Herodotus' historical opinion, although that in itself did not ensure an anti-Persian opinion. In this matter of philosophical worldview, writes British historian Michael Grant, "Universal truth seems to him [Herodotus] only discoverable through this or that human being." Combining this point-of-view with objective facts such as victory/failure leads Herodotus the observer to the inescapable conclusion that historical evaluation rests on such factors as one man's strength (or Virtue) versus another man's weakness. Thus, consequently, could Herodotus write admiringly of the Persian empire-builder, Cyrus the Great, who had conquered the kingdom of the richest man in the known world, Croesus of Lydia.
It was, of course, a philosophy not untinged by myth and mysticism. The Greek heritage had gods behaving like men and Homeric men performing the deeds of gods. The "myth as his
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