In the treatise conventionally entitled De malignitate Herodoti, Plutarch charges Herodotus with systematic malevolence, claiming that his intent as an author was to tarnish the reputation of the great cities and individual heroes featured in his Histories. Plutarch lists eight different ways in which he thinks Herodotus deliberately presented information that would diminish reputations: that he used the harshest of descriptive adjectives, when softer ones were possible; emphasized personally discreditable gossip; omitted mention of noble deeds; sided with the worst version when two or more versions of events were available; attributed base and self-serving motives whenever possible; claimed the desire for money as a motive when it was unnecessary; used disreputable reports while claiming that he did not personally believe them; and, finally, used some weak words of praise in order to make his much stronger criticisms more convincing.1