Abstract

While Herodotus does not offer us an explicit reflection on the usefulness of his work, references of his characters to their own past imply a commentary on how (not) to use the past. This article suggests a metahistorical reading of the Persian Council Scene and of Xerxes. Through correspondences with the authorial narrative, the historical arguments employed by Xerxes, Artabanus, and Mardonius reveal the usefulness of the Histories as well as the limits of history as magistra vitae. Furthermore, Xerxes' attempts to record his own deeds shed light on an aspect of writing history that distinguishes Herodotus from Thucydides.