Studying the odd corners of history has kept me going while in hiding so, as with history as a concept, the obvious place to start this blog is Herodotus. He has been a real inspiration for “Losing our Marbles” as his work really does walk a tightrope between the real and unreal, joining together a whole jumble of what we would recognise now as genuine historical reporting with a lot of stuff that verges on the fantastical. He is a great storyteller, picking tales up from everywhere, but also recognises the importance of humour so its hard to tell if he believes it all himself.
He starts by telling us that the sea around Mount Athos in the northern Aegean is full of monsters and, for example, reports that in ancient Egypt the usual norms for urinating are reversed as men sit and women stand. On the one hand he is the key source for the mighty contest of the Persian wars. But on the other he tells us that King Darius conducted an investigation between the Greeks and the Indians to establish their respective attitudes to eating their parents. It’s a great read.