Fate and the movie 300 According to many past and present cultures, fate determines one's destiny. The social status in which one is born into serves as a preconceived prophecy of that particular life and course of events that will take place throughout it. Throughout history, personalities have not been believed to form from particular life experiences or the culture in which one was raised in. Instead, personality traits and the ultimate success of life were thought to be set in stone and predetermined. Often known as the first historian, Herodotus, author of The History, displays the importance of genetics and inborn qualities through his in depth narratives of 5th century B.C. empires: the Persians, Egyptians, and Scythians. As the majority of members in this time era believed, one's entire identity was already established at birth. Identity was formed at the hands of fate which served as a self-fulfilling prophecy, foreshadowing people's traits, interests, and actions, causing this predicted identity to in fact, become true in the future. The famous story of “Cyrus the Great” provides a clear example of how and why certain characteristics of one's identity were believed to be genetic and formed from nature instead of nurture. In this particular story, Astyages, newfound Median king, had two strange dreams about his daughter Mandane which the Magi (dream interpreters) prophesied as an end to his rule. In Astyages' first dream, he saw Mandane “making water so greatly that she filled all his city and flooded, besides, all of Asia” (Herodotus 1:107). Assuming that traits were inborn and acquired through genetics, Astyages prevented Mandane from marrying a “worthy” Mede but instead, wed her to a Persian who “was much below a Mede of even middle class” (Herodotus 1:107). Although Astyages' carefully strategized plan was unsuccessful, he assumed that Mandane's inept husband would not only prevent Mandane from her own success, but provide their future child with inherited traits that were not suitable for a king. Unfortunately for Astyages, his second dream, as interpreted by the Magi, also predicted the fall of his reign. However this time, it was his Grandson (soon to be named Cyrus) taking his title, who he did not think would be born with the appropriate qualities needed to rule an empire. To prevent this from happening, Astyages ordered his most faithful kinsman, Harpagus, to take care of the problem by killing Mandane's newborn son Cyrus. Unable to do so, Harpagus, passed this duty onward to a slave. However, this slave was also unable to complete Astyages' dirty work and instead, replaced Cyrus with his already diseased, stillborn child, raising Cyrus as his own. Sure enough, Cyrus was displaying leadership qualities only ten years later. During a game with other children his age, Cyrus was chosen to play as their king. After giving all the children orders, the son of a highly ranked Median refused to follow his command. As a result, Cyrus ordered all of the other children to have him arrested and whipped, which they immediately did in obedience. Even more angered than before, the arrested child told his father how he had been belittled by a “cowherd's son,” who then went straight to King Astyages with his complaint (Herodotus 1:115). Astyages brought Cyrus in, still unaware that they were kin, and asked him why he would dare treat the son of a high ranked official with such dishonor. Cyrus responded: “Master, I did this to him, and with justice I did it. For the children of the village, of whom he was one, in their play made me their king; and they judged that I was the most suited to the office. All the other boys did what I bade them do, but this one was deaf to my orders and would do none of them, until finally he was punished for it” (Herodotus 1:115). Astonished by Cyrus' great leadership skills and king-like qualities, he did some research and soon found out that Cyrus' was in fact his grandson. Immediately feeling remorseful for his actions, Astyages later told Cyrus: “My boy, I did you a wrong because of a vision I saw in a dream, a vision that found no fulfillment; but through your own destiny you have survived” (Herodotus 1:20). Afterwards, Cyrus was sent to Persia and was reunited with his parents Through the vocabulary and context in which Herodotus tells this story, it is obvious he believes that Cyrus was able to climb to the top of this “social ladder” because of the leadership qualities that he was born with. Although this story was likely fabricated over time, Cyrus' identity established his desire to rule, which was immediately noticed by Astyages. Throughout the story, Herodotus never mentions luck and never associates Cyrus' rise to the top with randomness or chance. He tells the story as if Cyrus was destined to be a great leader all along, providing evidence of his belief that identity is formed through nature, giving Cyrus the inborn qualities which destined him for greatness. The story of how the Scythian males returned to their land after a long series of wars and immediately assumed their previous position of power provides another example of how traits and positions in society were thought to be genetic. After a twenty-eight year quest to take over Asia from the Mede's, the Scythians returned to their home only to find their previous slaves laying with their women, bearing children, and assuming the land as their own (Herodotus 4:2). After taking this new role in society, but knowing that they were from a different breed than the Scythians, the new race prepared to fight for that land that had been theirs for the past twenty-eight years. For some time, the Scythians' primary strategy in taking back their land was unsuccessful. The Scythians clearly forgot that they were the “superior breed” and realized that they should not fight and kill their own slaves. They realized that they had to put their slaves back in their place when one Scythian said: “I think we should leave by our spears and bows. Let each one of us take up a horsewhip and go for them with that. As long as they are used to seeing us with arms, they think that they are our equals and that their fathers are likewise our equals. Let them see us with whips instead of arms, and they will learn that they are our slaves” (Herodotus 4:3). After putting this new strategy into action, the slaves were frightened and confused, forgetting that they once were in charge. They immediately assumed inferiority and ran away from the land that was once theirs. The Scythians believed that they were above the slaves because their identity was naturally superior. While the Scythians were bred from an ancestry of rulers and conquerers, the slaves were thought to be genetically inferior and lacked the traits necessary for greatness. Once the Scythians left for battle, the slaves were able to rule the land because no one was above them telling the slaves what positions they could and could not fill. Even when the Scythians first returned, the slaves were able to fight back because the Scythians were acting as equals. However, once the Scythians started treating them like slaves again, this new race automatically assumed that they were not born with the same genetic qualities and actually acted inferior to the Scythians. As a result, this particular story provides evidence which suggests that personal identity was thought to be formed through nature which decided one's destiny at birth. The Egyptians also believed that identity was predetermined and ancestral. One's life could be predicted based on the specific birth date for that individual. The Egyptians believed that every day belonged to a different god. Herodotus wrote: “whatever day a man was born depends what events he will encounter and how he will die and what manner of man he will be” (Herodotus 2:82). Although this belief may not be based purely on genetic traits, they Egyptians still believed that depending on the date of birth, one's fate was predetermined due to specific inborn qualities that were provided at birth. The life of an Egyptian was also preconceived based on the family in which one was born into. Ancestry determined personal identity for the Egyptians which as a result, predicted one's future social status. For example, when a high priest died, his son was immediately assigned to take his place (Herodotus 2:37). Egyptians were expected to “follow their fathers' customs and take no others to themselves at all” (Herodotus 2:79). This explanation clearly demonstrates the importance that ancestry had on establishing an identity which provided a future course of actions that the person would likely follow. Similar to the Egyptians, ancestry also played an extremely important role in selecting government and social positions for the Persians. Obviously, ones identity during this time could be confined to the specific role that an individual played, affecting the traits, interests, and course of actions that would later follow. According to Persian law, the king must select his “successor” before leading troops into battle (Herodotus 7:2). Darius, King of Persia at the time, was in a tough situation because he had two sons who both claimed heir to the throne. His eldest son, Artobazanes, believed that he was the rightful predecessor because he was the eldest of all the children. However, Artobazanes was born before Darius had become King. Xerxes who was birthed from a different mother, claimed that not only was he born when Darius was king, but also “that he was the son of the daughter of Cyrus and that it was Cyrus who had won their independence for the Persians” (Herodotus 7:2). Ultimately, Darius followed the advice of others, and appointed Xerxes as King. The fact that so much consideration was taken into place in order to decide who was the rightful heir shows how important ancestry was for the Persians. Darius wanted the son with the most kinglike and leadership qualities to lead Persia in the future and he believed that those qualities were based purely on genetics. Whoever had the closest connection to Darius and his position as King would by nature, inherit the best traits and therefore, serve as the best King. The common belief that personal identity was determined at birth through innate qualities or inherited through genetics was clearly displayed in Herodotus' The History. The book provides examples of how the Persians, Egyptians, and Scythians all believed that one's identity is inherited through nature. However, just because Herodotus suggested that many essential qualities were inborn, does not mean that they actually were. Instead, the fact that many believed this could have been a huge predictor of one's identity, preventing many from reaching their true potential. Since most were identified by their family and thought to be born with a set of predetermined qualities, many thought that their life was set in stone for them. Identity was believed to be formed at the hands of fate which served as a self-fulfilling prophecy, foreshadowing people's traits, interests, and actions, causing this predicted identity to in fact, become true in the future.