Herodotus page 2

Stories including "The World’s Oldest Religion" and "Young Cyrus".

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    The World’s Oldest Religion

    Zoroastrianism

    Zoroastrianism is the ancient religion of the Persians and it is still practiced to this day. It has influenced many of our own beliefs, even if we don’t realise it ! We continue our retelling of the histories of Herodotus from Ancient Greece.

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    Young Cyrus

    Ancient Persia

    A poor young Persian boy is a natural leader. In a game, his friends choose him to play their king. He gets into trouble when he orders the son of an aristocrat to be punished.

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    7, King Croesus and the Oracle of Delphi

    Pythia - Delphic Oracle - predicts A Great Empire will Fall to Croesus

    The oracle predicts that if Croesus goes to war against the Persians, he will defeat a great empire. Her advice seems clear enough, is it?

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    The Son of Croesus

    The Wild Boar that came for Croesus

    Herodotus 7. The anger of the gods is coming for Croesus, after he boasted of being the richest and happiest person in the world.

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    6, Herodotus, As Rich As Croesus

    King Croesus meets Solon the wise in his treasury

    Croesus ruled Lydia from 560 to 546 BC. He was famed for his wealth, and still is to this day. The wise Athenian, Solon, visited him. The story has a moral – do not boast of your fortune or the gods may take you down.

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    5, Herodotus , The Battle of the Eclipse

    The Battle of the Eclipse - Lydian / Persian soldiers on horseback

    Ancient people thought that the Sun and the Moon were gods – didn’t they? Or were there some people alive two and half thousand years ago who were more scientific?

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    4, Herodotus, the Burnt Temple

    Burnt Temple

    King Alyattes of Lydia is at war with the Greek city of Miletus. His soldiers accidentally burn down a temple of Athena. Alyattes falls ill. Coincidence? Or the curse of the Greek Goddess?

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    3, Herodotus, the Kingdom of Lydia

    Ancient Lydia lion coin and map

    In history, Gyges became king of Lydia by committing a crime – we hear this story and an alternative version in which he used a magic ring to make himself invisible – and we ask an important question.

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    2, Herodotus, Arion and the Dolphin

    Arion and the Dolphin

    The remarkable story of a dolphin saving a man – but is it true?

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    1, The Histories of Herodotus

    Greek Trireme

    Herodotus, the father of history, tells us a different version of the famous Trojan War, which he learned on his travels around Egypt and the Middle East.