Herodotus’ Egypt has fascinated countless readers over many centuries. In part because the Egyptian logos ostensibly ends with the Persian conquest, readers have less often refected on the historical background against which Herodotus wrote it. After the conquest, Egypt
was anything but a quiet province of the Achaemenid Empire, and one
major revolt took place during Herodotus’ own lifetime. Starting from
an overview of Egyptian restlessness under the Persian domination, I
will investigate in the present study the extent to which post-conquest
Egyptian history, and especially the major revolt that broke out after
Xerxes died and saw the participation of troops of the Delian League
in large numbers, may have impacted this part of Herodotus’ Histories.
Finally, I will present to the reader a somewhat speculative refection on
the original conception that underlies the Egyptian logos.
