Nomoi and Cannibalism in Herodotus' Histories

Abstract

This paper argues that Herodotus does not stigmatise cannibalism in his ethnog­raphies. Rather than ‘Othering’ cannibalistic peoples like the Massagetae (1.216), Callatiae (3.38), Padaeans (3.99), and the Issedones (4.26), Herodotus’ depictions encourage his audience towards a stance of tolerance, while his depiction of the Androphagi (4.106) illustrates his reluctance to attach any particular custom as a marker of ‘Other’. In contrast, Herodotus denigrates cannibalism in his accounts of Cyaxares (1.73), Harpagus (1.119), and Cambyses’ Ethiopian campaign (3.25). I conclude with the suggestion that Herodotus’ depictions of distant peoples following their own custom even in this extreme case should be taken as further evidence of the historian’s cultural relativism.