Overview

Twentieth century commentaries on Herodotus' passages on Nubia, the historical kingdom of Kush and the Aithiopia of the Greek tradition, rely mostly on an outdated and biased interpretation of the textual and archaeological evidence. Disputing both the Nubia image of twentieth century Egyptology and the Herodotus interpretation of traditional Quellenkritik, the author traces back the Aithiopian information that was available to Herodotus to a discourse on Kushite kingship created under the Nubian pharaohs of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty and preserved in the Ptah sanctuary at Memphis. Insufficient for a self-contained Aithiopian logos, the information acquired by Herodotus complements and supports accounts of the land, origins, customs and history of other peoples and bears a relation to the intention of the actual narrative contexts into which the author of The Histories inserted it.

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Reviews

""Herodotus in Nubia is a valuable addition to Herodotean studies, providing students of Herodotus with a reliable guide to relevant current scholarship on ancient Nubia and containing numerous perceptive comments on various aspects of Herodotus’ account of Aithiopia, particularly his discussion of Aithiopian kingship."" Stanley M. Burstein, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2015.01.14. ""László Török’s Herodotus in Nubia represents a notable and highly welcome addition to the steadily-burgeoning field of Herodotean studies. Classicists and historians working on Herodotus will have ample cause to thank Török for providing such a thorough introduction to a topic largely beyond their ken, namely the history and archaeology of ancient Kush."" Joseph Skinner, Acta Classica 59, pp. 232-236.

Herodotus in Nubia is a valuable addition to Herodotean studies, providing students of Herodotus with a reliable guide to relevant current scholarship on ancient Nubia and containing numerous perceptive comments on various aspects of Herodotus' account of Aithiopia, particularly his discussion of Aithiopian kingship. Stanley M. Burstein, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2015.01.14.

Author Information

László Török, Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1992), Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (2004), is Research Professor Emeritus at the Archaeological Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (2012). He published extensively on the history and culture of ancient Nubia and the Hellenistic and late antique art of Egypt, including Hellenizing Art in Ancient Nubia 300 BC - AD 250 and its Egyptian Models. A Study in 'Acculturation' (Brill 2011).

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