{"id":{"repo_id":"baylor","oai_identifier":"oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/13098"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/baylor/oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/13098","repository":{"repo_id":"baylor","name":"Baylor University","base_url":"https://baylor-ir.tdl.org/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Herodotus and the birth of freedom.","abstract":"This dissertation examines freedom and tyranny in ancient Greece and Persia by synthesizing ancient Near Eastern scholarship with a new reading of Herodotus's History. I argue, contrary to prevailing scholarly contentions, that Herodotus considered ancient Persia to be a free regime that possessed both external and internal freedom. Though some political theorists dismiss Herodotus as a xenophobic peddler of racial stereotypes—e.g., that the Persian monarchy was nothing but a decadent tyranny—I contend that the History reflects the reality of Persian freedom as attested to by ancient cuneiform texts and that Herodotus offers a hitherto unrecognized positive political theory of kingship. In the latter half of this dissertation, I examine how Herodotus's presentation of Persia relates to Greek political practices of equality and how recognizing Persian freedom alters our understanding of the broader relationship of freedom to political power, public deliberation, and civic equality. Ultimately, my analysis of Herodotus's presentation of Persia not only shows that Herodotus did not think that the Persian monarchs wielded tyrannical power over the Persians, but also shows that Herodotus considered tyrannical overreach to be possible in any regime, not just monarchies. This dissertation therefore serves as a first step in refuting several prominent scholarly contentions, such as the claim that the Persians were all slaves to their kings, that Herodotus considered the Greek word týrannos to be a morally neutral term synonymous with kingship, and that Herodotus considered freedom and monarchy to be mutually exclusive.","abstract_html":"This dissertation examines freedom and tyranny in ancient Greece and Persia by synthesizing ancient Near Eastern scholarship with a new reading of Herodotus's History. I argue, contrary to prevailing scholarly contentions, that Herodotus considered ancient Persia to be a free regime that possessed both external and internal freedom. Though some political theorists dismiss Herodotus as a xenophobic peddler of racial stereotypes—e.g., that the Persian monarchy was nothing but a decadent tyranny—I contend that the History reflects the reality of Persian freedom as attested to by ancient cuneiform texts and that Herodotus offers a hitherto unrecognized positive political theory of kingship. In the latter half of this dissertation, I examine how Herodotus's presentation of Persia relates to Greek political practices of equality and how recognizing Persian freedom alters our understanding of the broader relationship of freedom to political power, public deliberation, and civic equality. Ultimately, my analysis of Herodotus's presentation of Persia not only shows that Herodotus did not think that the Persian monarchs wielded tyrannical power over the Persians, but also shows that Herodotus considered tyrannical overreach to be possible in any regime, not just monarchies. This dissertation therefore serves as a first step in refuting several prominent scholarly contentions, such as the claim that the Persians were all slaves to their kings, that Herodotus considered the Greek word týrannos to be a morally neutral term synonymous with kingship, and that Herodotus considered freedom and monarchy to be mutually exclusive.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Reising, Matthew K., 1997-"],"institution":"Baylor University.","degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Ward, Ann, 1970-"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-08","date_published":"2024-08","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:08:23Z","subjects":["Herodotus.","Tyranny.","Freedom.","Persia.","Greece.","Ancient political philosophy.","Constitutionalism."],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2104/13098","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Ward, Ann, 1970-"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Reising, Matthew K., 1997-"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2024-12-19T18:51:31Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-12-19T18:51:31Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2024-08"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Baylor University."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Herodotus.","Tyranny.","Freedom.","Persia.","Greece.","Ancient political philosophy.","Constitutionalism."]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Baylor University works are protected by copyright. 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Though some political theorists dismiss Herodotus as a xenophobic peddler of racial stereotypes—e.g., that the Persian monarchy was nothing but a decadent tyranny—I contend that the History reflects the reality of Persian freedom as attested to by ancient cuneiform texts and that Herodotus offers a hitherto unrecognized positive political theory of kingship. In the latter half of this dissertation, I examine how Herodotus's presentation of Persia relates to Greek political practices of equality and how recognizing Persian freedom alters our understanding of the broader relationship of freedom to political power, public deliberation, and civic equality. Ultimately, my analysis of Herodotus's presentation of Persia not only shows that Herodotus did not think that the Persian monarchs wielded tyrannical power over the Persians, but also shows that Herodotus considered tyrannical overreach to be possible in any regime, not just monarchies. This dissertation therefore serves as a first step in refuting several prominent scholarly contentions, such as the claim that the Persians were all slaves to their kings, that Herodotus considered the Greek word týrannos to be a morally neutral term synonymous with kingship, and that Herodotus considered freedom and monarchy to be mutually exclusive."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Herodotus and the birth of freedom."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Ward, Ann, 1970-"],"dc:creator":["Reising, Matthew K., 1997-"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2024-12-19T18:51:31Z"],"dc:date.available":["2024-12-19T18:51:31Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2024-08"],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation examines freedom and tyranny in ancient Greece and Persia by synthesizing ancient Near Eastern scholarship with a new reading of Herodotus's History. I argue, contrary to prevailing scholarly contentions, that Herodotus considered ancient Persia to be a free regime that possessed both external and internal freedom. Though some political theorists dismiss Herodotus as a xenophobic peddler of racial stereotypes—e.g., that the Persian monarchy was nothing but a decadent tyranny—I contend that the History reflects the reality of Persian freedom as attested to by ancient cuneiform texts and that Herodotus offers a hitherto unrecognized positive political theory of kingship. In the latter half of this dissertation, I examine how Herodotus's presentation of Persia relates to Greek political practices of equality and how recognizing Persian freedom alters our understanding of the broader relationship of freedom to political power, public deliberation, and civic equality. Ultimately, my analysis of Herodotus's presentation of Persia not only shows that Herodotus did not think that the Persian monarchs wielded tyrannical power over the Persians, but also shows that Herodotus considered tyrannical overreach to be possible in any regime, not just monarchies. This dissertation therefore serves as a first step in refuting several prominent scholarly contentions, such as the claim that the Persians were all slaves to their kings, that Herodotus considered the Greek word týrannos to be a morally neutral term synonymous with kingship, and that Herodotus considered freedom and monarchy to be mutually exclusive."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/2104/13098"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:rights":["Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission."],"dc:subject":["Herodotus.","Tyranny.","Freedom.","Persia.","Greece.","Ancient political philosophy.","Constitutionalism."],"dc:title":["Herodotus and the birth of freedom."],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["Baylor University."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:08:23Z"}