Sex at What Price? Herodotus 2.120

“If Helen really were in Ilium, they would have given her back to the Greeks whether Paris wanted them to or not. Priam was not so out of his mind, nor were his other subjects, that they would want to risk their own bodies and children and the city itself just so that Paris could sleep with Helen.”

εἰ ἦν Ἑλένη ἐν Ἰλίῳ, ἀποδοθῆναι ἂν αὐτὴν τοῖσι Ἕλλησι ἤτοι ἑκόντος γε ἢ ἀέκοντοςἈλεξάνδρου. οὐ γὰρ δὴ οὕτω γε φρενοβλαβὴς ἦν ὁ Πρίαμος οὐδὲ οἱ ἄλλοι οἱ προσήκοντες αὐτῷ, ὥστε τοῖσι σφετέροισι σώμασι καὶ τοῖσι τέκνοισι καὶ τῇ πόλι κινδυνεύειν ἐβούλοντο, ὅκως Ἀλέξανδρος Ἑλένῃ συνοικέῃ.

The Glass Ceiling in Antiquity: Herodotus 1.93

“All of the daughters of the Lydians became prostitutes…”

Τοῦ γὰρ δὴ Λυδῶν δήμου αἱ θυγατέρες πορνεύονται πᾶσαι…

Herodotus 1.10.9-11

 

Herodotus 1.10.9-11.1

 

“…among the Lydians and many of the rest of the barbarians for a man to be seen naked brings great shame”

 

….σχεδὸν δὲ καὶ παρὰ τοῖσι ἄλλοισι βαρβάροισι, καὶ ἄνδρα ὀφθῆναι

γυμνὸν ἐς αἰσχύνην μεγάλην φέρει.

 

But not for the Greeks….

 

The Ancient Greeks mixed their wine with water. How civilized.
The Ancient Greeks mixed their wine with water. How civilized.

 

Herodotus, 1.11.18-19

 

 

“But when he saw that the only choice was to kill his master or be killed by others, he chose to survive.”

 

ἀλλ’ ὥρα ἀναγκαίην ἀληθέως προκειμένην ἢ τὸν δεσπότην ἀπολλύναι ἢ αὐτὸν ὑπ’ ἄλλων ἀπόλλυσθαι· αἱρέεται αὐτὸς περιεῖναι.

 

So, Gyges becomes king by acting ‘noble’?

Herodotus, 1 32.5

“Many super-wealthy people are unhappy while many who have less are fortunate in the end.”

πολλοὶ μὲν γὰρ ζάπλουτοι ἀνθρώπων ἀνόλβιοι εἰσί, πολλοὶ δὲ μετρίως ἔχοντες βίου εὐτυχέες.

(I know, I know. I added a bit to the end to echo the rest of the passage. And students love to debate the varied meanings of bios in Herodotus.)

Judge it for yourself, here: The Full Text.

Herodotus, 1 4.8-11

 

“The Persians say that they disregarded the women who were kidnapped from Asia but that the Greeks raised a mighty army for the sake of a Spartan woman”

Σφέας μὲν δὴ τοὺς ἐκ τῆς ᾿Ασίης λέγουσι Πέρσαι ἁρπαζομένων

τῶν γυναικῶν λόγον οὐδένα ποιήσασθαι, ῞Ελληνας δὲ Λακε-

δαιμονίης εἵνεκεν γυναικὸς στόλον μέγαν συναγεῖραι …

 

Herodotus, the historian’s enemy and friend.