Hybridity in Herodotus

Scholarly interest in hybridity has focused largely on the present and recent past. Yet, one of the great theorists of hybridity is an ancient one: Herodotus. By describing a globe in motion—the motion of people across borders and through time—Herodotus draws a picture of a world that brings the hybrid to the fore. He thinks seriously about how we should regard diversity in light of global hybridity. Reading Herodotus as a theorist of the hybrid not only adds an interesting perspective to contemporary conversations but also reminds us of hybridity’s enduring importance as a subject of political inquiry.