The Case of Epizelos (Herodotus 6.117) Revisited

This paper discusses the blinding of Epizelos after encountering a supernatural warrior at Marathon. It is argued that for the Greeks this is to be numbered among a number of such divine or semi-divine interventions on the battlefield but, contrary to what is sometimes supposed, no especial standing or heroic status was conferred on Epizelos as a result of the blinding. Modern medical science sees here a case of bilateral blindness. This is often attributed to hysteria but the nature of our source material councils against dogmatism and other plausible explanations are possible.