Hello all. I just wanted to let you know that there will be no blog post on November 26 as I’m taking the week off. Have a good Thanksgiving.
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“I have written at such length of the Samians, because the three greatest works of all the Greeks were engineered by them.”
HERODOTUS, HISTORIES, BOOK 3.60; A. D. GODLEY TRANSLATION
Summary
Herodotus goes on another tangent to explain that while Cambyses was warring with Egypt, the Lacedaemonians were warring with the island of Samos. Under their ruler Polycrates, the Samians began to pillage everywhere they could and had a great deal of success. Polycrates was so successful, that Amasis, the king of Egypt and a friend of Polycrates, warned him that the gods eventually bring ruin to those who have exceptional fortune. To try and balance things out, Polycrates should take something he treasures above all else and get rid of it.
Polycrates follows Amasis’ advice and throws away his seal—a golden ring set with an emerald that was made by the legendary craftsman Theodorus of Samos—in the middle of the sea. A few days later, a fisherman catches a magnificent fish and decides to give it to Polycrates as a gift. Delighted, he invites the fisherman to eat it with him at dinner. While Polycrates’ servants are cleaning the fish, they find his seal and give it to him. Polycrates informs Amasis what happened, and alarmed, Amasis renounces his friendship with Polycrates because he didn’t want to watch Polycrates suffer a cruel fate.
When the Lacedaemonians launched their attack on Samos, the Samians asked Cambyses for reinforcements. Cambyses did so in exchange for a fleet of Samians to help with his campaign against Egypt. Polycrates ended up sending a fleet of men who were suspected of planning a rebellion against him. Herodotus gives conflicting reports about what exactly the Samian rebels did after they were sent, but ultimately they attempted to return to Samos, were beaten by Polycrates, and fled to Lacedaemon.
Herodotus explains that the Lacedaemonians attacked Samos in revenge for intercepting two gifts—one the Lacedaemonians sent to Delphi,1 and another gift which was sent by Amasis to the Lacedaemonians.
Additionally, the Corinthians joined in the expedition against Samos because they helped their enemy Corcyra. Periander, the king of Corinth, had rounded up 300 boys from Corcyra to send to Alyattes, the king of Lydia, to be eunuchs. The reason Periander was doing this was because some time ago he had murdered his wife. When his youngest son found out, he refused to have anything more to do with him. Eventually, Periander kicked his son out and threatened punishment on anyone who tried to help him. Still, his son refused to be reconciled to him, so Periander sent him to Corcyra which was subject to him. When Periander was getting past his prime, he reached out to his son again asking him to take over as ruler. His son refused until Periander agreed to switch areas with him. Periander would go to Corcyra and his son would go to Corinth. When his son agreed and the Corcyreans found out, they killed the son to keep Periander from coming to them. Rounding up 300 Corcyrean boys to be made eunuchs to the king of Lydia was the punishment. However, when the Corinthian crew escorting the boys landed on Samos, the Samians found out what was going to happen to the 300 boys and sent them to the temple of Artemis to be suppliants. When the Corinthians tried to starve out the boys, the Samians held a festival where food was sneaked in to the boys. The festival continued until the Corinthians gave up and went home and the Samians sent the boys back to Corcyra.
The Lacedaemonians besieged Samos for forty days and then went home unsuccessful. Meanwhile, the Samian rebels left Lacedaemon and began pillaging different places until they settled down somewhere in Crete. However, six years later the Cretans joined with the Aeginetans, defeated the Samian rebels, and turned them into slaves.
Why did Herodotus want to talk so much about Samos? Because they made some amazing architectural marvels.
The Spartans Are Quite the Characters
Sparta is going to appear quite a bit in Herodotus’ work. In our popular culture the Spartans have a reputation for being fearless and merciless warriors and having a strict culture. This was popularized with movies like 300, as well as words in our dictionary like “spartan” and “laconic.” What isn’t as well known about them is their dry sense of humor and superstition. Here’s one example of their humor when the rebel Samians came to Sparta to get food from them:
“When the Samians who were expelled by Polycrates came to Sparta, they came before the ruling men and made a long speech to show the greatness of their need. But the Spartans at their first sitting answered that they had forgotten the beginning of the speech and could not understand its end. After this the Samians came a second time with a sack, and said nothing but this: “The sack wants flour.” To this the Spartans replied that they were over-wordy with “the sack”; but they did resolve to help them.”
Herodotus, Histories, Book 3.46; A. D. Godley translation
The Spartans moved at their own pace with zero cares in the world. You either followed along or you weren’t going to get anywhere with them. This often led to other Greeks having frustrating interactions with them just like the Samians did.
As we get further into Herodotus, and closer to the Persian War, we’re going to see the Spartans a lot more. The modern reader will probably have a mixed reaction to them. He’ll have admiration toward the Spartans in some moments, while in other moments incredulity.
On Fortune
When Amasis saw his friend, the Greek king of Samos Polycrates, having so much good fortune, he sent him this warning:
“for I know the gods, how jealous they are, and I desire somehow that both I and those for whom I care succeed in some affairs, fail in others, and thus pass life faring differently by turns, rather than succeed at everything. For from all I have heard I know of no man whom continual good fortune did not bring in the end to evil, and utter destruction.”
Herodotus, Histories, Book 3.40; A. D. Godley translation
Amasis was basically telling Polycrates that his fortune had to have some sort of balance between good and ill or else he would suffer great calamity after his exceptionally great fortune.
The more cynical part of our culture also has a similar superstition. How often do you hear people, after experiencing a string of good events, say something like, “Okay, what’s the catch?”, or otherwise believe that something really bad is going to happen afterward because the person believes he can’t just solely experience good things. How often do you have those thoughts yourself?
Here’s one of my questions: Did Amasis believe the opposite to be true? After a string of bad experiences, something really good will have to happen to balance things out? Or, does balance only need to occur when someone is having a lot of good fortune? Would the gods look down on a seriously misfortunate person and decide they suffered enough and need something really good to occur?
Anyway, the big example of this reversal of fortunes in Herodotus is, of course, Croesus.2 He was at the top of the world, ruled over the Lydian empire at its highest moment, rich and secure, and then lost it all due to his hubris.
To me, it seems like bad fortune comes because a person’s attitude and mindset changes due to the good experiences he went through. Perhaps he believes he can do no wrong and gets reckless. Perhaps he stops putting in the effort that made the good experiences possible to begin with and has a reversal of course as a result. Perhaps he gets too prideful and then upsets one or more people who can and do put his good fortune to an end.
A Christian philosopher about 1500 years ago also reflected on the nature of fortune. Boethius lived just after last Western Roman emperor was deposed and Rome was ruled by the Ostragoths. Boethius worked his way to the upper echelon of the government and became a personal advisor to Theodoric the Great. He even lived to see his two sons be personally elevated by Theodoric to important positions of leadership.
Boethius was at the top of the world. However, while trying to root corruption out of the government, he made enemies. Those enemies eventually got him on trumped up charges and he was sent to prison. It was in prison that Boethius wrote The Consolation of Philosophy where the personification of Philosophy visited him and helped him come to terms with losing everything. One of her arguments is that Fortune is a fickle goddess and she will take away just as easily as she gives. As long as you are under her charge, you can’t complain when she changes the course of your life. As a result, it’s better for a man to be completely abandoned by Fortune than to be under her tumultuous care.
Here’s an excerpt from The Consolation of Philosophy:
'What is it, then, poor mortal, that hath cast thee into lamentation and mourning? Some strange, unwonted sight, methinks, have thine eyes seen. Thou deemest Fortune to have changed towards thee; thou mistakest. Such ever were her ways, ever such her nature. Rather in her very mutability hath she preserved towards thee her true constancy. Such was she when she loaded thee with caresses, when she deluded thee with the allurements of a false happiness. Thou hast found out how changeful is the face of the blind goddess. She who still veils herself from others hath fully discovered to thee her whole character. If thou likest her, take her as she is, and do not complain. If thou abhorrest her perfidy, turn from her in disdain, renounce her, for baneful are her delusions. The very thing which is now the cause of thy great grief ought to have brought thee tranquillity. Thou hast been forsaken by one of whom no one can be sure that she will not forsake him. Or dost thou indeed set value on a happiness that is certain to depart? Again I ask, Is Fortune's presence dear to thee if she cannot be trusted to stay, and though she will bring sorrow when she is gone? Why, if she cannot be kept at pleasure, and if her flight overwhelms with calamity, what is this fleeting visitant but a token of coming trouble? Truly it is not enough to look only at what lies before the eyes; wisdom gauges the issues of things, and this same mutability, with its two aspects, makes the threats of Fortune void of terror, and her caresses little to be desired. Finally, thou oughtest to bear with whatever takes place within the boundaries of Fortune's demesne, when thou hast placed thy head beneath her yoke. But if thou wishest to impose a law of staying and departing on her whom thou hast of thine own accord chosen for thy mistress, art thou not acting wrongfully, art thou not embittering by impatience a lot which thou canst not alter? Didst thou commit thy sails to the winds, thou wouldst voyage not whither thy intention was to go, but whither the winds drave thee; didst thou entrust thy seed to the fields, thou wouldst set off the fruitful years against the barren. Thou hast resigned thyself to the sway of Fortune; thou must submit to thy mistress's caprices. What! art thou verily striving to stay the swing of the revolving wheel? Oh, stupidest of mortals, if it takes to standing still, it ceases to be the wheel of Fortune.'
Book 2.1; H. R. James translation
Something to think about.
That's all for the Histories, Book 3.39-60.
May your days be filled with grace.
-Andronikos Anodos
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Thumbnail: The Heraion, a famous temple to Hera in Samos. See the full picture here. Taken from World History Encyclopedia’s entry on Samos.
1See Book 1.70
2See Book 1.30-33