Cultural encounters | Encountering cultures

West meets East: Greeks, Persians, and the Birth of "Orientalism" by Dr. Sheila Ager

At the beginning of the fifth century BC, the Persian Empire sent two expeditionary forces against Greece in an attempt to bring the Greeks under their rule. These were the years of some of the most famous battles in history: Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis. The Greek success in driving back the Persian invaders was seen in later years as the most glorious moment in all their history. It was also a springboard for the earliest examples we have of the type of “orientalism” that is defined by Western perceptions that the West is superior to the East.

Recommended reading:

Selections from Herodotus and Aeschylus.

Learn more about Professor Ager.