Herodotus · Civilisations

Custom Is King

Herodotus’s remarkable insight, 2,500 years ago, that every people thinks its own customs best - and his even-handed curiosity about the ways of others.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned that Herodotus observed ‘custom is king’ and described other peoples with curiosity rather than contempt. Explain his insight and the tension it creates, in your own words.

Leads to Claude Lévi-Strauss.

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