His history included stories of hairy ants the size of foxes who mined for gold in Persia. These ants had been known to chase down and eat camels.
Herodotus does not claim to have seen all the things in his Histories. He does not even claim to believe all the things in his Histories. He fully acknowledges that much of his reporting is likely false, often noting his own disbelief in the stories that he's relaying. He got called “liar” anyways. Some people just won't listen.
Herodotus did not claim that his Histories were true, but he did claim that they were comprehensive. In other words, “This may not all be correct, but it's everything.” In other words, “I may be an unreliable narrator, but I will not shut up until there's nothing left to say.” I understand the impulse.
I sometimes went back to those Histories for clues. These Histories were written when there were only three continents in the world, and one of them was called Libya. This was before the British Isles were invented. This was back when everyone was obsessed with the Persians. There is no Kosovo in those Histories, and only fleeting mentions of the region. Later writers described the people of the region disparagingly. Strabo claimed they lived in houses made of dung, but I suspect that this is an exaggeration. Other writers—I forget who—made claims about the way those people smelled, the music they played, and plagues of frogs. In general, writers barely mentioned the area of Kosovo, and when they did, they tended to lie.
Not much has changed. Except that, nowadays, everyone claims to be telling the truth. At least Herodotus was more careful than that.
- t
p.s. I love you, Kosovo music. And not just the old stuff. Today's song is by Mitrovica alternative rockers Omnibus.
p.p.s. I love you too, Houston. Happy Texas Independence Day.
