history of the persian wars by herodotus

It is usual to have the turban encircled with a wreath, most commonly of myrtle. To these gods the Persians offer sacrifice in the following manner: they raise no altar, light no fire, pour no libations there is no sound of the flute, no putting on of chaplets, no consecrated barley-cake but the man who wishes to sacrifice brings his victim to a spot of ground which is pure from pollution, and there calls upon the name of the god to whom he intends to offer. Mylitta is the name by which the Assyrians know this goddess, whom the Arabians call Alitta, and the Persians Mitra. At a later period, they began the worship of Urania, which they borrowed from the Arabians and Assyrians. These are the only gods whose worship has come down to them from ancient times.

They likewise offer to the sun and moon, to the earth, to fire, to water, and to the winds. Their wont, however, is to ascend the summits of the loftiest mountains, and there to offer sacrifice to Zeus, which is the name they give to the whole circuit of the firmament. This comes, I think, from their not believing the gods to have the same nature with men, as the Greeks imagine. The customs which I know the Persians to observe are the following: they have no images of the gods, no temples nor altars, and consider the use of them a sign of folly. The following passage is taken from Herodotus’ Histories translated by George Rawlinson: The only time he specifically references the Greeks is in I.135 when he says how the Persians “have learnt unnatural lust from the Greeks.” There would have been no need for him to directly contrast the Persian love of truth with the Greek tendency to prevaricate because his audience would have been well aware of it and this same model holds true for the rest of his description of Persian customs. The glowing description of the Persians – who, he notes, think it “the most disgraceful thing in the world” to tell a lie (I.138) - is contrasted with the Greeks without Herodotus having to even mention his countrymen. Although the claim has been challenged, he is also correct in his passage in the same chapter on the Persian love of wine and their policy of making decisions drunk and then reevaluating the same when sober. He is also accurate in his description of birthdays as important annual events as the Persians are known to have created the practice of observing birthdays and also of instituting the serving of desserts after a meal (I.133). Of all the days in the year, the one which they celebrate most is their birthday.

History of the persian wars by herodotus