τά περ ὦν καὶ ἐγένετο: Temistoklis Herodoto Istorijoje. τά περ ὦν καὶ ἐγένετο: Themistocles in Herodotus‘ History

Abstract

Herodotus´ History is the first extant literary work in which the activities and the characters of the main agents of the Greco-Persian wars were described. The course of history, according to Herodotus, is regulated by the gods and is a manifestation of the divine will, but altogether, for the first time the author reflects on the importance of a human agent in history and ones´ personal resolve in a given situation. Herodotus´ interest is focused on historical personalities, their role in the historical events and the motivation of their actions. His History is a series of political biographies. Herodotus´ main source of information about historical personalities is oral tradition. One of the most mysterious characters among the politicians of the Greco-Persian wars is Themistocles. Greek tradition of him is very ambiguous: he is regarded both as a hero and a liberator of Greece and at the same time as a selfish renegade. This status of the tradition of Themistocles is usually defined in the contemporary research as a Themistoclean myth or a Saga of Themistocles. The legend was built up around Themistocles quite early, as it is evident already in Herodotus´ and Thucydides´ texts. The latter of the historians in his excursus on Themistocles complements the former (namely, Thucydides’ History relates the events, that took place after the Xerxes´ campaign; Herodotus has passed them over in silence). This notwithstanding, Thucydidean characteristization of Themistocles tallies with his portrait as depicted by Herodotus: Themistocles is presented as a political genius and the most efficient politician of his time. Thucydides´ story exculpates him from the treachery charges and indicates that he fled to Persia for the reason of the Sparta´s plotting against him. Herodotus, on the other hand, never mentions the fact of treachery and Themistocles exile. He just drops a hint that Themistocles foresaw that the atitude towards him may change in the future, and concludes by saying that it later actually happened (τά περ ὦν καὶ ἐγένετο). Themistocles emerges into Herodotean narrative as a homo novus in politics, he is a character with no past and no future. This is an obvious contradiction to historical reality. Both the introduction to the narrative and the whole Herodotean logos about Themistocles, in which the main focus is made on his deceits and tricks, albeit for good purpose, gave rise to the belief that Herodotean account of Themistocles is written in a hostile vein. The present article demonstrates a different approach to the Herodotean Themistocles and shows that the style of the Themistoclean logos in Herodotus is similar to the style of the traditional trickster-tales. Herodotus admired artful deception that not only inveigle others into complying but also promote self-preservation. Trickster, when a human being, is lowly and unimportant, but he gaines victory over socially superior and moral antagonist. Therefore Herodotus makes Themistocles to step into history as homo novus and decreases the military merits of Aristeides, whom Herodotus admires as the most just and the best of all the Athenians; at the same time he is, according to Herodotus, the arch-enemy of Themistocles. Themistocles, as like as the protagonist of the trickster-tales, breaks the boundaries and (in Herodotus´ text) getts away with it. He achieves salvation both for Greece and for himself through deception. Just for the sake of good story, there is no need for the narrator to mention what actually happened later on.