctvccn tvo so-callco languagcs.
66
Ior vhich scc E. Hall, op. cit. ,n. :,, pp. :;q-8o ,vith furthcr rcfs.,
6;
\h,, askco thc Amcrican Rupcrt Hughcs, shoulo vc pcrmit thc survival of thc
curious notion that our languagc is a mcrc loan from Englano, likc a coppcr kcttlc that
vc must kccp scourco ano rcturn vithout a ocnt ,quotco b, H. L. Mcnckcn, The Ameri-
can Language ,Lonoon, th co., :q6, 8;,. Similarl, iocologicall, chargco is thc common
ioca that Rcccivco Fronunciation is an abscncc of acccnt, as if rcgional acccnts vcrc
mcrcl, accrctions to a purc original.
68
, accoroing to Aristotlc, is thc souno maoc b, a crcaturc vith a soul, de. anim.
.ob. Ior such tcrminolog, in philosophical vritcrs, scc csp. \. Ax, Laut, Stimme und
Sprache ,Gottingcn, :q86,.
:6 Thomas Harrison
,
6q
implicitl, cquatcs human vith animal spccch ,S. fr. 8.; Raot,. Ar-
istotlc makcs thc cquation cxplicit ano ocvclops it: animals oiffcr, accoroing
to localit,, both in thcir ano in thcir , vhcrcas mcn arc all thc
samc in but oiffcr in thcir ,Arist. Hist. Anim. 6b,.
;o
In thc
Aristotclian Problemata thc oistinction bctvccn animals ano humans is maoc
that animals can onl, uttcr at most a fcv consonants ,Probl. 8qa,, this has
thc conscqucncc that chilorcn, bcforc lcarning thcir lcttcrs, arc likc bcasts.
1hc common analog, of forcign spccch vith thc souno of biros
;:
pcrhaps
rcflccts thc samc grc, bounoar, bctvccn human ano animal spccch
though, of coursc, thc analog, voulo not propcrl, ochumanizc thc languagc
of barbarians if thcrc vcrc no oistinction oravn bctvccn human ano animal
spccch.
Anothcr broaocr ioca that colours thc charactcrisation of forcign lan-
guagcs is that thc manncr of spccch of a pcoplc or of an inoivioual rcflccts
ccrtain innatc charactcristics. So, Ion in Euripiocs pla, pra,s that his
mothcr bc Athcnian that from m, mothcr frcc spccch ,, might bc
minc ,E. Ion 6;o-,.
;.
A similar implication lics bchino thc oiscovcr, of thc
iocntit, of thc bo, C,rus. C,rus, brought up aftcr his cxposurc as a chilo as
thc son of a svinchcro, is oiscovcrco vhcn in a classlcss pla,grouno, cn-
compassing both thc sons of svinchcros ano of aristocrats, hc is appointco
king ano vhips thc son of Artcmbarcs. \hcn summonco bcforc his granofa-
thcr, thc king Ast,agcs, his vcr, frcc manncr of spccch ,
, :.::6.:,, togcthcr vith his looks ano agc, rcvcal him as thc
rightful king of Mcoia, ano rcoucc Ast,agcs to spccchlcssncss. C,rus frcc-
oom of spccch, onc suspccts, in so far as it is a markcr of his ro,alt,, is con-
trastco implicitl, vith thc lack of frccoom of his futurc subjccts. Irccoom of
spccch is somcthing that thc Chorus of Acsch,lus Persians look forvaro to as
a rcsult of thc ocmisc of thcir monarch,, but vhich thc, fail to achicvc ,q:-
,.
;
Ior thc lack of such a frcc spirit is thc charactcristic of thc slavc, as

6q
: 8.8., q.::o... : Simoniocs tcst. Campbcll, Call. I..o.:8 Ffcif-
fcr.
;o
Cf. Arist. Probl. 8qa: vh, oocs man shov grcat varict, of voicc ,
, but othcr animals havc onl, onc, unlcss thc, arc of oiffcrcnt spccics? Or has man
onl, onc voicc , , though man, varictics of spccch ,,?
;:
Scc bclov, n. 8o.
;.
cf. E. Hipp. .:-, scc also thc association of languagc ano frccoom of spccch in thc
stor, of thc Lcmnian occos, 6.:8, for vhich scc abovc, scct. :. ,Noticc also hov thcir
Athcnian gcnctic inhcritancc, cvcn through thc matcrnal linc, prcoominatcs ovcr thc Fc-
lasgian.,
;
Scc furthcr Harrison, op. cit. ,n. o,. 1hat this frccoom of spccch is somcthing that
b, ocfinition cannot bc a univcrsal charactcristic is suggcstco also b, Gorgias argumcnt,
Fl. Gorg. .o-c, that spccch givcs ,ou thc frccoom to makc othcrs ,our slavcs.
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages :;

Sophoclcs makcs clcar b, implication vhcn Dciancira in thc Trachiniai as-
scrts that a slavc can spcak a frcc ,Soph. Trach. 6.-,. 1hc slavc or for-
cigncrs lack of frccoom of spccch is not just thc rcsult of thcir circumstanccs
,it is not just for fcar of bcing vhippco that slavcs arc not habituall, outspo-
kcn
;
,, but of thcir naturc.
;
1his ioca sccms to bc conncctco to anothcr im-
agc of barbarian spccch, that it is vcrbosc ano lacking in contcnt.
;6
Barbar-
ian spccch is pcrhaps thcn at thc oppositc polc to thc archct,pall, pith, ,ano
frcc?, Laconic spccch.
;;

1hc ccntral clcmcnt in thc charactcrisation of forcign languagcs is thc
cmphasis on thcir incomprchcnsibilit,. So, for cxamplc, as vc havc sccn,
1huc,oiocs ocscribco a group of Actolians as
,.q.,.
;8
It is b, analog, to this that Grcck oialccts or acccnts, such as thc
Lcsbian of Fittacus, can bc ocscribco as barbarian ,Fl. Prot. :c,though it
voulo not scriousl, havc bccn maintainco that a Lcsbian vas not Grcck
or that a man can bc saio to havc lapsco into sub-barbarian spccch.
;q
It is
also bccausc of thc imaginco incomprchcnsibilit, of forcign languagcs that
thc frcqucnt analog, is oravn bctvccn forcign languagcs, prophcc, ano thc
souno of biros. Hcroootus rationalisation of thc m,th of thc founoation of
thc oraclc of Dooona rcsts on thc ioca that Eg,ptian vomcn coulo havc
bccn ocscribco as black biros from thc souno of thcir spccch ,..-;,. Cas-
sanoras prophccics likcvisc arc ocscribco as uttcrco in a barbarian lan-

;
1hough cnforccmcnt of a corrcctncss of spccch ma, bc implico b, Fl. Gorg. 8b-c
as suggcstco b, Hallivcll, op. cit. ,n. 8, ;o-:.
;
Cf. Ar. fr. ;o6 KA. Scc hcrc ,ano for thc oiffcrcnt spccch of othcr groups, csp.
vomcn, Hallivcll, op. cit. ,n. 8, ;o-:, for vomcns spccch, scc also M. E. Gillclano, AJPh
:o: ,:q8o, :8o-, D. Bain, Antichthon :8 ,:q8, .-..
;6
Scc csp. Simoniocs 6 PMG, or thc Fhr,gian in E. Orestes; cf. Fi. Ol. ..86 f., Ana-
crcon o PMG, Simoniocs 6oo PMG. Ior thc ioca that barbarian spccch vas imaginco
to bc lacking in logos, rcason, scc Baslcz, op. cit. ,n. :q, :86. Cf. thc antithcsis
of Arist. Probl. 8qa.
;;
.6, Fl. Prot. .c. A Doric vhich vas almost music vas thc languagc of choicc of
a miraculous pol,glot oiscovcrco in thc Arabian gulf b, Clcombrotus: Flut. Mor. .:b ,de
def. orac.,.
;8
1hc supcrlativc oocs not ncccssaril, rcflcct an, ocsirc to unocrstano forcign pcoplcs,
but morc likcl, just a rclativc scalc of barbarism. Cf. thc prcsumabl, paraooxical cxprcs-
sion at A. Pers. 6-6, for vhich scc G. Faouano, Sui Persiani di Eschilo:
problemi di focalizzazione drammatica ,Romc, :q;8, ., A. 1ourraix, Lcs Perses: la
Gcopolitiquc ct lHistoirc, in F. Ghiron-Bistagnc, A. Morcau ano ].-C. 1urpin ,cos., Les
Fcrscs dEschyle ,Montpcllicr, :qq./, qq-::;.
;q
Hallivclls translation, op. cit. ,n. 8, ;o, of Fl. Lys. ..a. Ior Fittacus ano Lcsbian,
scc furthcr ]. \crncr, Das Lcsbischc als barbarischc Sprachc?, Philologus : ,:qq:, -
6..
:8 Thomas Harrison
guagc likc a svallov , , A. Ag. :oo-.,.
8o
1hat this ioca is not
just a rathcr fccblc similc is suggcstco b, thc usc of thc samc tcrm
to ocscribc both thc intcrprctcr of oraclcs ano of forcign languagcs.
8:
Morc
outlanoish languagcs, or thc languagcs of morc outlanoish pcoplcs, arc
comparco to thc sounos cmittco b, lcss attractivc animals: thc 1rogloo,tc
Ethiopians, thc fastcst runncrs in thc vorlo ,somcthing to oo pcrhaps vith
thcir bcing huntco in chariots b, thcir ncighbours thc Garamantcs,, havc a
languagc similar to no othcr, but sounoing likc scrccching bats ,.:8.,.
1hc 1rogloo,tc Ethiopians provioc an cxamplc of hov Hcroootus ano
thc Grccks vcrc villing ano ablc to scc quitc funoamcntal oiffcrcnccs bc-
tvccn thcir ovn languagc ano thosc of othcr pcoplcs, ano so to go to cx-
trcmcs in ochumanising thcm. As vcll as thc 1rogloo,tcs, vc also hcar of
thc Atarantcs, thc onl, anon,mous pcoplc of vhom vc knov ,.:8.:,, in
that thc, havc no pcrsonal namcs.
8.
In othcr va,s, hovcvcr, just as Hcrooo-
tus sccs pattcrns in thc gcograph, of his vorlo ,thc Nilc mirroring thc Da-
nubc, or in human customs ,Eg,ptian mcn urinating sitting oovn ano
vomcn stanoing up,, so hc tcnos to scc artificial pattcrns in languagcs. It is
this ocsirc to s,stcmatisc languagc, for cxamplc, that lcaos him to thc falsc
conclusion that all Fcrsian namcs cno in thc lcttcr sigma ,:.:q,, or to thc truc
obscrvation that thc namcs of all Grcck fcstivals cno in thc lcttcr alpha
,:.:8..,.
8
A similar schcmatism can bc sccn in thc charactcrisations of for-
cign pcoplcs ,in tcrms both of thcir languagcs ano othcr charactcristics,
listco in Appcnoix :. It is all a littlc too tio,, too convcnicnt, thc manncr in
vhich human bcings arc prcscntco as bcing thc sum of fivc or six cultural
componcnts ,c.g., thc Anorophagoi, .:o6,, or vhcn hc is lcss conccrnco to

8o
Cf. S. Trach. :o6o, Ant. :oo., E. Ba. :o-, Ar. Av. :qq-.oo, Ran. 6;q-8., Pax. 68:.
1hc analog, of barbarian spccch ano thc souno of biros is pcrhaps suggcstco of thc 1ro-
jans at H. Il. .:-q.
8:
A. Ag. 6:-6, :o6.-, 6:-6 ,cf. :.,. Scc furthcr Lcjcunc, op. cit. ,n. .o, 8 ,com-
mcnting also on thc commcrcial ovcrtoncs of interpres,, Rotolo, op. cit. ,n. .o, q6 n. q, E.
Hall, op. cit. ,n. :, ::;-8. Ior analog, of poct ano : Fl. Ion c.
8.
Such a phcnomcnon has ncvcr bccn rccoroco of an, human socict, ,scc R. D. Al-
foro, Naming and Identity: A Cross-Cultural Study of Personal Naming Practices ,Ncv Havcn,
:q88, :,or an, other human socict,, onc is tcmptco to aoo. 1hcrc arc, hovcvcr ,scc Al-
foro, pp. ::.-, socictics vith taboos on thc usc of pcrsonal namcs: though I am kccn to
rcsist thc tcnocnc, to attcmpt to vinoicatc Hcroootus accurac, at cvcr, turn, vc might
vonocr if this is thc sourcc of thc confusion hcrc.
8
Anna Morpurgo Davics points out to mc that Hcroootus might havc bccn intcrcstco
hcrc in shoving that thc various forms of spccch in Grcccc vcrc not so rcmotc from cach
othcr. Ior thc schcmatism of Hcroootus vicv of forcign lanos ano pcoplcs, scc csp. ].
Rcoficlo, Hcroootus thc 1ourist, CPh 8o ,:q8, q;-::8, I. Hartog, The Mirror of Herodotus,
tr. ]. Llo,o ,Bcrkclc,, :q88,, F. Cartlcogc, Hcroootus ano thc Othcr: a mcoitation on
cmpirc, EMC ,:qqo, .;-o.
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages :q

givc octails, just tvo ,c.g., thc castcrn Ethiopians, ;.;o.:,. 1hc schcmatism of
Hcroootus accounts of forcign pcoplcs bccomcs cvcn morc pronouncco on
thosc occasions on vhich hc attcmpts to blur his catcgorics, for cxamplc b,
his obscrvations on thc languagc of thc Gcloni, half-Sc,thian, half-Grcck
,.:o8..,, that of thc Ammonians, bctvccn Eg,ptian ano Ethiopian ,....,,
or thc orcss of thc Sagartian nomaos, half-Fcrsian, half-Fact,an ,;.8.:,.
1hat such an outlook vas not uncommon can bc sccn from thc viocsprcao
usc of tcrms such as or .
8

1hc most orastic form of schcmatism possiblc in charactcrising forcign
languagcs is onc that Hcroootus avoios, hovcvcr: that is to spcak as if all
languagcs othcr than Grcck vcrc onc barbarian languagc ,S. Aj. :.6.-,.
8

It is not ncccssar, to imaginc that an,onc scriousl, hclo that thcrc vcrc onl,
tvo languagcs, nor is it ncccssar, to cnvisagc a progrcssion from this ab-
stract ioca of tvo languagcs to a vision of a vorlo vith countlcss compcting
languagcs ,or thc rcvcrsc progrcssion,.
86
\hat vc havc is rathcr tvo moocls
of thought that altcrnatc: just as in tragco, thc st,lizco litcrar, milicu in
vhich all barbarians spcak Grcck is pcnctratco b, isolatco touchcs of rcal-
ism, in Eoith Halls voros,
8;
so onc attituoc of inoiffcrcncc to forcign lan-
guagcs, lcaoing to thc charactcrisation of barbarians as a singlc monolithic
group, altcrnatcs vith anothcr attituoc basco on thc obscrvation of linguistic
oiffcrcnccs. 1hc oiffcrcntiation of forcign languagcs oocs not originatc in a
philosophical or highbrov rcaction to a popular notion of tvo languagcs,
but is inocco itsclf a popular ioca: thc rcprcscntation of barbarians as an un-
tio, horoc maoc up of countlcss oiffcrcnt pcoplcs cach vith thcir ovn lan-
guagcs is a clichc from Homcr through Hcroootus ano Acsch,lus to Flato

8
Cf. Xanthus, FGrHist ;6 I : for M,sian as ano . Ior rcfcr-
cnccs ano for thc mcaning of such cxprcssions, scc Dubuisson, op. cit. ,n. :;, ::-:6, Du-
buisson suggcsts that such cxprcssions rcflcct thc assumption that vhilc barbarians can
bccomc Grcck through thc acquisition of Grcck culturc, Grccks cannot acquirc barbar-
ian culturc ,as thcrc is no such thing, but can onl, bccomc barbarians through mixco
blooo. Cf. Lcjcunc, op. cit. ,n. .:, 6 n. .
8
Cf. thc tcrms , Ar. fr. 8: KA, or , Xcn. Anab. :.8.:, thc barbar-
ian oialcct, D. S. .6., , Arr. Anab. .6.6, thc of thc barbari-
ans, Fl. Tht. :6b, or thc rcmark of Scxtus Empiricus, Pyrrh. Hyp. :.; that thc of
thc barbarians is , or of onc form.
86
Cf. Morpurgo Davics, op. cit. ,n. 6, :, on Fl. Pol. .6.o vhcrc Flato attacks thc
t,pc of classification that oiviocs mankino into tvo ocspitc thc cviocncc of oiffcrcnccs in
languagc. A similarl, simplistic polarisation can bc founo at Fl. Resp. ;oc-;:c, ano in
much carlicr Grcck litcraturc: scc E. Hall, op. cit. ,n. :, ;, on thc absolutc polarisation of
Hcllcnc ano Barbarian implico b, Acsch,lus Persae.
8;
E. Hall, op. cit. ,n. :, :q.
.o Thomas Harrison
ano Fol,bius.
88
A similar association of all barbarians togcthcr can bc sccn in
thc ioca that barbarians arc ,S. Trach. :o6o,. 1his cannot prc-
sumabl, rcflcct a bclicf that thc, oio not spcak, onl, that thcir languagc, b,
comparison vith Grcck, in somc scnsc oio not constitutc an authcntic lan-
guagc.
8q
1his voulo tall, vith thc frcqucnt charactcrisation of forcign lan-
guagcs in tcrms of animal sounos.
Anothcr va, in vhich Hcroootus prcscntation of forcign languagcs rc-
sists an ovcr-octcrministic schcmatism is on thc subjcct of thc structurc of
languagc. 1hc Grccks tcnoco to scc oiffcrcnccs bctvccn languagcs as bcing
oiffcrcnccs in namcs. Lcarning a languagc vas mcrcl, a proccss of lcarning
namcs ,Dissoi Logoi, DK B qo 6 ,:.,,. A scntcncc, in thc phrasc of Dcn,cr,
vas mcrcl, a oollop of namcs.
qo
1hc samc ioca of languagc as nomcncla-
turc is pcrhaps rcflcctco in thc charactcrisation of forcign languagcs
through sounos, in thc Homcric languagc of thc goos, itsclf just a scrics of
scparatc namcs, or in thc rcmark of Hcrmogcncs in Flatos Cratylus that oif-
fcrcnt citics usc oiffcrcnt namcs for thc samc things ,Fl. Crat. 8o-c,.
q:

Ccrtain octails of Hcroootus prcscntation of forcign languagcs might
havc bccn usco to arguc against such a position. 1o bcgin vith, thcrc arc
not alva,s cquivalcnt voros in oncs ovn languagc for thc voros of forcign
languagcs. 1hc Grccks ncvcr kncv a crocooilc until thc, oiscovcrco thcm in
Eg,pt. So thc, namco crocooilcs, or , as thc, vcrc knovn in Eg,pt
accoroing to Hcroootus ,..6q.,, b, analog, to somcthing vhich thc, oio
havc a voro for, vhich a crocooilc rcscmblco, ano vhich, through bcing in
anothcr scnsc prcpostcrousl, unlike a crocooilc, scrvco at thc samc timc to
bclittlc thc Eg,ptians, or to rcoucc thcir marvcls to a morc managcablc
scalc: a lizaro or, in Grcck, a
q.
. In this casc, thc Grccks usco a

88
Scc c.g. H. Il. ..8o-, .6-8, A. Pers. qq-o;, Fol. :.6;.:, ..:.
8q
Davics, op. cit. ,n. 6, :-:6. Contrast thc Russian tcrm for Gcrman, nemec, rclatco
to thc voro for oumb.
qo
N. Dcn,cr, Language, Thought and Falsehood in Ancient Greek Philosophy ,Lonoon, :qq:, ;,
scc furthcr ch. q, Namcs, vcrbs ano scntcnccs. 1hc oistinction of oiffcrcnt t,pcs of
namcs vas bcgun b, Frotagoras, DK 8o A :, , A .;, A .q.
q:
In thc voros of Morpurgo Davics ,n. 6,, vc fino in Grcck no structuralist vicvs ac-
coroing to vhich in oiffcrcnt languagcs similar scmantic ficlos arc oiffcrcntl, oivioco ano
thcrc is no onc-to-onc scmantic corrcsponocncc bctvccn voros. 1hc oivinc namcs in
Homcr arc at Il. :.o-, ..8:-, :..qo-:, .o.;, Od. :o.o, :..6:, that thc languagc of
thc goos vas a scrics of scparatc namcs is obscrvco b, Socratcs at Fl. Crat. q.o.
q.
Similar anton,ms arc ,spit, ,a varict, of cakc, ano
,sparrov or ostrich,. Hcroootus appcars to havc prcscrvco thc Eg,ptian voro fairl, accu-
ratcl,: scc ]. Ccrn,, Fhilological ano ct,mological notcs, ASAE . ,:q, 6-8, 1. O.
Lamboin, Anothcr cunciform transcription of Eg,ptian msh, crocooilc, JNES :. ,:q,
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages .:

voro alrcao, in thcir languagc, in anothcr casc thc, borrov a voro, albcit
translating it on thc va,: thc onc-c,co pcoplc, hc rcmarks, vc namc in
Sc,thian as Arimaspians as Arima mcans onc, ano spou c,c ,..;,.
q
Hc-
roootus vas also avarc, as thc casc of thc crocooilc implics, of vhat vc
voulo call homon,ms, that thc samc namc might appl, to tvo oiffcrcnt
things: thc Lig,cs vho livc abovc Massalia call traocrs vhcrcas thc
C,priots usc thc samc voro to ocscribc spcars ,.q.,.
q
Most importantl,
pcrhaps, from thc point of vicv of thc ioca of languagc as nomcnclaturc,
Hcroootus shovs an avarcncss that forcign voros oo not alva,s mcan thc
samc as thc cquivalcnt Grcck voro: that is to sa,, thc rcfcrcnt ma, bc thc
samc vhilst thc mcaning is oiffcrcnt. 1hc Eg,ptian namc for thc Ethiopian
ocscrtcrs, , mcans thosc vho stano on thc lcft-hano sioc of thc King
,..o.:,.
q

1hcsc obscrvations might havc lco Hcroootus to qucstion thc ioca of
languagc as nomcnclaturc. Sclf-cviocntl,, hovcvcr, thc, oio not. 1hcrc is
no sign that Hcroootus cvcr thought through thc implications of such matc-
rial, or inocco that hc cvcr formulatco an, gcncral vicvs on thc naturc of
languagc.

. The imagined relationship between Greek and
foreign languages
\c movc nov to thc most complcx ano involvco qucstion, that of thc imag-
inco rclationship bctvccn Grcck ano forcign languagcs. As vc havc sccn,
Hcroootus is avarc of thc cxistcncc of vhat vc voulo call loan voros ano
of thc ncco to formulatc ncv voros to ocsignatc unfamiliar things. Docs hc,
hovcvcr, cnvisagc a broaocr conncction bctvccn oiffcrcnt languagcs? Ano,

.8-. 1hc voro vas in Hccatacus, hovcvcr, FGrHist : I .a, though it probabl,
cannot bc rcao at A. Suppl. 8;8 ,scc E. Hall, op. cit. ,n. :, :.o,.
q
Ior ooubt conccrning Hcroootus ct,molog,, scc Corcclla, ao loc. ,p. .6,.
q
Cf. .:q.. ,Lib,an voro, , for a t,pc of mousc in Grcck mcans hills,
,, ... ,tvo rivcrs havc thc samc namc though thc, oo not cvcn havc thc samc
sourcc, both rivcrs arc anon,mous, although, accoroing to Ravlinson ao loc., vhat Hc-
roootus sa,s is truc of thc grcatcr ano lcsscr rivcrs Zab,. Cf. Hcraclitus DK .. B 8 on
thc tvo mcanings of bios as lifc ano arrov, Hcraclitus points out that an arrov ocals
ocath, thc oppositc of lifc, so pcrhaps rcvcaling a ocsirc to scc somc unocrl,ing orocr or
appropriatcncss to namcs ,for vhich scc furthcr bclov, scct. IV,. 1hc ioca that thc samc
voro might bc usco to ocscribc tvo oiffcrcnt, cvcn funoamcntall, opposco, things is onc,
of coursc, cxploitco b, 1huc,oiocs in his account of thc Corc,racan rcvolution, .8..
ff..
q
Ior Hcroootus ct,molog, hcrc ,ano a cautious approval,, scc Llo,o ao loc., II.:.8-
q.
.. Thomas Harrison
if so, of vhat naturc is that conncction? Iirst ano famousl,, Hcroootus as-
cribcs thc introouction of thc alphabct to thc Fhocnicians ,.8,:

1hc Fhocnicians vho arrivco vith Caomus ,vho incluoco thc Gcph,-
raioi, introoucco man, skills to thc Grccks upon scttling in this lano,
ano in particular lcttcrs ,,, for, as it sccms to mc, thc Grccks
oio not havc thcm bcforc this. 1o bcgin vith thcsc Fhocnicians usco
thc lcttcrs vhich all thc Fhocnicians usco. In thc coursc of timc, thc,
changco at thc samc timc as thc languagc thc shapc of thcir lcttcrs.
Nov thc Grccks vho chicfl, livco about thcm in thosc parts vcrc at
that timc thc Ionians. 1hc, thcn lcarnt thc lcttcrs from thc Fhocni-
cians, ano aftcr making mooifications to thc shapc of a fcv of thcm,
usco thcm.

Hcroootus somctimcs finos it oifficult to imaginc an, historical changc
as cvolutionar,: so, for cxamplc, thc L,oians transformation from grcat
varriors to occaocnt traocsmcn vcaring slippcrs is thc rcsult of a plan of
Crocsus to savc his pcoplc from a vorsc fatc at thc hanos of C,rus ,:.:-6,.
In thc casc of thc introouction of thc alphabct, hc appcars to cnvisagc a rcla-
tivcl, natural, cvolutionar, changc, somcthing not truc of thosc of his con-
tcmporarics vho ascribco thc introouction of thc alphabct to inoivioual in-
vcntors, vhcthcr it bc Caomus, Falamcocs, Hcrmcs, 1hcuth, Danaus or
Fromcthcus.
q6
Hcroootus thcor, of thc introouction of thc alphabct is

q6
Hccatacus, FGrHist : I .o, Dion,sius of Milctus, FGrHist 68; I :, Anaximanocr,
FGrHist q I , Anoron, FGrHist :o I q, Apollooorus, FGrHist . I :6, Stcsichorus fr. .:
PMG, E. fr. ;8 N, Gorg. Pal. o, Fl. Phil. :8c, Phdr. .;c-o, Arist. fr. o: Rosc, man, of
vhich arc collcctco ano oiscussco at schol. Dion,sius 1hraxs Ars Gramm. ,ch. 6, p. :8
,Hilgaro,. Acsch,lus picturc of mans acquisition of lcttcrs ocpcnos on thc agcnc, of
Fromcthcus, A. PV. ;-68, it is thc combination of lcttcrs , , 6o,
that makcs lcttcrs uscful for mcmor, ano thc muscs ,thc priorit, of litcraturc is striking,,
as it is thc combination of lcttcrs in a namc that capturcs thc csscncc of a thing, Fl. Crat.
.o-c. Ior Grcck iocas of thc origins of vriting, scc H. Grassl, Hcrooot uno oic
gricchischcn Schrift, Hermes :oo ,:q;., :6q-;, S. \cst, op. cit. ,n. :., .q, but cspcciall,
L. H. ]cffcr,, Archaia Grammata: somc ancicnt Grcck vicvs, in \. C. Bricc ,co., Europa.
Festschrift Ernst Grumach ,Bcrlin, :q6;,, :.-66, scc nov also Dcborah Stcincr, The Tyrants
Writ ,Frinccton, :qq,. Ior thc manncr in vhich thc alphabct vas rcall, introoucco into
Grcccc, scc nov thc survc, of ]. M. Hall, op. cit. ,n. :, :-. 1hc ioca that thc invcntion
of thc Grcck alphabct vas thc vork of a singlc man is alivc ano vcll in thc thcor, of thc
singlc aoaptcr of Fhocnician script: scc Lcjcunc, op. cit. ,n. .o, , ano nov B. B. Fov-
cll, Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet ,Cambriogc, :qq:, :o-:., ano in his Homcr
ano vriting, in I. Morris ano B. Fovcll ,cos., A New Companion to Homer ,Lciocn, :qq;, -
., Fovcll cvcn spcculatcs as to vhcthcr Falamcocs vcrc thc actual namc of thc
aoaptcr ,p..6,.
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages .

basco, of coursc, on his obscrvation of thc oiffcrcnccs bctvccn thc lcttcr-
forms of his oa, ano of his from 1hcbcs. ,It is pcrhaps
thc rclativcl, familiar form of thcsc inscriptions that maoc it ncccssar, for
him to rcconstruct thc ocvclopmcnt of thc Grcck alphabct in tvo stagcs.,
1hc shapcs of thc lcttcrs of thc alphabct, hovcvcr, appcar in Hcroootus ac-
count almost to moulo thcmsclvcs to thc sounos of thc Grcck languagc.
\h, shoulo a changc of languagc ncccssitatc a changc in lcttcr-forms?
Clcarl, this vas not a qucstion vhich Hcroootus thought to ask himsclf.
Docs hc, hovcvcr, assumc that thcrc is an iocal fashion in vhich a lcttcr
rcprcscnts a souno?
q;

\c might also cxpcct signs of non-Grcck influcncc on thc Grcck lan-
guagc in Hcroootus oiscussion of thc Fclasgian origins of thc Grccks ,:.6-
8,. Hcroootus argumcnt hcrc rcquircs a fairl, lcngth, prccis.
His oiscussion comcs in thc contcxt of his first introouction of thc
Spartans ano thc Athcnians ,:.6..,, onc of thc Doric genos, onc of thc Ionic.
1hcsc tvo pcoplcs vcrc in ancicnt timcs onc Fclasgian, thc othcr a Hcllcnic
pcoplc, onc a pcoplc vhich hao ncvcr lcft its homc, thc othcr onc vhich
hao vanocrco viocl,. ,Hcroootus thcn rccounts thc vanocrings of thc Hcl-
lcncs in thc rcign of Dcucalion until thc point at vhich thc, cntcr thc Fclo-
ponncsc ano arc callco Dorian, :.6.., \hat languagc thc Fclasgians spokc,
Hcroootus cannot sa, for ccrtain, but if it is possiblc to sa, ,
, :.;..,, thc cviocncc of thc surviving Fclasgians,
thosc vho ovclt at Crcston,
q8
or thosc vho hao founoco Flacia ano Sc,lacc
on thc Hcllcspont, suggcsts that thc original Fclasgians spokc a barbarian
languagc. 1hat thc languagc thcsc pcoplcs spcak is Fclasgian ,or at lcast a
rcliablc inocx of thc barbarian naturc of Fclasgian, is suggcstco also b, thc

q;
\c ma, ask vhcthcr a similar ioca lics bchino thc analog, bctvccn painting ano
naming b, a combination of lcttcrs at Fl. Crat. . o-c. Of coursc, a changc to Fhocni-
cian script oio takc placc, thc aooition of vovcls, lcaoing Fovcll to approvc of Hcrooo-
tus vcrsion of thc introouction of thc alphabct, Morris ano Fovcll op. cit. ,n. q6, .., it is
qucstionablc, hovcvcr, in thc light of his vhcthcr Hcroootus hao an,
such accuratc knovlcogc of thc naturc of thc oiffcrcnccs bctvccn Fhocnician ano Grcck
script. On thc qucstion of thc significancc of thc ,actual, changcs from Fhocnician to
Grcck script, scc nov thc argumcnts of R. \oooaro, Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer
,Ncv York, :qq;, .o ,Hao thc Grccks simpl, continuco thc Fhocnician traoition of onl,
rcprcscnting consonants in thcir vriting s,stcm, thosc achicvcmcnts of thc human intcl-
lcct ano spirit rcvcalco sincc antiquit, through thc alphabctic mcoium voulo not, I sus-
pcct, havc bccn compromisco this is to confusc thc gcnius of human thought vith thc
mcchanical mcans of its graphic cxprcssion.,
q8
Ior tcxtual problcms, ano for thc rclatco qucstion of thc Fclasgian origins of thc
Etruscans, cf. R. A. McNcal, Hov oio Fclasgians bccomc Hcllcncs? Hcroootus I.6-8,
ICS :o ,:q8, ::-.:, for a scnsiblc ocfcncc of Crcston, :-:6. Scc also D. Briqucl, Les Plas-
ges en Italie. Recherches sur lHistoire de la Lgende ,Romc, :q8,.
. Thomas Harrison
obscrvation that thcir languagc is unlikc that of an, of thcir ncighbours,
vhcrcas thc pcoplcs of Crcston ano of Flacia ano Sc,lacc spcak thc samc
languagc as onc anothcr: this makcs clcar that thcsc pcoplcs importco thc
charactcr of thcir languagc , , vhcn thc, movco to thcir
prcscnt lanos ano that thc, hao guaroco thcir common languagc.
qq

\hcrc oocs this lcavc thc Fclasgian Athcnians? 1hc Attic racc ,
,, bcing Fclasgian , ,, at thc samc timc as thc,
changco to bccomc Grccks lcarnt thc languagc ,
, :.;.,. 1hc Grcck racc , ,,
in Hcroootus opinion, havc usco thc samc languagc cvcr sincc thc, first
camc into bcing , , :.8.:,. \hcn thc Grcck racc
:oo
vas scpa-
ratco off from thc Fclasgian , ,, it vas
vcak ano small, but thcn b, thc introouction of Fclasgians ano othcr bar-
barians, it grcv to a multituoc of raccs , ,. 1hc Fclasgian
racc, on thc othcr hano, bcing barbarian, ncvcr grcv grcatl, ,
,.
1his is a notoriousl, muoolco ano oifficult passagc of thc Histories,
:o:

crammco vith rcvcaling assumptions. ,In vhat scnsc, for cxamplc, oo bar-
barian raccs ncvcr grov grcatl,? Not, vc might supposc, in tcrms of num-

qq
1hc furthcr complication of surviving Fclasgians vho arc no longcr callco Fclasgian
but havc changco thcir namc , , clcarl, opcns Hcroootus up to a
chargc of circularit,, ano ma, suggcst an intcrpolation. Cf. thc prcscrvation b, thc Erc-
trians transportco to thc Arabian Gulf of thcir languagc, 6.::q., or Hcroootus argu-
mcnt, ..:o, introoucco rathcr latc in support of thc bclicf that Colchians arc Eg,ptians,
that thcir vholc va, of lifc ano languagc arc similar. Llo,o, ao loc, II..-6 ,cf. I.:6:-.,
rationaliscs Hcroootus claim as basco on nothing morc than a similarit, of souno bc-
tvccn onc or tvo of thc fcv Eg,ptian ano Colchian voros that hc or his sourccs kncv.
Constrast D. Ichling, Herodotus and his Sources, tr. ]. G. Hovic ,Lccos, :q8q, :., arguing
that Hcroootus asscrtion is mcrcl, a scconoar, conscqucncc of his crroncous thcor,,
citing thc parallcl languagc proofs of Xanthus, FGrHist ;6 I :-:6 ano at D. S. .6..
\. K. Fritchctt makcs no mcntion of thc similarit, of languagc bctvccn Colchians ano
Eg,ptians in thc coursc of his violcnt ripostc to Ichling, The Liar School of Herodotus ,Am-
stcroam, :qq, :.-:6.
:oo
Or thc Grcck part of thc Athcnians: scc A. G. Lairo, Hcroootus on thc Fclasgians
in Attica, AJPh ,:q, q;-::q ,at p.::,, R. A. McNcal, op. cit. ,n. q8, :;-:8. It is haro to
scc, hovcvcr, in vhat scnsc thc Athcnians coulo havc bccn saio to havc grovn into a
multituoc of raccs.
:o:
Scc csp. ]. L. M,rcs, A Histor, of thc Fclasgian 1hcor,, JHS .; ,:qo;, :;o-.., A.
G. Lairo, op. cit. ,n. :oo, q;-::q, R. A. McNcal, op. cit. ,n. q8, ::-.:. Ior a collcction of all
ancicnt sourccs on thc Fclasgians, scc Lochncr von Huttcnbach, Die Pelasger ,Vicnna,
:q6o,. Sa,cc, ao loc. ,pp. o-: n. ,, loscs paticncc vith Hcroootus: \c must lcavc Hc-
roootus to harmonizc |his] inconsistcnt statcmcnts His spcculations on philolog, ano
cthnolog, arc ncvcr vcr, profouno.
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages .

bcrs: barbarians arc, in gcncral, archct,pall, numcrous.
:o.
, On thc qucstion
of languagc, hovcvcr, thc passagc bcgs a numbcr of qucstions. Iirst, Hc-
roootus managcs to maintain an iocal of Grcck linguistic purit,, but onl,
bccausc of thc convcnicnt thcor, that vhilc thc, spokc anothcr languagc
thc, vcrc not in fact Grcck. Hov oio thc Athcnians bccomc Grcck? \hat
oocs it mcan to changc to bccomc Grcck? Hcroootus makcs it souno almost
as though lcarning a languagc vas a conoition of joining thc club.
:o
Iinall,,
hov oio thc Grcck languagc comc about? No ansvcr is givcn. Grcck vas
alva,s Grcck ano thc Grccks alva,s spokc Grcck:
:o
thcsc arc Hcroootus
prioritics.
In othcr instanccs, hovcvcr, Hcroootus conccocs a grcatcr ocgrcc of
non-Grcck influcncc on Grcck. Hcroootus account, for cxamplc, of thc
aooption b, thc Fclasgians of thc namcs of thc goos ,....:, suggcsts a much
closcr rclationship bctvccn thc Fclasgian ano Grcck languagcs. Bcforc thc,
hcaro thc namcs of thc goos, thc Fclasgians ,assuming, intcrcstingl,, thc cx-
istcncc of a numbcr of goos
:o
, callco thcm simpl, , on thc grounos that
thc, hao cstablishco ,, all affairs in thcir orocr. 1his ct,molog,, ao-

:o.
Ior cxamplc, thc imagc of thc Asian horocs of Xcrxcs prcscntco in Acsch,lus Per-
sians, c.g. -;, ano in Hcroootus, c.g. :.:6.:, ;.;-q, cf. Fi. Isthm. .q-o, E. Tro. ;8,
Hipp. AWP :..
:o
As M,rcs puts it, op. cit. ,n. :o:, .o6, Hcroootus rcsts contcnt vith a vicv of thc
proccss of Hcllcnization vhich assumcs a kino of spontancous gcncration. Scc, hov-
cvcr, thc rcaction of Lairo, op. cit. ,n. :o:, :oq-::o, citing thc graoual Dorianisation of thc
C,nourians ,8.;,, ouc to bcing subjcct to thc Argivcs ano thc passagc of timc. Cf.
1huc. ..68. on thc linguistic hcllcnisation , , of thc Am-
philocians through thc influcncc of somc Ambraciots thc, askco to livc vith thcm.
:o
As Robcrt Iovlcr has commcntco to mc in corrcsponocncc, oncc thc Hcllcncs ano
thcir languagc vcrc oiffcrcntiatco from thc Fclasgian, thc, ncvcr changco. Hcllcnc ano
Fclasgian arc immutablc csscnccs, onc can abanoon onc csscncc for thc othcr, but thc
csscnccs oo not aoapt, cvolvc or comminglc. As it happcnco, historicall, thc traffic vas
all onc va, ,hov satisf,ing,.
:o
Contrast Burkcrts charactcrisation of thc Fclasgian as an ungcschicocnc Ein-
hcit, Hcrooot ubcr oic Namcn ocr Gottcr: Fol,thcismus als Historischcs Froblcm, MH
. ,:q8, :.:-. ,at p. :o,, or thc rcmark of Immcrvahr, op. cit. ,n. :., :., that thc Fc-
lasgians hao pcrccivco a unit, of rcligious forccs that Hcroootus also octcctco bchino
oivcrgcnt traoitions. Hov ano \clls ano H. Lscncr, vhilst thc, also rcao too much into
Hcroootus voros, oo so in an oppositc fashion: Hov ano \clls, ao loc., offcr thc com-
mcnt vithout having ocfinitc namcs for thcm c.g. thc sun, but not Apollo, Lscncr,
Gtternamen: Versuch einer Lehre von der religisen Begriffsbildung ,Bonn, :8q6, .;q, sccs thc Fc-
lasgian theoi as Sonocrgottcr ocscribco onl, aojcctivall, as opposco to goos vith pcrson-
alitics, m,ths ano propcr namcs. Scc also thc rathcr ovcr-ingcnious thcor, of M,rcs, op.
cit. ,n. :o:, :q8 ,uscfull, summarisco b, Llo,o, II..-.,
.6 Thomas Harrison
vancco apparcntl, in all scriousncss,
:o6
sccms to suggcst that thc Fclasgians
spokc a languagc at lcast akin to Grcck.
:o;

1hc most intriguing matcrial, hovcvcr, suggcsting a broaocr rclation-
ship bctvccn Grcck ano forcign languagcsano thc matcrial that vill bc
thc focus of m, rcmaining oiscussionis that surrounoing thc namcs of thc
goos thcmsclvcs. As is vcll knovn, thc Grccks assimilatco forcign goos b,
supposing that thc, vcrc not in fact forcign at all, but vcrc mcrcl, thc
Grcck goos vorshippco unocr othcr namcs ano vith othcr ritcs. Hcroootus,
in thc voros of Robcrt Farkcr, tcnos to supposc that Grcck ano forcign
goos can bc translatco into onc anothcr, likc Grcck ano forcign voros.
:o8
So,
to takc onl, Eg,ptian cxamplcs, Hcroootus tclls us that thc Eg,ptians call
,, Zcus Amon ,....,, that Bubastis is in thc Grcck languagc
, , Artcmis ,..:;.,, or that thc Grccks namc ,-
, Horus Apollo ,..:..,. Hovcvcr, thcrc is a problcm. Ior ocspitc
his translating man, if not all forcign goos namcs, ocspitc thcn his cviocnt
avarcncss that thc namcs of forcign goos oiffcrco, hc makcs thc asscrtion
that thc Grcck namcs of thc goos camc from Eg,pt ,..o,:

Almost all thc namcs of thc goos camc from Eg,pt to Grcccc ,
,.
Ior that thc, camc from thc barbarians I founo b, invcstigation to bc
truc, ano I think that thc, arrivco cspcciall, from Eg,pt. Ior cxccpt for
Foscioon ano thc Dioscuri, as I cxplainco bcforc, ano Hcra ano Hcstia
ano 1hcmis, ano thc Graccs ano thc Ncrcios, thc namcs of thc othcr

:o6
As rccognisco b, \. Burkcrt, Hcrooot als Historikcr frcmocr Rcligioncn in \.
Burkcrt ct. al, Hrodote et les Peuples non-Grecs ,Gcncva, :qqo, .8-q, Llo,o ao loc. ,II. .,,
scc, hovcvcr, Ichlings argumcnt, op. cit. ,n. qq, 8q-qo, that Hcroootus ascribco an un-
oiffcrcntiatco panthcon to Dooona in thc light of H. Il. :6... On Hcroootus ct,molog,
of theoi, scc Dicls, op. cit. ,n. :o, :q, juoging thc ct,molog, falsc, though scc nov H. Fc-
tcrsmann, Lcs oicux ancicns ct lcur profcssions, Ktema : ,:qqo, ;-8o, ano his Bcobach-
tungcn zu ocn Apcllativcn fur Gott, in K.-I. Kraft, E.-M. Lill, L. Schvab ,cos., triuwe.
Studien zur Sprachgeschichte und Literaturwissenschaft. Gedchtnisbuch fr Elfriede Stutz ,Hciocl-
bcrg, :qq., :.;-::, csp. :q-:.
:o;
Ravlinson II.q6. Cf. Acsch. Suppliants vhcrc no rcfcrcncc is maoc to thc barbaric
naturc of thc Fclasgians spccch, unlikc that of thc Chorus, q;.-: scc furthcr E. Hall, op.
cit. ,n. :, :;:-..
:o8
R. Farkcr, Athenian Religion: A History ,Oxforo, :qq6, :q. On thc iocntification of
Grcck ano forcign Goos, scc ,in aooition to Farkcr, ch. q, csp. Linforth, op. cit. ,n. .8,,
\. Burkcrt, op. cit. ,n. :o6,, ]. Ruoharot, Lcs attituocs ocs grccs a lcgaro ocs rcligions
ctrangcrcs, RHR .oq ,:qq., .:q-8. 1hc cquation of forcign ano Grcck goos is oftcn sccn
as a rcflcction of an csscntiall, tolcrant attituoc to forcign rcligions, a position I intcno to
qualif, in a chaptcr of a forthcoming monograph, Divinity and History: The Religion of He-
rodotus ,provisional titlc,.
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages .;

goos thc Eg,ptians havc alva,s hao in thcir lano ,
,. I sa, vhat thc
Eg,ptians thcmsclvcs sa,. 1hosc goos vhosc namcs thc Eg,ptians sa,
thc, oo not knov, thcsc sccm to mc to havc bccn namco b, thc Fclas-
gians, cxccpt Foscioon, for this goo thc, oiscovcrco from thc Lib,ans.
No othcr pcoplc cxccpt thc Lib,ans havc hao Foscioons namc cstab-
lishco among thcm from thc bcginning, ano thc, havc alva,s hon-
ourco him.

Hov arc vc to squarc thcsc tvo apparcntl, contraoictor, positions? Onc
solution that has oftcn bccn aooptco is that Hcroootus hcrc oocs not mcan
b, namcs of thc goos thc namcs of thc goos, but thc practicc, thc habit, of
giving namcs to thosc goos, thc rccognition of thcm as oistinct.
:oq
So, accoro-
ing to Ivan Linforth, vhcn Hcroootus vishcs to sa, that thc Grccks ocrivco
thcir knovlcogc of a goo from Eg,pt, hc sa,s that thc namc camc to thcm
from Eg,pt, ano this in spitc of thc fact that thc Grcck namc ano thc Eg,p-
tian namc arc totall, oiffcrcnt.
1his solution has thc aovantagc of solving thc immcoiatc contraoiction,
but it givcs risc to a numbcr of cvcn grcatcr problcms. 1hcrc is onl, timc
hcrc to skctch thc main outlincs of thcsc oifficultics.
::o
As Lattimorc arguco,
might mcan somcthing more than namc, but it is haro to scc hov it
can mcan an,thing lcss: if Hcroootus mcans to tcll us that thc Fclasgians
ocrivco from Eg,pt cvcr,thing about thc goos except thcir namcs, hc is oclib-
cratcl, cmphasising thc most mislcaoing of possiblc tcrms.
:::
Linforths solu-
tion of a tcchnical scnsc of thc voro also has thc cffcct of making a
nonscnsc of a numbcr of ncarb, passagcs. In his account of thc Fclasgians
oiscovcr, of thc namcs of thc goos, Hcroootus sa,s that thc, hao not ,ct
hcaro thc namcs , , ....:,. Bcforc thc, hcaro thc namcs
of thc goos, thc Fclasgians simpl, callco thc goos . If vc vcrc to assumc
that thc Fclasgians mcrcl, callco thcm thc Fclasgian for , Hcroootus
ct,molog, of thc tcrm ,unlcss hc vcrc to assumc that thc Fclasgian tcrm for
somchov hao a parallcl ct,molog,?, voulo bc oifficult to cxplain.
::.
It is

:oq
Scc csp. Linforth, op. cit. ,n. .8, :8-:q ,forcshaoovco b, Linforth at UCPClPh ;
,:q., .;, ano rcstatco in his Grcck ano Eg,ptian Goos ,Hcroootus II.o ano .,, CPh
,:qo, oo-:,, Ruoharot, op. cit. ,n. :o8, ..;-8, \. Burkcrt, op. cit. ,n. :o6,.
::o
Scc csp. R. Lattimorc, Hcroootus ano thc namcs of thc Eg,ptian Goos, CPh
,:qo, ;-6 ano Llo,o II..o-, but also Dicls, op. cit. ,n. :o, :6, Mc,cr, op. cit. ,n. :.,
:q. A full oiscussion of thc argumcnts vill form an appcnoix to Harrison ,n. :oq,.
:::
Lattimorc, op. cit. ,n. :::, q-6o.
::.
Similar oifficultics arisc in tr,ing to rcconcilc Linforths thcor, vith Hcroootus ois-
cussion of thc namc of Hcraclcs ,...:-,: scc Harrison ,n. :o8,.
.8 Thomas Harrison
also possiblc to makc out a vcr, gooo casc that, at lcast in thc casc of somc
goos, Hcroootus rcall, oocs bclicvc that thc Grcck namcs ocrivco from
Eg,pt. 1hc casc is cspcciall, strong in thc cascs of Dion,sus ano of Hcraclcs
vhcrc Hcroootus offcrs prccisc contcxts for thc introouction of thcir cults
from Eg,pt to Grcccc ,..-, q,, in both cascs, intcrcstingl, in thc light of
his argumcnt that thc Grcck alphabct ocrivco from thc Fhocnicians, thc
mioolcmcn in thc introouction of thcsc cults arc Fhocnician.
::

\c arc still lcft vith thc original contraoiction, hovcvcr. Hov can Hc-
roootus bclicvc both that thc namc Dion,sus ocrivco from Eg,pt, ano that
Dion,sus is thc Grcck namc for Osiris ,..:..,? Richmono Lattimorc sug-
gcstco that thc solution la, in thc fact that goos can havc morc than onc
namc. Hovcvcr, Hcroootus manncr of making cquations suggcsts a transla-
tion of cquivalcnt namcs, not that thc Eg,ptians or Sc,thians havc, as it
vcrc, anothcr namc tuckco ava,. His translations of goos namcs arc pcr-
formco in prcciscl, thc samc va, as his translations of morc humorum
picccs of vocabular,, for cxamplc his obscrvation that is in thc
Grcck languagc ,..:.,. ,Arc vc to assumc in thcsc cascs
that thc Eg,ptians in fact usco thc tcrm alongsioc , or
that thc, vcrc all bilingual?, Ior a bricf momcnt, I fantasizco rcccntl, that
anothcr, similarl, bolo, solution might cxist. If thc namcs of thc Eg,ptian
goos, for cxamplc Horus thc loft, onc, vcrc in fact taboo namcs,
::
might
Hcroootus havc thought that thc Grccks namcs vcrc thc rcal, unmcntion-
ablc, Eg,ptian namcs? Hovcvcr, vc shoulo, I think, rcsist solutions vhich
prcsumc that Hcroootus kncv much morc than hc vantco to oisclosc. Hc-
roootus rcpcatcol, mcntions thc namc of Osiris ocspitc a consiocrablc ois-
pla, of rcluctancc to oo prcciscl, that: surcl,, thcn, hc voulo at lcast havc
mcntionco thc cxistcncc of othcr namcs, hao hc knovn thcm.
::

Lltimatcl, pcrhaps vc shoulo not strugglc too officiousl, to makc Hc-
roootus consistcnt. 1hcrc arc, hovcvcr, somc va,s of softcning, or hclping
to unocrstano, thc contraoiction: ano thcsc lic in his unocrstanoing of thc
naturc of languagc. 1o bcgin vith, ocspitc thc imprcssion of his oiscussion
of thc Fclasgians that thc Grcck languagc vas born full,-flcogco, ano oc-
spitc thc succcss of thc surviving Fclasgians in guaroing thcir original lan-
guagc, Hcroootus knovs that languagc changcs. 1his is implicit, of coursc,
in thc ioca of thc Fclasgians prcscrvation of thcir languagc. It is also cviocnt

::
Scc Harrison ,n. :o8,.
::
Scc, c.g., S. Morcnz, Egyptian Religion, tr. A. E. Kccp ,Lonoon, :q;, .: ff..
::
..86.., :..., :;o.:. Ior an cxplanation of Hcroootus occasional rcticcncc conccrn-
ing thc oivinc in his account of Eg,pt, ano for furthcr rcfcrcnccs, scc m, Hcroootus ano
thc ccrtaint, of oivinc rctribution, in A. B. Llo,o ,co., What is a God? Studies in the Nature of
Greek Divinity ,Lonoon, :qq;, :o6 ano n. . ,p.::8,.
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages .q

from a numbcr of frcqucntl, rcpcatco cxprcssions in thc coursc of thc Histo-
rics, for cxamplc vhcn hc introouccs a cit, or pcoplc as nov callco x or
formcrl, callco ,,
::6
or vhcn hc givcs octails of hov thc namcs of oiffcrcnt
pcoplcs havc changco, almost alva,s as a rcsult of a ,Grcck, m,thical
cpon,mous anccstor.
::;
Givcn Hcroootus acknovlcogcmcnt of languagc
changc, pcrhaps thcn hc thought ,or might havc thought, if somconc hao
confrontco him vith his contraoiction, that thc Eg,ptians hao oncc usco thc
Grcck namcs, but that, having impartco thcsc to thc Grccks, ano thc namcs
having fallcn out of usc in Eg,pt, thc, hao bcgun to usc oiffcrcnt namcs.
::8

1hcrc is a vast gulf in timc, accoroing to Hcroootus, bctvccn thc thc intro-
ouction to Grcccc of thc namcs of thc goos ano his ovn oa,: knovlcogc of
Dion,sus camc to Grcccc sixtccn hunorco ,cars bcforc his lifctimc, knovl-
cogc of Fan arouno cight hunorco ,cars ,..:.,.
Morc intcrcstingl,, hovcvcr, thcrc arc a numbcr of passagcs in thc His-
tories vhich arc suggcstivc of thc ioca, famousl, proposco in Flatos Cratylus,
of thc natural appropriatcncss of namcs, a ccrtain rightncss of namcs
, ,, thc samc both for Grccks ano barbarians ,Fl.
Crat. 8a-b,.
::q
Similar iocas ma,, for cxamplc, lic bchino his oiscussion of
thc origins of thc namcs of thc contincnts ,...-,:

I cannot vork out vh, it is, sincc thc carth is all onc, that thcrc shoulo
bc thrcc namcs sct upon it , ,, all
having thc cpon,ms of vomcn, nor vh, for bounoarics thc Eg,ptian
rivcr Nilc is givcn as onc ano thc Colchian rivcr Fhasis as anothcr
though thcrc arc thosc vho spcak for thc Macctian rivcr 1anais ano

::6
Scc :.;.: ,1hcssaliotis,, ..qq. ,Mcmphis,, ..:::. ,Rco soil,, ..::.. ,Canobic
mouth,, ..:6. ,floating islano,, .8. ,Sc,thian tcrritor,,, .:6o.: ,Barca,, ;.q ,Achaca,,
;.:o8. ,Briantik,, 8. ,Doris,, 8... ,Hcllas,, 8.6.: ,Acgina,. Ior cxamplcs in Hcrooo-
tus contcmporarics, csp. Hccatacus ano Fhcrcc,ocs, scc R. Iovlcr, Hcroootos ano his
contcmporarics, JHS ::6 ,:qq6, ; n. 86.
::;
Scc Appcnoix . Ior this m,thological colonisation of forcign pcoplcs, scc Braun,
op. cit. ,n. o, .q-:, E. Hall, op. cit. ,n. :, 6, Iovlcr, op. cit. ,n. ::6, ; ano n. 8. ,1hc
usc of cpon,ms is so common ano univcrsal that I havc not bothcrco to illustratc it,.
::8
As suggcstco b, Llo,o, II..o-.
::q
Ior thc Cratylus ano its philosophical backgrouno, scc C. ]. Classcn, Stuo, of lan-
guagc among Socratcs contcmporarics, in Sophistik, Wege der Forschung Bo. :8; ,Darm-
staot, :q;6, .:-;, S. B. Lcvin, \hats in a namc?: a rcconsiocration of thc Cratylus his-
torical sourccs ano topics, Ancient Philosophy : ,:qq, q:-::, but csp. 1. M. ]. Baxtcr, The
Crat,lus: Platos Critique of Naming, Philosophia Antiqua vol. 8 ,Lciocn, :qq.,. 1hc ioca of
thc appropriatcncss of namcs is ascribco in thc oialoguc itsclf to Frooicus ,8b, ano to
Euth,phro ,q6o-c, .8c,, but Baxtcr, ch. , strcsscs thc vioc rangc of targcts against
vhom Flato is arguing: Flato is battling against vhat hc sccs as a culturc-vioc mistakcn
bclicf in thc povcr of namcs ,p.:o;,.
o Thomas Harrison
thc Cimmcrian fcrrics. Nor can I fino out thc namcs of thosc vho cs-
tablishco thcsc bounoarics or from vhcrc thc, got thcsc cpon,ms. Ior
instancc, Lib,a is saio b, man, Grccks to havc that namc from Lib,a,
a voman nativc to that lano, ano Asia has its namc b, attribution to
Fromcthcus vifc. Yct thc L,oians claim a sharc in thc namc Asia too,
in that thc, sa, Asia vas so callco from Asics, thc son of Cot,s, thc son
of Mancs, from vhom thc tribc of Asiaos in Sarois is callco, ano so, ac-
coroing to thcm, thc namc is not from Fromcthcus vifc at all. But
about Europc, no onc knovs vhcthcr it is surrounoco b, vatcr, nor is
it knovn vhcncc camc its namc or vho it vas that gavc it its namc,
unlcss vc sa, that thc countr, gots its namc from 1,rian Europc, bcing
bcforc thcn vithout a namc likc thc othcr lanos. But this voman ap-
pcars to bc from Asia ano oio not arrivc in this lano vhich is nov
callco b, thc Grccks Europc, but onl, as far as from Fhocnicia to Crctc
ano from Crctc to L,cia. 1hat is cnough saio. \c vill usc thc cstab-
lishco namcs for thcsc things.

Nov clcarl, Hcroootus has somc problcms vith thc convcntional
namcs, cvcn though hc occiocs ultimatcl, to opt for thcm. At thc samc timc,
hovcvcr, thcrc is a lingcring ioca hcrc that thc oistinctions of languagc
should rcflcct rcal rathcr than mcrcl, arbitrar, oistinctions, hc vants thc
namcs to makc scnsc ano is oisappointco that thc, oo not. 1hc samc ioca
that namcs can bc appropriatc to thc objcct namco can bc sccn pcrhaps
morc balol, bchino an ooo, apparcntl, throvava,, rcmark of Hcroootus
that thc namcs of thc Fcrsians fittco thcir booics ano magnificcncc ,
, :.:q,.
:.o

1hcrc arc a numbcr of parallcls bctvccn thc qucstion of thc namcs of
thc contincnts ano that of thc namcs of thc goos. As vcll as just tr,ing to
fino namcs that arc looscl, appropriatc to thc objccts namco, Hcroootus is
also kccn in this passagc to asccrtain thc onc original sourcc of an, namc.
1hc ct,mologics of thc Grccks ano thc L,oians arc altcrnativcs, but thcrc
arc no altcrnativc namcs: Asia is callco Asia b, both L,oians ano Grccks.
In thc samc va,, just as Hcroootus gocs back ano looks for thc first invcntor
or thc first instancc of an, numbcr of phcnomcna,
:.:
so hc also looks for thc
origins of thc namcs of thc goos, ano sccms to assumc that that thcrc is an

:.o
Immcrvahr asscrts, op. cit. ,n. :., :86 n. :::, that Hcroootus statcmcnt shoulo rc-
fcr to thc lcngth ano pcculiar souno of thc namcs, not to thcir mcaning.
:.:
Somc promincnt firsts in Hcroootus: :.., :.6.., :.., :.q.:, :.:o.:, :.:6., ...-,
6.::... Scc morc gcncrall, A. Klcingunthcr, , Philologus Suppl. .6 ,Lcip-
zig, :q, -6, B. A. van Groningcn, In the Grip of the Past ,Lciocn, :q, -, Iovlcr,
op. cit. ,n. ::6, ;- ano n. 8;.
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages :

authcntic namc vhich vas hclo from thc bcginning.
:..
Somc pcoplcs alva,s
posscssco thc namcs of ccrtain goos. Hcroootus oistinguishcs, for cxamplc,
bctvccn thosc goos to vhom thc Fcrsians sacrificco from thc bcginning,
:.

ano Aphrooitc to vhom thc, lcarnt to sacrificc ,:.::.,. 1hc namcs of thc
majorit, of thc goos, hc sa,s, hao alva,s bccn in Eg,pt ,..o..,, ano thc
Lib,ans arc thc onl, pcoplc to havc posscssco thc namc of Foscioon from
thc bcginning ,..o.,. In thc casc of thosc goos vho havc no obvious origin,
Hcroootus attcmpts to fino onc almost b, a proccss of climination: thosc
goos of vhosc namcs thc Eg,ptians ocn, knovlcogc Hcroootus rcckons
,vith thc cxccption of Foscioon, to havc bccn namco, prcsumabl, namco
for thc first timc, b, thc Fclasgians.
Anothcr parallcl bctvccn thc namcs of thc contincnts ano thc namcs of
thc goos ,in particular vith his oiscussion of thc Fclasgians oiscovcr, of thc
namcs of thc goos, is that just as thc Fclasgian goos vcrc oncc anon,mous,
so vcrc thc contincnts until thc lifctimcs of thc vomcn aftcr vhom thc, arc
namco.
:.

Iinall,, Hcroootus rcsolution that hc shoulo givc thc bcncfit of thc
ooubt to thc currcnt namcs of thc contincnts is rcminisccnt of a common at-
tituoc to thc namcs of thc goos: Zcus, sa, thc Chorus in Acsch,lus Aga-
memnon ,:6o-,, vhocvcr Zcus ma, bc, if this namc is plcasing to him, b, this
namc I aoorcss him. I can comparc vith him, mcasuring all things against
him, nonc but Zcus.
:.
1hc implication of such passagcs is not that namcs
arc mcrcl, convcntional, but rathcr that, shoulo thc right namc bc hit upon,
a namc inocco has a ccrtain povcr.
1hcsc parallcls bctvccn Hcroootus oiscussion of thc namcs of thc goos
ano of thc contincnts suggcst that hc ma,, in his oiscussion of thc goos
namcs, havc bccn thinking instinctivcl, in tcrms of a singlc sct of authcntic

:..
1hough contrast thc common ioca of goos as man,-namco: c.g. A. PV .:., Soph.
OC .- ,cf. A. Eum. :8,, S. fr. q: Raot, E. Hipp. :-., Bacch. .;-6.
:.
As Ruoharot rcmarks, hovcvcr, op. cit. ,n. :o8, ..-6, it is rclativcl, cas, to knov
thc sun, moon, stars ctc. from thc bcginning.
:.
Fcoplcs, b, contrast, sccm usuall, to havc hao a namc bcforc thcir currcnt namc:
scc abovc, n. ::6. Ion also vas anon,mous bcforc his iocntit, vas oiscovcrco: E. Ion :;.-
.
:.
Ior othcr instanccs of this unccrtaint, rc. thc namcs of thc goos, scc S. ]. Fullc,n,
1hc povcr of namcs in classical Grcck rcligion, CQ ,:qq, :;-., nov rcvisco as ch. 6
of his Prayer in Greek Religion ,Oxforo, :qq;,, concluoing that namcs hao no magical povcr.
His suggcstion that philosophical influcncc ma, lic bchino somc such instanccs of unccr-
taint, ,c.g. E. fr. q:... N, Tro. 88, Bacch. .;, is unocrminco b, A. Ag. :6o- ,as Fullc,n
acknovlcogcs,. Morcovcr, cxprcssions of fcar conccrning thcological spcculation such
as Fl. Crat. ooo-o:a, o;o-c, Phil. :.c, cannot bc oismissco as mcrcl, or cxclusivcl, phi-
losophical in tonc.
. Thomas Harrison
namcs. Hovcvcr, hov might hc havc accountco for thc cxistcncc of othcr
namcs in parallcl to thc authcntic namcs? A vcr, similar objcction vas ao-
vancco against thc ioca of thc natural appropriatcncss of namcs, first b,
Hcrmogcncs in thc Cratylus ,8o-c, ano latcr b, Scxtus Empiricus ,adv. math.
:., cf. Pyrrh Hyp. ...:,, that oiffcrcnt citics ano oiffcrcnt pcoplcs usc oiffcr-
cnt namcs for thc samc thing. Othcr argumcnts vcrc aovancco b, Dcmocri-
tus: thc cxistcncc of homon,ms ano of s,non,ms ano thc fact that namcs
ma, changc.
:.6
1hc Cratylus itsclf proviocs a numbcr of rcsponscs to thcsc
criticisms. Onc rcsponsc is to holo that oiffcrcnt namcs for thc samc thing
can capturc its csscncc cquall, vcll. As Socratcs argucs ,Crat. 8qo-qoa,, if
oiffcrcnt lavgivcrs oo not cmboo, it |thc namc] in thc samc s,llablcs, vc
must not forgct this iocal namc on that account, for oiffcrcnt smiths oo not
cmboo, thc form in thc samc iron, though making thc samc instrumcnt for
thc samc purposc, but so long as thc, rcprooucc thc samc iocal, though it bc
in oiffcrcnt iron, still thc instrumcnt is as it shoulo bc, vhcthcr it bc maoc
hcrc or in forcign lanos.
:.;
As Baxtcr puts it, a Grcck namc ano a barbarian
namc of complctcl, oiffcrcnt lcttcrs ano s,llablcs can bc qualitativcl,
cquivalcnt b, rcprooucing thc samc ioca.
:.8
An altcrnativc position, hov-
cvcr, is to supposc that somc namcs arc morc valio than othcrs. A chauvinist
vcrsion of this stancc, onc that vc havc sccn alrcao, in thc vicv that bar-
barians arc , might bc that Grcck namcs ano valio namcs arc onc

:.6
Dcmocritus DK 68 B .6. Diooorus Cronus took a morc practical approach to ois-
proving thc natural appropriatcncss of namcs b, giving thc namcs men ano de to his
sons, thc namc allamn to a scrvant, ano 1hcognis to his oaughtcr: G. Giannantoni, Socra-
tis et Socraticorum Reliquiae vol. : ,Naplcs, :qqo, II. I 6-;.
:.;
Cf. Arist. de interpr. :.:6a: namcs ma, not bc thc samc among all pcoplcs, but thc
imprcssions of thc soul , , arc thc samc for all mcn, as arc thc prag-
mata that thc imprcssions rcprcscnt. Ior thc graoual Grcck oistinction of namc ano thing,
scc furthcr Burkcrt, op. cit. ,n. :o,, M. Salvaoorc, Il Nome, La Persona. Saggio sull Etimologia
Antica ,Gcnova, :q8;,. Cf. also thc charming argumcnt of Epicurus, Letter to Herodotus ;-6
,tr. C. \. Chilton, 1hc Epicurcan 1hcor, of thc Origin of Languagc. A Stuo, of Dio-
gcncs of Ocnoanoa. Iragmcnts X ano XI ,\,, AJPh 8 ,:q6., :q-6; at p. :6:,, main-
taining thc ioca of thc naturalncss of languagc in such a va, as to account for linguistic
oiffcrcnccs: Ano so namcs vcrc not originall, brought into bcing b, arbitrar, octcrmi-
nation, but mcns ovn naturcs in thcir oiffcrcnt raccs, fccling thcir particular cmotions
ano rccciving thcir particular imprcssions, cmittco in thcir particular fashion thc air
forcco out b, cach of thcsc cmotions ano imprcssions vith thc aooco oiffcrcnccs causco
b, thc placcs of thc abooc of thc nations at thc timc. 1hcn latcr b, common agrccmcnt
in thcir oiffcrcnt raccs particular namcs vcrc scttlco on so as to makc thcir mcanings lcss
ambiguous to onc anothcr ano morc bricfl, cxprcssco. Diogcncs of Ocnoanoa criticisco
thc ioca of thc naturalncss of namcs as absuro, in fact morc absuro than an, absuroit,
as vcll as bcing quitc impossiblc: scc Chilton, p. :6.
:.8
Baxtcr, op. cit. ,n. ::q,
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages

ano thc samc. 1hat is not a position aooptco in thc Cratylus. Inocco onc of
thc possiblc lct-out clauscs vhich cxplain an, namc vhosc mcaning cannot
bc oiscovcrco through ct,molog, is that it is a forcign namc takcn from
barbarians olocr than thc Grccks ,Crat. .c-.6a, cf. .:o,. But anothcr
possibilit, is also raisco, ano that is simpl, that somc namcs might bc artifi-
cial ano convcntional, ano b, cxtcnsion that thcrc arc tvo lcvcls of lan-
guagc: Hcrmogcncs namc, for cxamplc, sincc hc is not rcall, born from
Hcrmcs must cithcr not bc his namc or bc a mcrcl, convcntional namc.
:.q

\hat cviocncc oocs Hcroootus prcscnt on thcsc qucstions? 1hc first
passagc that ma, bc rclcvant is thc famous stor, of Fsammctichus languagc
tcst in Book II ,...-,. Fsammctichus vishco to scttlc thc qucstion of vho
vcrc thc olocst pcoplc of mankino. Ano so hc gavc tvo ncv-born chilorcn
to a shcphcro, vith instructions that no voro shoulo bc spokcn to thcm, but
that thc, shoulo bc lcft alonc in a room ano fco b, goats introoucco from
timc to timc into thcir room. Aftcr tvo ,cars thc shcphcro vas mct onc oa,
b, thc tvo chilorcn cr,ing out as thc, hclo out thcir hanos. \hcn
this occurrco rcpcatcol,, thc shcphcro rcportco this to thc king, vho in turn
asccrtainco that vas thc Fhr,gian namc for brcao. So thc Eg,ptians
concluoco that thc Fhr,gians vcrc thc olocst pcoplc in thc vorlo ano also
,vithout an, proof to this cffcct, that thc,, thc Eg,ptians, vcrc thc sccono
olocst pcoplc.
:o

\hat arc thc implications of this stor,? Iirstl,, it prcsupposcs that thc
first languagc vill havc bccn spokcn b, thc first pcoplc: Hcroootus oocs not
cntcrtain thc possibilit, that thcrc might havc bccn an olocr pcoplc still vho
hao no languagc.
::
Morc importantl,, onc languagc cmcrgcs, givcn thc ab-
scncc of othcr nurturing influcnccs, as thc ocfault sctting, thc natural, au-

:.q
Cf. Baxtcr, op. cit. ,n. ::q, :o.
:o
Ior thc stor, of Fsammctichus, scc R. Kasscl, Kleine Schriften ,Bcrlin, :qq:, 66-;, but
csp. nov F. Vannicclli, Lcspcrimcnto linguistico oi Fsammctico ,Hcrooot. II..,: ccra
una volta il frigio, in Frigi et Frigio: Monografie scientificheSerie Scienze umane et sociale
,Romc, CNR, :qq;, .o:-:;. Similar cxpcrimcnts arc ascribco also to Ircocrick II of Gcr-
man,, ]amcs IV of Scotlano ano thc Moghul cmpcror Akbar: for thcsc parallcls, scc csp.
A. Sulck, 1hc cxpcrimcnt of Fsammctichus: fact, fiction, ano moocl to follov, JHI o
,:q8q, 6-:. 1hc cxpcrimcnt of ]amcs IV of Scotlano ,on thc islc of Inchkcith in thc
Iirth of Iorth, cnos, in thc account of Robcrt Linocsa, of Fitscottics The Histories and
Chronicles of Scotland, co. Acncas ]. G. Macka, ,Eoinburgh, :8qq, I..;, in thc Hcroootcan
juogcmcnt: Sum sa,is thc, spak goooc hcbrcv bot as to m, sclf I kncv not bot bc thc
authoris rchcrsc. Ior latcr parallcls to thc ioca of natural languagc, c.g. that oiffcrcnt
languagcs rctainco clcmcnts of thc original, pcrfcct languagc crcatco b, Aoam, scc Bax-
tcr, op. cit. ,n. ::q, 6-;., E. Saio, Orientalism ,Lonoon, :q;8, :-8.
::
A possibilit, raisco at lcast in thcor, b, Euripiocs, Suppl. .o:- ,goo first gavc intclli-
gcncc to mcn ano thcn languagc, thc mcsscngcr of logoi,, or b, rcfcrcnccs to non-vcrbal
communication ,c.g. E. IA 6-6, Or. :. ,cf. S. Ant. ;oo,, .::: ff..
Thomas Harrison
thcntic languagc of mcn. 1hat such an ioca hao a viocr currcnc, is sug-
gcstco also b, its rcfutation in thc Dissoi Logoi ,DK qo B 6 ,:.,,: if a small
,Grcck, chilo vcrc transportco to Fcrsia, vc arc tolo, hc voulo spcak Fcr-
sianano vice versa. 1hc stor, is also rcminisccnt of an ioca cxprcssco in thc
Cratylus, rcfcrrco to abovc, that ccrtain namcs ,vhosc ct,mologics arc impos-
siblc to oiscovcr, arc ocrivco from barbarian languagcs olocr than Grcck.
1hc stor, ma, also prcsupposc, as Alan Llo,o has put it, that onc languagc
vas invcntco ano all othcrs somchov ocsccnoco from it.
:.
1his is not ncc-
cssaril, thc casc, hovcvcr. 1hc stor, cmphasiscs thc cxccptional qualit, of
onc languagc, its absolutc rathcr than rclativc originalit,. It is possiblc, sa,,
that oiffcrcnt languagcs vcrc gcncratco inocpcnocntl, of onc anothcr.
:

Anothcr passagc that shcos furthcr light on Hcroootus ioca of thc rcla-
tionship bctvccn oiffcrcnt languagcs is that in vhich hc translatcs thc namcs
of thc Fcrsian kings ,6.q8.,:

1hcsc namcs mcan in thc Grcck languagc: Darius vorkcr ,,,
Xcrxcs varrior ,,, ano Artaxcrxcs grcat varrior , ,.
1hus rightl, ,, thc Grccks voulo call thcm in thcir ovn lan-
guagc.
:


Hcroootus prcsumcs that thc namcs of thc kings mcan somcthing, that thc,
thcrcforc havc a Grcck cquivalcnt. A. B. Cook maoc thc intriguing suggcs-
tion, hovcvcr,
:
that Hcroootus translations of thc kings namcs havc bccn

:.
Llo,o, II..
:
1hc rclationship bctvccn oiffcrcnt languagcs is an arca that rcccivcs no conccntra-
tion in ancicnt m,ths\thcorics of thc origin of languagcs, cvcn thosc in vhich multiplc
languagcs arc a fcaturc, c.g. Gen. ::.:-q, FGrHist .; I ;q, Fhilo. Alcx. de. post. Caini q:,
likcvisc, thcrc is no ioca at Flut. Mor. ;ob of hov thc futurc of onc politcia ano onc lan-
guagc might bc rcalisco. Othcr m,ths arc of thc origin of spccch, lcttcrs, souno, a first
languagc, but not of a numbcr of languagcs: Fl. Tim. ;c-o, Phdr. .;c-o, Crat. o8a-b,
D.S. :.:6.:, F. Dcrvcni col. :; ff. ,in thc translation of Laks ano Most,.
:
Scc R. Schmitts suggcstion, Dic Vcrfassungsocbattc bci Hcrooot ,8o-8. uno oic
Et,mologic ocs Darcios-Namcns, Historia .6 ,:q;;, .-, that Hcroootus rcvcals knovl-
cogc of thc rcal Iranian ct,molog, of Darius namc at .8... Ior thc rcal mcaning of thc
Fcrsian kings namcs, scc A. Hofmann-Kutschkc, Iranischcs bci ocn Gricchcn, Philologus
66 ,:qo;, :;-q:, csp. :;-6, H. Schmcja, Darcios, Xcrxcs, Artaxcrxcs. Drci pcrsischc
Konigsnamcn in gricchischcr Dcutung ,Zu Hcrooot 6,q8,,, Die Sprache .: ,:q;, :8-88,
vith an altcrnativc cxplanation of thc Hcroootcan ct,molog,.
:
Nomcn Omcn, CR .: ,:qo;, :6q, acccptco nov b, H. B. Roscn in his ncv 1cub-
ncr coition. Cf. S. Bcnaroctc, Herodotean Inquiries ,1hc Haguc, :q6q, :6., arguing that Hc-
roootus thus ocnics that thcir looks can tcll onc an,thing at all. 1ranslation from Fcrsian
to Grcck cannot bc oonc b, likcncss of lcttcrs to lcttcrs, but it ocpcnos on thc samcncss of
mcanings.
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages

oistortco in transmission, ano shoulo rcao instcao: Darius , Xcrxcs
, ano Artaxcrxcs . 1his ma, bc thought to bc asking a lot
of tcxtual transmission: first that ano arc confusco, ano thcn
that thc situation is rationalizco b, Artaxcrxcs bccoming -, thcn,
though this is lcss important, that is rcplacco b, thc morc common
. 1hcrc arc othcr arcas of ooubt: thc confusion ma,, of coursc, not bc
in thc manuscript traoition, but bc Hcroootus ovn or that of his sourcc
,though vhcthcr thc iocas of languagc unocrl,ing this passagc arc thosc of
Hcroootus or of his sourcc is, arguabl,, not vcr, important,. Against thc first
objcctions is thc povcrful argumcnt of thc uncann, phonctic rcscmblancc
bctvccn thc namcs ano thcir Grcck translations. Morcovcr, vh,, as Cook
askco, shoulo Hcroootus havc usco thc cxccssivcl, rarc voro , unlcss
hc vishco to bring out vhat hc took to bc thc obvious ct,molog, of Xcrxcs?
If Cooks thcor, is corrcct, Hcroootus appcars to cnvisagc not onl, that
thcsc Fcrsian namcs havc a mcaning vhich can bc rcnocrco in Grcck, but
that thcir mcaning can onl, bc oiscovcrco through thcir Grcck ct,mologics.
It is for this rcason, bccausc thc Fcrsian namcs mcan somcthing in Grcck
,rathcr than simpl, bccausc of thc appropriatcncss of thcir mcanings,, that
Hcroootus can sa, that thc Grccks call thc kings rightl, in thcir ovn lan-
guagc.
:6
\crc thcsc Fcrsian namcs, hovcvcr, cxccptional in that thcir
mcaning coulo bc unocrstooo through Grcck, or can vc makc an, juogc-
mcnt about a gcncral rclationship bctvccn Grcck ano Fcrsian, for cxamplc
that Fcrsian is a oistortco, corrupt vcrsion of Grcck?
1hc possibilit, that onl, a fcv Fcrsian namcs might havc bccn imaginco
to havc hao Grcck ocrivations is arguabl, supportco b, thc barbarian ocri-
vations of thc Cratylus: onl, a hanoful of Grcck voros arc imaginco to bc in
origin barbarian voros on thc grounos that thc, oo not allov of a Grcck
ct,molog,. 1hc voros arc notabl, Grcck-sounoing: , , ,Crat.

:6
1hc mcanings of thc kings namcs ma,, of coursc, altcrnativcl, or in aooition bc
appropriatc to thc charactcrs of thc rcspcctivc kings ,cf. :.:q,. Cf. .q.. vhcrc thc
Sc,thians arc saio to havc namco Zcus Fapaios most corrcctl, or most appropriatcl,
,, Onc possibilc cxplanation is that Hcroootus kncv that Fapaios mcant fathcr
in Sc,thian ano Api mothcr: scc K. Mculi, Sc,thica, Hermes ;o ,:q, :.:-;6 at p. ::,
L. Zgusta, Zvci Sk,thischc Gottcrnamcn: Papaios uno Api, Archiv Orientlni .: ,:q, .;o-
:, ano his Die Personennamen griechischer Stdte den nrdlichen Schwarzmeerkste ,Fraha, :q,
o-. ,1his ma, bc conncctco to Hcroootus notorious mistakc of supposing that thc
Fcrsian goo Mitra vas fcmalc, in that hc ma, havc bccn mislco b, a vcrbal rcscmblancc
into supposing that Mitra vas a mothcr-gooocss: R. Mcrkclbach, Mithras ,Konigstcin,
:q8, :o n. :., Hovcvcr, vc might ask vh, it is that Hcroootus oocs not mcntion thc
mcaning of Fapaios if hc kncv of it. 1hc appropriatcncss of Fapaios namc coulo con-
sist simpl, in a similarit, of ritual bctvccn Zcus ano Fapaios ,in othcr voros, hc is sa,ing
that thc iocntification of thc tvo goos is a gooo onc,.
6 Thomas Harrison
:oa,, ,:.b,, ,:6a,, or ,:qc,. Hovcvcr, that Hcrooo-
tus cnvisagco a broaocr rclationship bctvccn Grcck ano Fcrsian is suggcstco
b, thc fact that thc assimilation of Fcrsian namcs to Grcck voros vas a vcr,
much morc viocsprcao practicc amongst thc Grccks.
:;
Somc of thcsc arc
vhat onc might tcrm vcak cascs of assimilation, thc mcrc mouloing of Fcr-
sian namcs into rccognisablc ano convcnicnt forms, for cxamplc thc namc
Anorobazus, influcncco b, thc Grcck -, Artabcs, influcncco b, ,
thc Fcrsian mcasurc, or Artibios, influcncco b, thc Grcck voro . Oth-
crs, hovcvcr, onc might ocscribc as cxamplcs of iocologicall, chargco as-
similation: , influcncco b, thc Grcck -, soft,
:8
in-
flucncco b, thc Grcck for chariot,
:q
, thc namc of thc Mcoian
gcncral vho ravagco thc coast of Asia Minor for C,rus, influcncco b, thc
Grcck , plunocr, ano C,rus himsclf, influcncco b, , suprcmc
authorit,.
:o
Grcat pla, is maoc in Hcroootus account of thc namc of C,rus,
of vhcthcr, for cxamplc, thc bab, C,rus vas inocco C,rus:
::
thc bab,
namco C,rus, Hcroootus sa,s on tvo occasions, bcforc corrccting himsclf,
ano sa,ing that hc hao anothcr namc ano not C,rus ,:.::., cf. :.::.,. His
namc is subscqucntl, oiscovcrco at thc samc timc as his kingship is rcvcalco
through his frcc manncr of spccch: his namc has cncooco vithin it his ro,al
authorit,. Most iocologicall, chargco of all, hovcvcr, is thc namc of thc Fcr-
sians thcmsclvcs, mcaning in Grcck ocstro,crs, somcthing pickco up on in

:;
In gcncral, scc Immcrvahr, op. cit. ,n. :., s.v. ct,mologics ,ano scc rcfs. in n. : bc-
lov,, R. Schmitt, Mcoischcs uno pcrsischcs Sprachgut bci Hcrooot, ZDMG ::; ,:q6;,,
::q-, Schmitt, op. cit. ,n. :.,, O. K. Arma,or, Hcroootus Fcrsian vocabular,, AncW :
,:q;8, :;-6, M. Ma,rhofcr, Iranisches Personennamenbuch I. Die Altiranischen Namen ,\icn,
:q;q,, inocx scct. . ,pp. III..-,, R. Zvanzigcr, Lautcntsprcchung uno/oocr Volk-
sct,mologic? Zu cincr iranischcn Namcn ocr gricchischcn Ncbcnubcrlicfcrung, Klagen-
furter Beitrge zur Sprachwissenschaft ; ,:q8:, 6:-8. All Hcroootus Fcrsian namcs arc gathcrco
vithin thc bounoar, of onc oialcct arca accoroing to D. Hcg,i, Historical Authcnticit,
of Hcroootus in thc Fcrsian Logoi, AAntHung .: ,:q;, ;-8;.
:8
Ior - compouno namcs, scc Schmitt, Bakch,liocs uno oic Iranicr-
Namcn mit Anlaut ABRA/O-, Glotta ,:q;, .o;-:6, E. Hall, Asia Lnmannco: imagcs
of victor, in classical Athcns, in ]. Rich ano G. Shiplc, ,cos., War and Society in the Greek
World ,Lonoon, :qq, :o8-, csp. :..-.
:q
1hc transition from *Arbamithra ma, ,Schmitt op. cit. |n. :.] :, havc bccn facili-
tatco in that thc original *arba- has bccn brought up to thc inoigcnous namcs containing
thc namc of thc lunar goo Arma in Asia Minor.
:o
1hc pun is maoc cxplicit b, Numcnios of 1arsus, Anth. Pal. ., .8.
::
Cf. Immcrvahr, op. cit. ,n. :., :6 n. 8.
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages ;

Acsch,lus Persians as vcll as in tvo of thc most famous oraclcs of thc timc of
thc Fcrsian vars ,;...o., 8.;;.:, A. Pers. 6,.
:.

Such voro-pla,s appcar too frcqucntl, to bc mcrcl, thc sclf-conscious
proouct of litcrar, artists, but arc rathcr thc rcflcction of a morc occp-rootco
ioca of languagc.
:
Grcck namcs too vcrc significant in thcir mcanings.
\ho voulo havc thought, Sophoclcs Ajax crics ,o-, cf. q:,, that m,
namc voulo comc to harmonisc vith m, sorrovs |thc cr, ]?
:
It vas
not onl, m,thical charactcrs vhosc namcs vcrc so significant, morcovcr.
1hc stor, of Hcgcsistratus, vhosc namc vas takcn as an omcn of thc succcss
of thc M,calc cxpcoition ,q.q:,, shovs that cvcn in rclativcl, cvcr,oa, con-

:.
Cf. Immcrvahr, op. cit. ,n. :., n. 8, A. Morcau, Lc songc oAtossc, in F. Ghi-
ron-Bistagnc, A. Morcau ano ].-C. 1urpin ,cos., Les Fcrscs dEschyle ,Montpcllicr, :qq./,
.q-: at p. q, ano csp. H. N. Couch, 1hrcc puns on thc root of pertho in thc Persae of
Acsch,lus, AJP . ,:q:, .;o-. Ior thc rcal ct,molog, of thc namc Fcrsians ,ano Ar-
tacans,, scc Eric Firart, Lcs Noms ocs Fcrscs, JA .8 ,:qq, ;-68.
:
Scc thc commcnts of Iovlcr, op. cit. ,n. ::6, ;. n. ;;, on thc oistinction bctvccn
popular ano scicntific ct,molog,: thc lattcr usuall, sccms morc sclf-conscious ano ois-
pla,s a prctcncc of bcing basco on somc thcorctical unocrstanoing of thc phcnomcnon,
in particular, it ma, bc usco to construct or confirm an historical h,pothcsis. 1hc oiffcr-
cncc bctvccn ancicnt ano moocrn ct,molog, is cxplorco b, Baxtcr, op. cit. ,n. ::q, ;-6.
:
Othcr morc or lcss likcl, voropla,s or spcaking namcs in thc Histories, incluoing
both Grcck namcs ano Hcllcnisco forcign namcs: At,s ano Aorastus ,Immcrvahr, op.
cit. ,n. :., :8 n. ., Hcllmann, Herodots Kroisos-Logos ,Bcrlin, :q, 6.,, 1cllus ,Immcr-
vahr, :6-; n. .:,, Dciphonus ,Immcrvahr, o:,, Frcxaspcs ,.6...: Fovcll CR : ,:q;,
:o, Immcrvahr, :6 n. 8,, Frotcus ,..::8.: Fovcll CR : ,:q;, :o,, Lconioas ,;.....:
Immcrvahr, .6o-: n. 6q,, thc sccrs 1cisamcnus, Hcgcsistratus ano Hippomachus ,Im-
mcrvahr, .q- ano n. :6,, Callimachus ,Immcrvahr, .o n. ;, cf. thc cxaggcratco
commcnts of M,rcs, op. cit. ,n. ., .o8,, Fcisistratus ,Immcrvahr, :q6,, Ast,agcs ,:.:o;.:,
:.8..: Immcrvahr, :6. n. ;,, Dcioccs ,S. Ilor,, The Archaic Smile of Herodotus ,Dctroit,
:q8;, :., 1clcsarchus ,Ilor,, :,, Fh,c ,Ilor,, :.8,. Ior ct,mologics in Hcllanicus ano
othcr authors, csp. fragmcntar, historians, scc Iovlcr, op. cit. ,n. ::6, ; n. ;8-q, noting
an obvious conccntration of this activit, in thc latcr part of thc fifth ccntur,. Examplcs
in tragco, arc almost cnolcss: c.g. Hclcn ,E. Hel. :6;o-, A. Ag. 68:-qq8, cf. Hccatacus
FGrHist : I :.8,, Ion ,E. Hcl. 66:-, 8o., 8o-:, E. Ion 8o- :, 66:-, 8o., 8o-:, :;.-,,
Oo,sscus ,S. fr. q6 Raot,, Fol,nciccs ,A. Scpt. 8:-,. Ior Homcr, scc E. Risch, Na-
mcnsocutungcn uno \ortcrklarungcn bci ocn altcstcn gricchischcn Dichtcrn, in Euma-
sia. Festschrift fr Ernst Howald ,Zurich, :q;, ;.-q, rcprintco in his Kleine Schriften ,Bcrlin,
:q8:, .q-:, N. Austin, Namc magic in thc Oo,ssc,, CSCA ,:q;., :-:q, or for thc ois-
cussion of thc namcs Oo,sscus ano Achillcs rcspcctivcl, ,vith furthcr rcfs.,, S. \cst ao.
H. Od. :.., G. Nag,, ICS :q ,:qq, -q. Ior Hcsioo as ct,mologist, scc M. L. \cst, He-
siod: Theogony ,Oxforo, :q66, s.v. ct,mologizing ano Hesiod: Works and Days ,Oxforo, :q;8,
s.v. ct,mologizing voro-pla, ano ct,molog,, ancicnt. Scc also nov, in gcncral, S. B.
Lcvin, Grcck conccptions of naming: thrcc forms of appropriatcncss in Flato ano thc
litcrar, traoition, CPh q. ,:qq;, 6-;, csp. 8-q.
8 Thomas Harrison
tcxts a namc might bc thought to inoicatc its bcarcrs ocstin,.
:
Grcck
namcs, in gcncral, arc unusuall, mcaningful, ano storics in thc Histories of
hov an inoivioual camc b, his namc
:6
suggcst that thc Grccks vcrc con-
scious of this, cvcn pcrhaps that chilorcn vcrc namco vith a vicv to thc ful-
filmcnt of thcir ominous namcs.
:;

\hcn thc Grccks thcn sav mcaning in Fcrsian namcs, thc, vcrc ooing
no morc than thc, oio in rclation to thcir ovn namcscxccpt for thc prc-
sumption pcrhaps that thc mcaning of Fcrsian namcs vas not similarl, cvi-
ocnt to Fcrsians.
:8
Clcarl, not all Fcrsian namcs vcrc susccptiblc to Grcck
ct,mologising. Hovcvcr, a sufficicnt numbcr of Fcrsian namcs arc bclicvco
to rcvcal thcir mcaning in Grcck ,ano only in Grcck, to suggcst somc bclicf
that, prcsumabl, in thc oistant past, thcrc vas a link bctvccn thc Grcck ano
Fcrsian languagcs. Morcovcr, thc fact that Fcrsian namcs can bc unocrstooo
through Grcck ano not apparcntl, vice versa ,though this coulo, of coursc, bc
ouc simpl, to rclativc ignorancc of Fcrsian,, ano thc fact that onl, a hanoful
of Grcck voros in thc Cratylus arc saio to ocrivc from barbarian languagcs,
might suggcst that thc rclationship vas not a rclationship of cquals, but that

:
Cf. Flut. Nic. :...
:6
c.g. .q..c:, 6.6.. Oftcn, vc ma, suspcct, such storics grcv out of thc namcs, thc
namcs thcn camc to constitutc proof of thc truth of thc storics. Ior thc parallcl va, in
vhich monumcnts givc risc to anccootcs, scc E. Gabba, 1ruc histor, ano falsc histor, in
Classical Antiquit,, JRS ;: ,:q8:, o-6. ,at p. 6:,.
:;
Ior vish-fulfilmcnt in naming in antiquit,, scc A. Erskinc, Romc in thc Grcck
\orlo: thc Significancc of a namc, in A. Fovcll ,co., The Greek World ,Lonoon, :qq, ;:.
Immcrvahr, op. cit. ,n. :., .q n. :6, raiscs thc qucstion of vhcthcr sccrs or gcncrals
vcrc choscn bccausc of thcir namcs. Scc also S. Hornblovcr, 1hc rcligious oimcnsion to
thc Fcloponncsian \ar, HSCP q ,:qq., :6q-q; ,at :8q ano n. ;.,, on thc choicc of Alci-
oas to lcao thc founoation of Hcraklcia, Miltiaocs for an Athcnian colon, to thc Chcr-
soncsc of thc .os ,1oo .oo,, or of Mclanthius to lcao thc Athcnian contingcnt in support
of thc Ionian rcvolt ,.q;.,. Hornblovcr sccs thc lack of namc-puns in 1huc,oiocs, ano
thc lack of an, mcntion of thc significancc of Alcioas namc, as rcflccting a conscious rc-
action against Hcroootus, vho likc man, Grccks back to Homcr ano oovn to Sophoclcs
sav significancc in propcr namcs, somcthing totall, abscnt in 1huc,oiocs. I for onc am
villing, ocspitc thc scornful commcnts of Hornblovcr, :8q ano n. ; ano in his Thucydides
,Lonoon, :q8;, q, to acccpt thc cxistcncc of thc thrcc voropla,s octcctco b, Fovcll in
1huc,oiocs, op. cit. ,n. :, :o, I voulo conccoc, hovcvcr, that thc, arc pcrhaps morc
purcl, litcrar, voropla,s than, sa,, q.q:. 1hc casc of Mclanthius, .q;., vhcrc Hcrooo-
tus too fails to orav attcntion to thc significancc of a namc, suggcsts that Hornblovcrs
argumcnt rclics simpl, on thc numbcr, ano thc promincncc, of cxamplcs of namc-puns
in Hcroootus b, comparison vith 1huc,oiocs, thc oiffcrcncc ma, bc ouc as much to thc
oiffcrcnt pcrioos about vhich cach author vas vriting, ano conscqucntl, of thc oiffcrcnt
matcrial cach hao at his oisposal, as to a conscious rcaction on 1huc,oiocs part.
:8
Cf. Hcroootus obscrvation that thc Fcrsians hao not noticco that all thcir namcs
cnoco in thc samc lcttcr, :.:q.
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages q

thc Fcrsian languagc vas bclicvco, at lcast in part, to ocrivc from ano to bc
suboroinatc to Grcck. 1his is not to sa, that Hcroootus coulo not tcll thc
oiffcrcncc bctvccn Grcck ano forcign namcs in his ovn oa,. Inocco hc
commcnts that thc namc of thc northcrn rivcr Erioanus is transparcntl,
Grcck, ano so cannot bc a barbarian namc but must havc bccn invcntco b,
somc poct ,.::..,. Hovcvcr, as thc Cratylus ocmonstratcs rcpcatcol,, namcs
vcrc bclicvco to unocrgo significant oistortion ovcr timc: it is onl, b, a ccr-
tain rcarrangcmcnt, just as vith Hcroootus ct,molog, of thc Fcrsian kings
namcs, that thc mcaning of a Grcck namc can bc tcasco out. As vc havc
sccn, pcrfcctl, Grcck-sounoing voros in thc Cratylus arc ascribco an un-
knovn barbarian ct,molog,. In orocr to maintain thcn, for cxamplc, that
Hcroootus rcall, oio bclicvc that thc Grcck goos namcs camc from Eg,pt,
it is not ncccssar, to bclicvc him totall, lacking in an, scnsc of thc oiffcrcncc
bctvccn Grcck ano Eg,ptian in his ovn oa,. As vc havc sccn, hc kncv that
thc Eg,ptians hao oiffcrcnt namcs both for thc goos ano for othcr things.
1hc namcs of thc goos that camc from Eg,pt might, in Hcroootus vicv,
havc arrivco in a rathcr oiffcrcnt form from that in vhich hc kncv thcm in
his ovn oa,.
:q

Can vc, finall,, rcconstruct an, consistcnt plan of hov Hcroootus con-
ccivco of thc rclationship bctvccn oiffcrcnt languagcs? 1hc Cratylus cnvis-
agco that ccrtain Grcck voros ocrivco from barbarian languagcs that vcrc
olocr than Grcck. Might Hcroootus havc bclicvco not onl, that thc namcs
of thc goos camc from Eg,pt, but that Grcck in gcncral ocrivco from Eg,p-
tian, ano Eg,ptian in turn from Fhr,gian? It is impossiblc to bc ccrtain. Of
thc Grcck languagc, onl, thc goos namcs arc ccrtainl, of Eg,ptian origin.
Of thc Fcrsian languagc, all that vc can bc ccrtain of is that a largc numbcr
of pcrsonal namcs vcrc bclicvco to bc unocrstanoablc onl, through thcir
Grcck ct,mologics. His rcmark that Fcrsian namcs vcrc appropriatc to thcir
booics suggcsts that hc ascribcs at lcast a ocgrcc of authorit, or appropri-
atcncss cvcn to Fcrsian namcs. 1hcrc is nothing, morcovcr, in thc stor, of
Fsammctichus languagc tcst that necessitates thc ioca that onc languagc must
ocsccno vholcsalc from anothcr. If Hcroootus hao cvcr formco an, ovcr-
arching thcor, of thc rclationship of languagcs, vc might cxpcct to havc
hcaro about it rathcr morc full,. \hat vc havc is surcl, morc likcl, to rcp-
rcscnt thc half-oigcstco fragmcnts of a broaocr Grcck ocbatc. ,Othcr Grcck
vritcrs, for cxamplc, ascribco thc origins of vriting to thc Fhr,gians.
:o
, 1hat

:q
Somc cluc to thc ocgrcc of corruption of thcsc namcs can pcrhaps bc glcanco from
Hccatacus statcmcnt, FGrHist : I .:, that thc Fhocnicians pronouncco Danac as Dana.
:o
Scc thc oiscussion of ]cffcr,, op. cit. ,n. q6, :., :6o. Ior thc cviocncc of thc actual
rclationship bctvccn Grcck ano Fhr,gian, scc Guntcr Ncumann, Fhr,gisch uno
Gricchisch, SAWW qq ,:q88,.
o Thomas Harrison
othcr Grccks might havc formulatco such iocas, hovcvcr, ano that such
iocas vcrc, as it vcrc, at thc back of Hcroootus mino, is a tantalizing possi-
bilit,.


. Conclusion
In thcir vicv of forcign languagcs, Hcroootus ano thc Grccks cmcrgc thcn
finall, as aoopting a numbcr of oiffcrcnt, cvcn contraoictor,, stratcgics: thc,
ma, ignorc languagc oiffcrcncc, thc, ma, caricaturc it, thc, ma, scck to oif-
fcrcntiatc bctvccn forcign languagcs, ano thc, ma, assimilatc all forcign
languagcs into a singlc barbarian languagc, thc, ma, scck to oistancc for-
cign languagcs from Grcck, ano thcn thc, ma, scc conncctions bctvccn
thcir ovn ano forcign languagcs.
1vo qucstions rcmain. Iirst, vhat cxplanation can thcrc bc for thc
Grccks lack of curiosit, in forcign languagcs? Anna Morpurgo Davics has
suggcstco that thc lack of scholarl, intcrcst in thc ocscription or classifica-
tion of forcign languagcs ma, havc bccn thc rcsult of thc vicv of forcign
languagcs as mcrc collcctions of namcs.
::
\c might supposc thcn that thc
broaocr Grcck lack of intcrcst in forcign languagcs vas simpl, a function of
thcir chauvinism. 1hc Old Oligarch rcmarks oisapprovingl, that thc Athcni-
ans, as thc, orcv also on forcign cuisinc, mixco thcir languagc from Grccks
ano barbarians ,|Xcn.] Ath. Pol. ..8,, vhcrcas othcr Grccks mcrcl, usco thcir
ovn languagc. 1hc passagc prcsupposcs an iocal that onc shoulo prcscrvc
oncs languagc against forcign influcncc, somcthing that tvicc in thc Histories
vc hcar of a pcoplc ooing ,:.;., 6.::q.,. But hov oocs onc in practicc
guaro oncs languagc ,cvcn vith thc forccs of thc Acaocmic Iranaisc on
oncs sioc,? If thc Athcnians usc of forcign voros vas thc rcsult of thcir na-
val influcncc ano contacts, hov oio othcr Grccks rcmain untaintco b, thc
samc forcign influcncc?
:.
Othcr chauvinist culturcs, not lcast that of thc
British cmpirc, havc rcsponoco in a rathcr oiffcrcnt fashion vith rcgaro to
thc languagcs of othcr pcoplcs, b, classif,ing ano orocring thcm.
:
Of
coursc, thc British scttlco Inoia. 1hc numbcr of Inoian voros ,bungalov,
tanooori, ctc., that havc pcnctratco into cvcr,oa, English is not pcrhaps of
such a oiffcrcnt orocr to thc numbcr of forcign loan voros in Grcck. Hov-
cvcr, thc Grcck lack of curiosit, in forcign languagcs cxtcnos cvcn into thc
Hcllcnistic pcrioo.
:
In othcr arcas, morcovcr, for cxamplc in that of rclig-

::
Morpurgo Davics ,n. 6,.
:.
Contrast thc tonc of chccrful cosmopolitanism of Anth. Pal. ;,:q.
:
1his is onc of thc main thcmcs of Eovaro Saios Orientalism ,n. :o,.
:
Scc csp. Momigliano, op. cit. ,n. :q, ch.:.
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages :

ion, Grcck chauvinism took a oiffcrcnt oircction: thc Grccks ma, havc
knovn littlc about forcign rcligion, but vhat thc, oio knov thc, orocrco
s,stcmaticall, b, analog, to thcir ovn goos ano rituals. 1o rcturn, finall,, to
thc qucstion vith vhich I bcgan, hov chauvinist vcrc thc Grccks in thcir
charactcrisation of forcign pcoplcs through languagc? Accoroing to Mor-
purgo Davics again, vc fino in Grcccc no Romantic vicvs about thc
uniqucncss of cach languagc as an cxprcssion of national spirit.
:
\c fino in
fact a vholc rangc of attituocs conccrning languagc oiffcrcncc, from a scn-
timcntal prioc in oncs ovn languagc to outright hostilit, to thosc of othcrs.
A rclativcl, innoccnt prioc in thc Grcck languagc can bc sccn in Fhiloctctcs
rcsponsc to first hcaring Grcck on Lcmnos ,S. Phil. .., .-,: vc can surcl,
prcsumc that Sophoclcs auoicncc voulo havc s,mpathisco vith this clc-
mcnt of Fhiloctctcs plight, ano that thc avcragc Grcck, stranoco far from
Grcccc, might also havc longco for thc souno of a familiar voicc. A ocgrcc
of tabloio xcnophobia must bc implicit in thc satirc of forcign acccnts, both
non-Grcck ano non-Attic, that vc scc in Aristophancs.
:6
1hc Suppliants of
Acsch,lus pla, likcvisc cxpcct oifficultics on account of thcir spcaking a
forcign languagc ,A. Suppl. q;.-,. Morc poisonous, hovcvcr, arc a numbcr
of passagcs suggcstivc of an ioca of linguistic supcriorit,, cvcn of linguistic
purit,. 1hcmistoclcs, accoroing to Flutarch, rccommcnoco thc cxccution of
a Fcrsian-Grcck intcrprctcr for oaring to usc thc Grcck languagc to transmit
thc commanos of a barbarian ,Flut. Them. 6.,. Flutarch also offcrs an intcr-
csting variation on thc stor, of M,s ano thc Carian oraclc ,Mor. :.a, de def.
orac.,: thc rcason vh, thc oraclc ansvcrco in Carian vas that it is not for
barbarians cvcr to rcccivc a voro in thc Grcck tonguc that is subscrvicnt to
thcir commano. 1hough such passagcs arc both latc, thc, arc rcminisccnt
of thc charactcrisation of forcign pcoplcs in tcrms of thc frccoom of spirit of
thcir languagc, Hcroootus too, in a morc historical ano octachco spirit, is
conccrnco in his account of thc Fclasgian thcor, vith maintaining thc lin-
guistic intcgrit, of Grcck.
1hc samc scnsc of supcriorit, vas fclt b, thc Athcnians of thcir oialcct.
Solon lamcntco thc scanoal that Athcnians hao vonocrco so long ava,
from thcir homclano that thc, no longcr spokc thc Attic languagc ,
, fr. 6.:o-:. \cst,. Accoroing to 1huc,oiocs Nicias,
non-Athcnian sailors on thc Sicilian cxpcoition hao aooptco Attic out of

:
Morpurgo Davics ,n. 6,.
:6
Scc C. Brixhc in R. Lonis, op. cit. ,n. 8, :;, oistancing this banalc manifcstation
oc cc quon pourrait appclcr la xcnophobic oroinairc from thc vision iocologiquc oc la
languc of thc Cratylus. Scc also Hallivcll, op. cit. ,n. 8, ;:, ano ,vcr, much lcss subtlc, E.
]annscns, Lcs Etrangcrs commc clcmcnt comiquc oans lcs comcoics oAristophanc, M-
langes Georges Smets ,Bruxcllcs, :q., -6o.
. Thomas Harrison
aomiration for Athcns ,1huc. ;.6.,. 1hc most markcol, pcjorativc charac-
tcrisation of forcign languagcs comcs, hovcvcr, from a sourcc for thc Fcr-
sian \ars othcr than Hcroootus: thc mcsscngcrs account of thc battlc of
Salamis from Acsch,lus Persians. Iirst vc havc thc pacan of thc Grccks: O
sons of thc Grccks, comc on, libcratc ,our fathcrlano, libcratc ,our chilorcn,
our vivcs, thc shrincs of thc anccstral goos ano thc gravcs of ,our forcfa-
thcrs. Our strugglc nov is on bchalf of thcm all. 1hcn in rcsponsc comcs
thc untio, clamour ,, of thc Fcrsian tonguc ,qq-o;,. 1hc crics of thc
Grccks arc cchoco back b, thc islano rocks, as a s,mbol of thc support of
lano ano sca for thc Grccks, ano vith thc rcsult that thc Fcrsians arc in-
spirco b, tcrror ,88-q.,. 1hc Grcck languagc thcn is a s,mbol of Grcck
unit, ano of thc Grccks bclonging to thcir lano, it is also a vcapon.


University College, London 1HOMAS HARRISON
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages

AFFENDIX :
REIERENCES 1O IOREIGN LANGLAGES
Ionians oo not usc thc samc languagc ,, as onc anothcr, but
havc oialccts , ,, thosc citics vhich arc in L,oia
,Ephcsus, Colophon, Lcbcous, 1cos, Clazomcnac ano Fhocaca, agrcc
in no va, in thcir languagc vith thcsc ,:.:..-,.
Docs Carian ocrivc from Caunian or vice versa ,:.:;.,?
Ammonians scttlcrs of Eg,ptians ano of Ethiopians, but thc, usc a
languagc bctvccn both , , ....,.
Colchians ano Eg,ptians: va, of vorking lincn, vholc va, of lifc ano
languagc v. similar to onc anothcr ,..:o,.
Eg,ptians call barbarians all thosc vho havc not thc samc languagc as
thcm ,, ..:8.,.
1hcrc arc man, Inoian pcoplcs, nonc of vhom spcak thc samc lan-
guagc as onc anothcr , , .q8.,
Argippacans usc Sc,thian clothing but havc ovn languagc ,
, ....,
Sc,thians usc ; languagcs ano ; intcrprctcrs on journc, to Argippaci
,..,.
Anorophagoi: nomaos, vcar clothcs likc thc Sc,thians, havc thcir
ovn languagc, ano arc thc onl, oncs of thcsc vho cat pcoplc ,.:o6,.
Gcloni ,in ancicnt timcs Grcck, spcak a languagc half-Sc,thian, half-
Grcck ,.:o8..,.
Buoini oo not usc thc samc languagc as thc Gcloni ,.:oq.:,
Sauromatac usc Sc,thian languagc but not corrcctl, as Amazons
lcarnco it impcrfcctl, at first ,.::;,.
1hc 1rogloo,tc Ethiopians havc a languagc similar to no othcr, but
sounoing likc scrccching bats ,.:8.,.
Atarantcs arc thc onl, anon,mous pcoplc of vhom vc knov ,.:8.:,.
Erctrians, transportco b, Darius to Arabian Gulf, guaroco thcir ovn
languagc ,6.::q.,.
Sincc thc Grccks arc of thc samc languagc ,,, thc, shoulo,
Maroonius sa,s, ocal vith onc anothcr through hcralos rathcr than
making var ,;.q.b.,.
Eastcrn Athiopians oiffcrco not at all in form from othcr ,Ethiopians,,
lcaving asioc languagc ,, ano hair ,;.;o.:,.
Sagartians nomaos, in languagc ,, a Fcrsian pcoplc, in orcss half-
Fcrsian, half-Fact,an ,;.8.:,.
1hc Athcnians rcasons for not bctra,ing Grcccc ,8.:..,.
Frophcc, of Bacis: vhcn a shall throv a b,blus ,okc
ovcr thc vatcr ,8..o..,.
Thomas Harrison
AFFENDIX .
1RANSLA1IONS BE1\EEN LANGLAGES AND DIALEC1S
:;

Canoaulcs, vhom thc Grccks namc M,rsilus ,:.;..,.
Cappaoocians namco S,rians b, Grccks ,:.;..:,.
Sc,thians call thosc vith fcmalc oiscasc ,:.:o.,.
1hc namc of Mitraoatcs vifc vas K,no in thc Grcck languagc, in thc
Mcoian languagc Spako ,:.::o.:,, for thc Mcocs call a bitch ,,
.
Fcrsian convcrtco into Attic choinix ,:.:q..,.
1hc palm trccs vhich thc Grccks call malc ,:.:q.,.
1hc Fhr,gians ,Fsammctichus lcarns, call brcao ,....,.
Convcrsion of staocs, parasangs ano schoinoi ,..6,.
1hc Ethiopian ocscrtcrs callco in Eg,ptian , or thosc vho
stano on thc lcft-hano sioc of thc king ,..:,.
Crocooilcs callco b, Eg,ptians ,..6q.,: namco b, analog, to
lizaros b, Ionians.
Eg,ptian loavcs callco ,..;;.,.
Linus is thc samc as Mancros, ano has oiffcrcnt namc accoroing to
thc pcoplc ,..;q..,.
1unics thc Eg,ptians call ,..8:.:,.
\atcr-lil, ,, thc Eg,ptians call ,..q...,.
Silic,prium oil thc Eg,ptians call ,..q.:,.
1hc Colchian lincn is callco Saroinian b, thc Grccks, Eg,ptian callco
Eg,ptian ,..:o,.
A Mcmphitc bccamc king vhosc namc in thc Grcck languagc vas
Frotcus ,..::..:,.
is in thc Grcck languagc ,..:.,.
1hc Eg,ptians call all thosc vho arc not of thc samc languagc
,, barbarians ,..:8.,.
1his placc is callco in thc Grcck languagc thc islano of thc blcssco
,..6.:,.

:;
1his list is an attempt at a comprchcnsivc list of translations bctvccn languagcs or
,vhat vc voulo tcrm, oialccts. It oocs not incluoc translations of thc namcs of thc goos
,scc abovc, n. :o8,. 1hc cquivalanccs arc not alva,s pcrfcct ,c.g. ..6q.,. In a numbcr of
instanccs Hcroootus sccms to takc for grantco, vhcn hc sa,s that a forcign pcoplc calls x
,, that thc, callco x , in thcir ovn languagc ,c.g. ..:8.,. Othcr problcmatic cascs arc
vhcrc thc Grcck translation of a forcign namc mcans somcthing in Grcck, c.g. ..6.: ,a
placc callco in thc Grcck languagc thc islano of thc blcssco, or ... ,a Sc,thian placc-
namc Exampaios rcnocrco in thc Grcck languagc Sacrco Roaos,: oocs hc consiocr b,
in thc Grcck languagc that thc mcaning of thc Sc,thian or Eg,ptian namc is bcing rcn-
ocrco into Grcck, or mcrcl, that thc tvo namcs rcfcr to thc samc placc?
Herodotus Conception of Foreign Languages

Arabians call lcoanum ,, ,.::.,.
Scoloti callco Sc,thians b, Grccks ,.6..,.
An islano callco b, thc Grccks Er,thcia ,.8..,.
Onc c,co pcoplc vc namc in Sc,thian as Arimaspians as is
onc, is c,c ,..;,.
H,pcrborcan maiocns vho vcnt to Dclos namco b, thc Dclians as
H,pcrochc ano Laooicc ,..,.
Flacc in Sc,thian is Exampaios, in Grcck languagc Sacrco Roaos
,...,.
Largc fish vhich Sc,thians call ,..,.
Sc,thians call Amazons ,vhich mcans man-killcrs in thc
Grcck languagc,: thc, call man , is to kill ,.::o.:,.
Lib,ans call king Battus ,.:..,.
is Lib,an voro for onc of thrcc varictics of mousc, in Grcck
mcans hills ,.:q..,.
1hc Lig,cs vho livc abovc Massalia call traocrs , vhcrcas thc
C,priots usc thc samc voro to ocscribc spcars ,.q.,.
Parasang is vhat thc Fcrsians call o staocs ,6....,.
1hc Fcrsians call thc oil from Arocricca ,6.::q.,.
Fcrsian svoro vhich thc, call ,;..,.
Ass,rians callco S,rians b, thc Grccks, but Ass,rian b, thc barbari-
ans ,;.6,.
1hc Fcrsians call all Sc,thians ,;.6..,.
1hcsc S,rians callco Cappaoocians b, thc Fcrsians ,;.;..:,.
Hot baths ncar 1hcrmop,lac callco ,;.:;6.,.
1hc Achacans call a prytaneion a ,;.:q;..,.
1hc bcncfactors of thc king arc callco in Fcrsian ,8.8.,.
1hc Fcrsians call thcir postal scrvicc ,8.q8..,
1hc Spartans call Barbaroi ,q.::..,.
1hc knifc-bcarcrs callco , thc onl, Eg,ptian fighting mcn
,q...:,.
A pass vhich thc Bocotians call thrcc hcaos ano thc Athcnians oak-
hcaos ,q.q.:,.
Fcrsian fcast is callco in Fcrsian , in thc Grcck languagc teleion
,q.::o..,.