History as contagion? Herodotus on silent trade (4.196)

Thomas Harrison

doi:10.48638/sylgs.2022.1.89896

History as contagion? Herodotus on silent trade (4.196)

Thomas Harrison

School of Classics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This paper explores Herodotus’ account of ‘silent trade’, the phenomenon whereby two parties (in this instance, the Carthaginians and an unnamed Libyan people) exchange goods without any wider social contact. Drawing on parallel accounts of silent trade, it first explores the distinctive features of Herodotus’ version, and the question of its historicity. Secondly, it examines the story against the wider background of the Histories, in particular Herodotus’ model of human contact and his use of the marketplace as an analogy. Finally, it looks at one striking reworking of this episode of the Histories in the closing stanzas of Matthew Arnold’s Scholar Gipsy.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-30
Number of pages	30
Journal	Syllogos
Volume	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.48638/sylgs.2022.1.89896
Publication status	Published - 12 Oct 2022

Keywords

Herodotus
Silent trade
Carthaginians
Phoenicians
Libyans
Agora
Contact
Matthew Arnold
Scholar Gipsy

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10.48638/sylgs.2022.1.89896Licence: CC BY-SA

Harrison_2022_Syllogos_Historyascontagion_CC
Copyright © Thomas Harrison 2022. Open Access. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).
Final published version, 247 KBLicence: CC BY-SA

Cite this

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AB - This paper explores Herodotus’ account of ‘silent trade’, the phenomenon whereby two parties (in this instance, the Carthaginians and an unnamed Libyan people) exchange goods without any wider social contact. Drawing on parallel accounts of silent trade, it first explores the distinctive features of Herodotus’ version, and the question of its historicity. Secondly, it examines the story against the wider background of the Histories, in particular Herodotus’ model of human contact and his use of the marketplace as an analogy. Finally, it looks at one striking reworking of this episode of the Histories in the closing stanzas of Matthew Arnold’s Scholar Gipsy.

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KW - Carthaginians

KW - Phoenicians

KW - Libyans

KW - Agora

KW - Contact

KW - Matthew Arnold

KW - Scholar Gipsy

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JF - Syllogos

ER -

History as contagion? Herodotus on silent trade (4.196)

Abstract

Keywords

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