Romantic Period Essays - Hector Berlioz, Program Music,

Romantic Period A New Step in Music Since the beginning of organized music in the Middle Ages, like all the other fields of creativity and study, such as art, philosophy, and architecture, music has made leaps and bounds in the flow of progression. The Romantic period was a time when music began to take on a different meaning. The music began to become more subjective as opposed to objective music of the Classical period. The artist or composer became much more important as an individual. An example of one of these progressions occurring mainly during the Romantic period was when composers and audiences alike started turning towards program music. Program music is "the term for a nonvocal music that is associated with a poem, a story, or some other literary source; the literary text itself is the program. This new style of music created waves of joy and of controversy that still exist today. This form of music was first derived to fulfill a greater need to cease creating and continuing boundaries in the separate fields of art. Before this period music and paintings or in this case music and literature were not meant to be intertwined. The people did not see a need for it since each field was considered a separate entity of itself. Bent 2 During the romantic period, the general feeling began to surface that music could be made even more expressive by channeling it through literature; especially poetry. I believe a lot of this had to do with the new, relaxed frame of thought for the time period, and the genius of William Shakespeare's writing capabilities. The issue surrounding program music is that critics ridicule the idea that the music can actually illustrate a program. They ask the question that if the audience did not know it was program music, then could they identify it as so, once heard. Some say that it is entirely possible, and even would be hard not to while others claim that there could quite possibly be no clues to the fashion of program music. Another argument made by the critics of program music is music should be able to stand on its own, with meaning, feeling, and a general sense or purpose. With program music, they felt that the music itself could not stand alone. However, the people of the Romantic period did not care. They wanted program music to increase expressive capabilities, and to be entertained in a new fashion. Many of the composers of this time, and since then have flourished through the use of program music. Perhaps some of the most renowned pieces of music in existence today are forms of program music. Hector Berlioz (1803 ? 1869) was a truly gifted composer who was most definitely inspired by literature; mainly Shakespeare. His composition Lelio is a correspondence to the renowned play Hamlet. Probably his best known piece though, Symphonie Fantastique was written about a woman that Berlioz was madly infatuated with. The Irish Shakespearean actress, Harriet Smithson, was the Bent 3 object of his affections, and did actually become his wife for a short time years after this composition. The remarkable part about the symphony is that Berlioz actually had programs made up and distributed to the audience for the performance. "A young musician of unhealthy sensibility and passionate imagination poisons himself with opium in a fit lovesick despair. Too weak to kill him, the dose of drug plunges him into a heavy sleep attended by the strangest visions, during which his sensations, emotions, and memories are transformed in his diseased mind into musical thoughts and images." Berlioz's symphony was received well and he ended up getting his beloved, even though they ended up miserable together. Another famous work in which this new form of music was displayed is Mozart's Don Giovanni. Mozart used a sort of foreshadowing in his music to help the audience along with the story line. In the second to last scene, Don Giovanni is carried off to Hell. Before the curtain opens, the orchestra begins incorporation a somber tone to signify this occurrence. He felt that this foreshadowing made the mood and the music more interesting. This transition during the Romantic period, beginning to compose program music, created a lot of changes in how composers wrote music, and how the audience received the music. Although there were, and still are some questions and uncertainties in some people's minds as to the validity of the music, program music was an inspirational change welcomed by most in the Romantic era. Bibliography Kerman, Joseph. Listen.

A Fatal Accident Essays

A Fatal Accident Essays A Fatal Accident Essay A Fatal Accident Essay A Fatal Accident A Fatal accident is something horrible that can happen with somebody and the worst part is when it happens; person sees a glance of death and that time he realizes his mistakes as well. A fatal accident could pace a positive effect on person’s life if he learns a lesson from it. Monday Night, it was a night after my brother’s valima and we all were very happy. We planned to take the newly wedded bride out for dinner. So we all cousins along with my siblings were on our way to a restaurant. I was in a car with my cousin who was driving the car, I was sitting in the front and my two sisters were sitting on the back seat. My cousin who was driving was a new driver actually and he always drives like a lunatic and that is why I was sitting with him so that I would keep on warning him whenever he does something wrong. There were 4 cars including ours. Well here’s the rub, that day my cousin was driving like a normal person but I don’t exactly remember what happened but the car went out of his control and went off road. First, the tires got burst then the car hit a big rock and after that the car drifted to right and flipped over three times. The second time the car rolled over I thought it’s my last moment of life but by the Grace of Allah when the car stopped rolling it stood straight. I and my cousins rushed out of the car drag my sisters out and then went away from the car if in case it explodes. It was so scary that one of my other cousins who were riding in other car behind us saw the whole seen and she got faint. It was so scary that whoever sees the condition of the car gets frightened and none believed that we survived after seeing the condition of the car. Well we all somehow managed and controlled ourselves, sat in other 3 cars and came back home. It was a miracle that no one in the car got a single bruise. After the accident when we came back home and everything seemed okay I sat back and thought that why it happened and I realized that it was a lesson for all of us. I remember 5 days before Monday we had a loads of fun, the fun we haven’t had in our lives and at that time I guess none of my cousin prayed a single namaz; Allah forbid us. Like for the cousin who was driving it was a lesson for him that he should never drive fast again. And for the rest of my cousins, siblings and me it was a lesson that when Allah gives you loads of happiness we shouldn’t forget about Him and at least pray Namaz when it is due.

European political systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

European political systems - Essay Example The countries that joined in 1958 include Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands and Luxembourg. These six countries were motivated to put collectively the coal and steel industries under supra-national control. The coal and steel developed to European Economic Community in 1958. In 1995 three countries joined the union namely Austria, Finland and Sweden. In 2007, Bulgaria and Romania joined the union. In 2004, Cyprus, Estonia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Poland and Slovenia were considered part of European Union and largest integration that took place. The integration involved the breaking of some of the countries restrictions to adhere to certain issues such as the free movement issues. To some countries, the Stabilization and Association Process put in place to deal with particular cases before recognition, was a challenge to entry. In 1973, the following countries joined European Union, Denmark, United Kingdom and Ireland. Greece joined in 1 981 and Spain in 1986 (Zeff & Pirro,

Functions of Management Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Functions of Management Paper - Essay Example All of these functions play their roles in making an organization achieve all goals efficiently. Let us discuss each of these functions in some detail in order to know the role that they play in the success of an organization. Planning Planning holds great importance in the process of management. It means recognizing organizational or personal goals and developing proper strategies to meet those goals. In context of organizations, planning not only includes setting goals for the future but also includes development of strategies and tactics to meet those goals. Managers cannot achieve desired goals and objectives without planning. For proper planning, managers need to consider many factors, such as, assessment of organizational environment, availability of resources, future trends of the market, assessment of customers’ demands, and proper use of capital. In the organization where I work, there are many kinds of planning which managers do for the success of the organization. S ome of those types of planning include marketing planning, sales planning, and project planning. Marketing planning means to develop suitable strategies for the marketing of the company’s products and services. In marketing planning, managers consider 4Ps of the marketing mix to develop a proper marketing plan. In sales planning, managers assess all aspects of the target market and the sales promotion strategies to develop a proper sales plan for the products. In case of project planning, managers take a close look at different aspects of the project to do effective planning. For project planning, managers consider due date of the project, available resources, and effective use of human resource and technology to meet the targets. Tatum (2011) states, â€Å"Like any type of business planning, project planning is about gaining the most benefit while making the wisest use of available resources†. Proper planning provides many benefits to the organizations, such as, avoid ance of confusions, completion of tasks within deadlines, reduction of risks, and correct use of resources. Organizing Organizing is the second function of management, which means to organize different activities. Once managers are done with planning to do something, the need for organizing arises. Managers need to bring together all resources in such a way that they work in collaboration with each other to achieve desired goals. The function of organizing includes many core activities, such as, identifying the resources, arranging required resources, classifying the resources, communicating goals to employees, assigning tasks to employees based on their skills, and delegating the authorities. A manager needs to be skilled in the function of organizing. It is important because no work can be done up to the level of perfection without proper organization of activities. In my organization, managers of all departments organize their sets of activities in a logical manner in order to co ntribute to the success of the organization. The activities of arranging required resources and providing those resources to the employees for the completion of tasks also come under the function of organizing. Managers organize the workplace properly in order to ensure workplace productivity and organizational success. â€Å"Without an organized workplace, employees will see a manager as unprepared† (Rothbauer-Wanish, 2009). Therefore, a manager needs to be organized personally and professionally in order to put a good impact on the

Capabilities and Effects of Background Music Essay Example for Free

Capabilities and Effects of Background Music Essay Abstract Nonverbal communication speaks louder than verbal communication; therefore, nonverbal communication, such as background music, needs to be sensibly evaluated. As a form of nonverbal communication, background music is capable of influencing a target audience. In advertising, emotions can be shifted depending on the music being played in the background and the same feelings are then transferred to the product, providing a tremendous advantage in business (Dillman Carpentier, 2010). Music can change one’s mood; in the workplace, an improved mood allows employees to be more content and, overall, more productive. In addition, with the right musical selection, the music is able to increase the amount of information an individual is able to retain (Balch Lewis, 1996). Various aspects from several studies have been examined, demonstrating the power of background music and music in general. The Capabilities and Effects of Background Music Nonverbal communication may be unintentional and speakers may not be aware of their behaviors or it may be just the opposite (Troester Mester, 2007). However, background music is often carefully selected in order to aid in the desired goal, particularly in advertising (Dillman Carpentier, 2010; Kellaris, Cox, Cox, 1993). The goals of every businessperson may not be the same; yet, the capabilities and effects of music are rather consistent (Dillman Carpentier, 2010). Whether via television, radio, or in person, music is able to affect the moods of those in the audience (Knobloch, 2003). Music also has the ability to improve the performance of the task at hand of an individual (Fassbender, Richards, Bilgin, Thompson, Heiden, 2012). According to Balch and Lewis (1996), an increase in memory is also induced by music. In any aspect of business, the effects of music can be utilized and even increase efficiency and productivity. Mood Alteration One’s mood determines the way one thinks and acts and what is said (Knobloch, 2003; Hunter, Schellenberg, Schimmack, 2010). According to Hunter et al., â€Å"music is the language of emotions† (p. 47). The perception of music determines the emotion felt. The perception of happiness is more often transferred to feeling happy than the perception of sadness and feeling sad (Hunter, Schellenberg, Schimmack, 2010). Davies (2011) refers to the emotions of music as being contagious. When one is around people who are depressed, that person’s mood adjusts closer to those who are in the depressed state. Similarly, although a person may not actually be sad, a sad part in a movie can make that person feel sad; the same applies to music. Hearing music that sounds happy can make one feel happy and to the contrary. Davies models this as a cause and effect relationship. The music being heard is the cause and the effect is one’s reaction to the music. Whether the reaction is happy or sad is dependent upon the perception of the music to the listener. Sounds that reflect happiness include little amplitude variation, a vast pitch variety, and fast tempo (Hatfield, Cacioppo, Rapson, 1993). Therefore, when one hears these sounds of happy music, emotional contagion is invoked on the subject and causes that person to feel happy. In advertisements, music is selected as an enhancement but also to affect mood. It is a company’s goal to influence potential buyers by creating a positive attitude and feeling towards that company’s product. With a positive image in mind of a particular product, there is a greater likelihood that the consumer will purchase the product (Dillman Carpentier, 2010). An average of more than 9.5 hours of media is taken in by the average American on a daily basis; of those hours, 38% is dedicated to music – all of which affects mood in some way (Knobloch, 2003). In addition, according to Dillman Carpentier, 90% of commercials include music of some sort (2010). The preceding statistics show the value of music to consumers and therefore, reflect the importance music-induced moods have in marketing. Enhanced Performance Not only is music able to affect one’s mood but it is also capable of increasing the performance of an individual (North Hargreaves, 1999). According to Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky, the IQ scores of the participants of their study were highest when the participants were under the influence of music (1993). In the other two trials, the participants went through a relaxation process and sat in silence for 10 minutes; the scores were 2.95 and 3.56 points respectively lower (Rauscher, Shaw, Ky, 1993). Some teachers have started using music to increase the focus and efficiency of students. Relaxing music is played to keep the students’ minds from wandering and, instead, concentrated on the lesson. The relaxing music causes one’s brainwave frequencies to alter, entering the alpha state. The alpha state has been found to be the state where the best connection to one’s subconscious is made (Fassbender, Richards, Bilgin, Thompson, Heiden, 2012). Koenen’s and Restak’s (as cited in Fassbender et al., 2012) findings have both supported that music inhibits thought. Restak’s claim is based on a study conducted with surgeons as the participants. Due to differing parts of the brain being used for music and for physical tasks, the music doesn’t inhibit the task but keeps the other part of the brain occupied and, therefore, from becoming distracted (Fassbender et al., 2012). In another study, surgeons were asked to count backwards by various numbers under three different conditions and were monitored throughout their tasks. The different conditions were no music, music of personal preference, and experimenter-selected music. Each surgeon was individually tested and each surgeon’s blood pressure, pulse, timing, and accuracy were recorded. The results showed a significant difference among the three conditions and the areas being monitored. The surgeons’ blood pressures and pulses were at much higher levels when performing the tasks without music. The results of the tasks with the presence of music showed lower blood pressures and pulses but an increase in the speeds and accuracies of the surgeons. Of the two music conditions, the overall results of the surgeons were better when listening to music of their choice rather than the experimenter-selected music. The participants of the study are of a profession that undergoes much stress in the operating room; by listening to music of their choice, the effects of stress decrease and the quality of performances increase (Allen Blascovich, 1994). The studies of Dr. Adrian C. North provide several benefits of music for employers and employees. As previously mentioned, music can affect one’s mood. In the workplace, putting the employees in a better mood will increase their productivity by improving how well they interact with their fellow employees. It has been proven that one’s mood and helpfulness are directly related (North Hargreaves, 1999). Music has also been found to raise the employee morale, leading to a decrease in the number of absences (Furnham Bradley, 1997; North Hargreaves, 1999). The output per employee can also be increased in a work field involving repetitiveness. According to Johnson (2004), participants of his study (whose work was repetitive) matched the tempo of the music being played while working. Therefore, with the addition of music – causing a better mood, cooperation, and increased pace – the overall productivity and efficiency of the workforce can increase and, in turn, boost the company revenue. Music is a friend of labour for it lightens the task by refreshing the nerves and spirit of the worker – William Green ( quoted in Furnham Bradley, 1997) Increased Memory Although music and its relationship to human memory are still being researched, scientists do know that music affects several parts of the brain (Weir Nevins, 2010). Cognitive neuroscientist, Petr Janata, says, â€Å" It [music] calls back memories of a particular person or place, and you might all of a sudden see that person’s face in your mind’s eye† (Weir Nevins, 2010, p. 12). According to John Sweller, one must relate what is being learned to something that is already known (2003). Studies have proven the word-for-word is much higher when heard with music than when heard without music (Wallace, 1994). Wallace also suggests the musical accompaniment is used as a retrieval device or as an aid in the way the words are stored. The belief is that the music accents the words being spoken by acting as a cue when determining the number of syllables in a word and words in a verse (Wallace, 1994). It has also been shown that some memories are solely dependent on music being the trigger to recall them (Balch Lewis, 1996). In marketing and advertising, music plays a significant role on one’s memory. Most can probably identify the brand image, along with the melody, by simply reading, â€Å"five, five-dollar foot long† (Weir Nevins, 2010) due to the capability of music that allows one to recall melody and image from the text read (and the contrary) (Wallace, 1994). Pertaining to memory, music can also serve as an aid in health services (Simmons-Stern, Budson, Ally, 2010). According to a study by Simmons-Stern et al., patients with Alzheimer’s disease were able to recall more of the information they were given when it was sung rather than spoken. It is thought to be possible that these findings may aid in discovering a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease patients (Simmons-Stern et al., 2010). Conclusion There is no doubt music plays a role in everyone’s life in some way. The effects of music are nearly unavoidable due to the fact that music is incorporated into such a variety of activities and places and can cause differentiating feelings and results. Sad music can spread sadness (through emotional contagion) and infect the listener with that sadness, causing the listener’s mood to worsen. On the contrary, music is also able to make one feel happy (Davies, 2011). In the workplace, music is able to improve the mood of employees, motivate employees, and quicken the pace of the work being done (Furnham Bradley, 1997). By playing upbeat music where the work to be done is monotonous, the workers are less irritated and fall in rhythm with the beat of the music. A workforce that has a higher rate of productivity can ultimately benefit the company by increasing the profits (North Hargreaves, 1999). Music also accentuates words and increases the memorabilia of those words; this can be quite beneficial in advertisements (Weir Nevins, 2010). Another benefit music offers, with regards to memory, is as a possible treatment for patients with Alzheimer’s disease (Simmons-Stern, Budson, Ally, 2010). Regardless of being a form of nonverbal communication or where it may appear, music strongly affects human beings with its ample array of capabilities. References Allen, K. P., Blascovich, J. P. (1994). Effects of Music on Cardiovascular Reactivity Among Surgeons. Journal of The American Medical Association, 272(11), 882-884. Balch, W. R., Lewis, B. S. (1996). Music-Dependent Memory: The Roles of Tempo Change and Mood Mediation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 22(6), 1354-1363. Davies, S. (2011). Infectious Music: Music-Listener Emotional Contagion. In A. Coplan, P. Goldie, Empathy: Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press. Dillman Carpentier, F. R. (2010). Innovating Radio News: Effects of Background Music Complexity on Processing and Enjoyment. Journal of Radio Audio Media, 17(1), 63-81. Douglas Olsen, G. (1995). Creating the Contrast: The Influence of Silence and Background Music on Recall and Attribute Importance. Journal of Advertising, 59(4), 29-44. Fassbender, E., Richards, D., Bilgin, A., Thompson, W. F., Heiden, W. (2012). The Effects of Music on Memory f or Facts Learned in a Virtual Environment. Computers and Education, 58(1), 490-500. Furnham, A., Bradley, A. (1997). Music While You Work: The Differential Distraction of Background Music on the Cognitive Test Performance of Introverts and Extraverts. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 11, 445-455. Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J. T., Rapson, R. L. (1993). Emotional Contagion. Current Directions in Psychological Sciences, 2(3), 96-99. Hunter, P. G., Schellenberg, E. G., Schimmack, U. (2010). Feelings and Perceptions of Happiness and Sadness Induced by Music: Similarities, Differences, and Mixed Emotions. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 4(1), 47-56. Johnson, V. W. (2004). Effect of Musical Style on Spontaneous Exercise Performance. Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, 24, 357. Kellaris, J. J., Cox, A. D., Cox, D. (1993, October). The Effect of Background Music on Ad Processing: A Contingency Explanation. Journal of Marketing, 57, 114-125. Knobloch, S. (2003, June). Mood Adjustment via Mass Communication. Journal of Communication, 53(2), 233-250. North, A. C., Hargreaves, D. J. (1999). Music and Driving Game Performance. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 40, 285-292. North, A. C., Hargreaves, D. J. (1999). Musical Tempo, Productivity, and Morale. Unpublished Manuscript. Rauscher, F. H., Shaw, G. L., Ky, K. N. (1993). Music and Spatial Task Performance. Nature, 365, 611. Simmons-Stern, N. R., Budson, A. E., Ally, B. A. (2010). Music as a Memory Enhancer in Patients with Alzheimers Disease. Neuropsychologia, 48, 3164-3167. Sweller, J. (2003). Evolution of Human Cognitive Architecture. San Diego: Academic Press. Troester, R., Mester, C. (2007). Chapter 7: Nonverbal Civility. In Civility in Business Professional Communication (pp. 87-105). Peter Lang Publishing, Inc. Wallace, W. T. (1994). Memory for Music: Effect of Melody on Recall of Text. Jornal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20(6), 1471-1485. Weir, K., Nevins, D. (2010). Music and Your Mind. Current Health Kids, 34(1), p. 10.

Queen Elizabeth the First Essay -- essays research papers

Queen Elizabeth 1 The reign of Queen Elizabeth I is often referred to as "The Golden Age" of English history. Elizabeth was an immensely popular Queen, and her popularity has waned little with the passing of four hundred years. She is still one of the best-loved monarchs, and one of the most admired rulers of all time. She became a legend in her own lifetime, famed for her remarkable abilities and achievements. Yet, about Elizabeth the woman, we know very little. She is an enigma, and was an enigma to her own people. Elizabeth was the daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. She was born on 7 September 1533 at Greenwich Palace. Her birth was possibly the greatest disappointment of her father's life. He had wanted a son and heir to succeed him as he already had a daughter, Mary, by his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. He had not divorced Katherine, and changed the religion of the country in the process, to have only another daughter. Elizabeth's early life was consequently troubled. Her mother failed to provide the King with a son and was executed on false charges of incest and adultery on 19 May 1536. Her marriage to the King was declared null and void, and Elizabeth, like her half-sister, Mary, was declared illegitimate and deprived of her place in the line of succession. The next eight years of her life saw a quick succession of stepmothers. There was Jane Seymour who died giving birth to the King's longed for son, Edward; Anne of Cleves who was divorced; Catherine Howard w ho was beheaded; and finally Catherine Parr. For generations, historians have debated whether the constant bride changing of her father was responsible for Elizabeth's apparent refusal to marry. It is certainly possible that the tragic fates of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard impressed upon her a certain fear of marriage, but there may have been other reasons for the Queen's single state, such as a fear of childbirth, which claimed the lives of a significant number of women in this period. Even if the Queen had no personal reservations about marriage, there were political problems with almost every contender for her hand. Religion was a major divisive issue, and there was also the problem of whether Elizabeth would have to relinquish any of her royal powers to a husband in an age when the political sphere was exclusively male. As a child, Elizabeth wa... ... claim the English throne for himself and not for her. In the summer of 1588 he sent his mighty fleet against England. But by superior tactics, ship design, and sheer good fortune, the English defeated them. Elizabeth's popularity reached its zenith. It was also another personal triumph as she had proved that she, a woman, could lead in war as well as any man. Elizabeth was dedicated to her country in a way few monarchs had been or have been since. Elizabeth had the mind of a political genius and nurtured her country through careful leadership and by choosing capable men to assist her, such as Sir William Cecil and Sir Francis Walsingham. Elizabeth was a determined woman, but she was not obstinate. She listened to the advice of those around her, and would change a policy if it were unpopular. In appearance she was extravagant, in behavior sometimes flippant and frivolous, but her approach to politics was serious, conservative, and cautious. When she ascended the throne in 1558, England was an impoverished country torn apart by religious squabbles. When she died at Richmond Palace on the 24th March 1603, England was one of the most powerful and prosperous countries in the world.

Does Herodotus believe in Cultural Relativism Essay

For its time and place, The Histories of Herodotus is a work of remarkably expansive scope. To set the stage for the wars between Greece and Persia ( 490-479 B. C. ), Herodotus describes the geographical and cultural background and reviews the political history of Lydia, Media, Babylon, Egypt, Persia, Scythia, Libya, Ionia, and various Greek city-states in Asia Minor, on the Aegean islands, and on the European mainland. To record the results of his â€Å"research† (historie, in Greek) with the greatest vigor and accuracy, Herodotus traveled to many of these places and gathered firsthand data from native informants. For this type of research, in the words of a modern commentator, Herodotus merits the title not only of the father of history; he is also the father of comparative anthropology. Among the various classes of information which Herodotus seems to have emphasized, thus suggesting a pattern for later descriptions, were marriage customs, religious rites, burial practices, and food habits. The description of these four categories of traits, or â€Å"social institutions,† were not necessarily executed in the round for every tribe that happened to stroll across the pages of the Histories; but they were mentioned often enough to indicate the direction taken by his curiosity, and the content of the questions he probably put to informants. Herodotus, the ancient Greek, was a cheerful, inquisitive, rationalistic extrovert who traveled over his world to discover the facts, who took delight in telling a good story but usually avoided the temptation to wander very far from sober common sense. His cultural relativism is well known and much discussed, but it is particularly noteworthy that Greeks and barbarians are placed on a equal footing at the outset. Distinctions between Greek and non-Greek break down as the work progresses: the first barbarian for whom we get any detailed information is the Hellenized Lydian king, Croesus; the divisions of lands customary among the Greeks that separate Greek and non-Greek peoples are purely arbitrary; we learn of the Phoenician descent of Sparta’s kings; and Herodotus states that the descendants of Perseus came to be counted as Greeks. The key dichotomy is not the Hellenic-barbarian bipolarity, but rather the opposition of the ordered society based on law and the arbitrary rule of the despot. But political and social institutions are fragile structures, and Herodotus gives no guarantee that the Greek superiority at the time of the Persian Wars, which was based upon those institutions, will last. In fact his work closes on an ominous note that appears to warn imperial Athens that it is in danger of becoming, if it has not already become, the barbarian. We are presented with the gruesome picture of the crucifixion of the Persian satrap Artayctes at the command of the Athenian commander Xanthippus, father of Pericles, and a piece of wisdom from the Persian founding father, Cyrus, on the dangers of success and affluence. And it is well to remember that Herodotus wrote long after the Persian threat had passed, when Athenian imperial power was at its apogee. Herodotos’ interest in reciprocity is symptomatic of contemporary philosophy, not least in Ionia. Moreover, Herodotos’ very project, his attempt to explain and explore the Persian Wars, can be considered as a study of reciprocity in cross-cultural interaction, not least because those wars were for Herodotos a stage in a reciprocal, cross-cultural process, as he asserts in the proem. Indeed, war itself may be seen as an exchange, a reciprocal undertaking: the tactics of the Skythian Idanthyrsos allow him to wage war while explicitly rejecting the relationship that war usually entails. Herodotos’ origins in western Asia Minor, a key area of interface between Greek and non-Greek culture, may have led him to give particular thought to the issue of cross-cultural reciprocity, as also to the Persian Wars, for which the Ionian Revolt had been the catalyst, if not the cause. At the same time, the justice and injustice of imperialism remained a burning issue through the fifth century into the fourth, and not only Persian imperialism, but also Athenian, Spartan, and Macedonian. The Persian Wars were the great antecedents of the Peloponnesian War, in the early years of which Herodotos seems to have completed his work. The Persians themselves continued to play a major role in the politics of the Greek world: the onset of the Peloponnesian War seems to have inspired new attempts to deal with them, and with other non-Greeks, as indicated in comic style in Aristophanes’ Akharnians of 425 BC. 25 This is understandable, for it was to be Persian resources that would give ultimate victory to the Spartans in that war. Thus, it is quite possible that crosscultural reciprocity was a topical concern in Athens and elsewhere when Herodotos completed his work, though the issue had been close to the centre of Greek preoccupations at least since the time of the Persian Wars, Herodotos’ subject. The Persian Wars had reinforced a Hellenic self-image, defined by contrast with the ‘barbarian’ identity, and had thereby further problematized relationships between Greek and non-Greek. In particular, Greeks (especially Athenians, perhaps) could and did use their defeat of Persia as confirmation of a broader superiority over the barbarian. In exploring the difficulties of forming relationships with the ‘other’, Herodotos’ Histories present readers with failures and disasters, arising primarily from ignorance, over-confidence, and cultural chauvinism. There is a definite element of pessimism in the Histories, for the inability to penetrate beyond contingent nomoi and thereby to see ‘other’ as ‘self’ is taken to be an observable feature of human nature, as manifested throughout the narrative. In particular, wars are seen to be the products of injustice and attendant ignorance. But there is also hope; for the author claims for himself the ability to rise above commonplace failings and offers to provide his readers with a better understanding of themselves, of others, and of reciprocity. Like Kroisos, the reader may pass into a state of deeper understanding through advice confirmed by experience. Where Kroisos had the advice of Solon and suffered personal disaster, the reader has the advice of Herodotos the author and suffers vicarious disaster, ‘experiencing experiences’. Baldry notices that Herodotos calls into question the whole dichotomy between Greek and barbarian, when he presents the Egyptian perspective, according to which barbarians are not those who do not speak Greek, but those who do not speak Egyptian. At the same time, as Laurot has shown, Herodotos displays no interest in condemning barbarians as such, nor in subordinating them to Greeks. Rather, his presentation in the Histories of nomoi of the barbarian ‘other’ offers insights into the nomoi of the Greek ‘self’ (or better, ‘selves’), insofar as the various Greek nomoi constitute Herodotos’ principal frame of reference and benchmark. However, as Rosellini and Said valuably stress, Herodotos does not present the barbarian ‘other’ as a monolithic unity, any more than he presents the Greeks themselves as a unity: rather he ranges across the different nomoi that exist among barbarians and through the complexities of interaction between various barbarian peoples. The Histories are not so much a mirror, as Hartog would have it, but a hall of mirrors with multiple reflections. The key point is that in the Histories cultural differences, however profound they may be, are presented as secondary to a common human nature and a common human condition: in that sense too Greek is barbarian, ‘self’ is ‘other’. The categories of Greek and barbarian are familiar to Herodotos, but on his view, as the proem indicates, they need not entail the subordination of the barbarian, whose achievements are to be celebrated also. For Herodotos, it is humanness that is the natural identity and the group identity that matters, and man-made variations are merely contingent, for all their exotic character and interest. Confirmation of such a view of Herodotos may be found in the condemnatory response of Plutarch, for whom Herodotos is far too positive about barbarians. The ferocity of Plutarch’s response (indeed, his very decision to write a response at all) further indicates the strength of the challenge that Herodotos’ case presented to the smug asseverations of Greek specialness that seem to have developed through the fifth century and which Plutarch in his day assumed to be right and proper. Cross-cultural interaction was central to Herodotos’ project in the Histories. At the same time, the problematic nature of reciprocity the uncertainty that arises from its under-negotiation — is particularly apparent in interaction across cultures. Indeed, Herodotos’ concern with the problematics of reciprocity as a phenomenon can be seen as intimately bound up with his concern with cross-cultural interaction. Of course, Herodotos’ starting-point is a matter of mere speculation. But we can and should observe the organic relationship between cross-cultural interaction, crosscultural reciprocity, and the problematics of reciprocity as a phenomenon. It is precisely within the problematics of cross-cultural reciprocity that the appreciation of cultural relativism is particularly necessary. Therefore, if we move from the claim, already mentioned, that there is a strong sense in which the Histories are about reciprocity to ask why Herodotos should be so interested in the phenomenon, I would suggest that an answer is to be found not in the topicality of reciprocity as a theme in the later fifth century, but in the rationale of Herodotos’ very undertaking. A broadlybased treatment of the Persian Wars by its very nature invites a simultaneous and inherent treatment of reciprocity as a phenomenon. To examine societies is to explore forms of reciprocities. All the more so, when societies invite comparisons through their It also seems clear that Herodotus approached the task of describing manners and customs with a fairly definite idea of what constituted a culture, and a fairly specific set of questions for evoking details from informants. The criteria which separated one group from another and gave individuality to his descriptive portraits were common descent, common language, common religion, and the observance of like manners in the smaller details of living, such as dress, diet, and dwellings. The Argippeans, who lived at the foot of the Ural Mountains, were presented vividly as being bald from birth, speaking a language of their own, using no weapons, dispensing justice in the quarrels of their neighbors, and dressing after the manner of the Scythians. They lived on the juice of a species of cherry, making the lees into a solid cake which they ate instead of meat. They dwell each man,† he said, â€Å"under a tree, covering it in winter with a white felt cloth, but using no felt in summer. † For each group, in other words, seven categories of cultural fact are given. We are told their geographical location and something of their environment. We are told of their language, their dress, their food, their dwellings, their form of self-defense, or their lack of it, their prestige as judges among other peoples. On the other hand, concerning Egypt, one of the more important culture areas, Herodotus says at the outset that he will have to extend his remarks to some length. This country–its climate, its people and animals–was a constant surprise and challenge to the observer, very much as Japan with its customs and Australia with its fauna have challenged the modern traveller. For the Egyptians the number of cultural categories evoked far exceeds the seven used in describing the Argippeans. As for history, Bodin’s belief in its power to confer knowledge concerning the ways of mankind was unfaltering; and much of both the Methodus and the Republique is devoted to the assemblage of documentation to support this contention. Never before perhaps had a writer on politics or ethnography amassed so large a body of dated materials or laid so large a literature under tribute. He was well-read, not only in the law and the Bible, but in the Talmud and the Cabala; in the ancients, including Herodotus, Strabo, Cicero, Tacitus, and Caesar; in the modern historians, such as Joinville, Froissart, Monstrelet, Commines; and in the travelers, Marco Polo, Leo Africanus, and Las Casas. As they err, said he, â€Å"who study the maps of regions before they have learned accurately the relation of the whole universe and the separate parts to each other and to the whole, so they are not less mistaken who think they can understand particular histories before they have judged the order and sequence of universal history and of all times, set forth as it were in a table. †