Final answer:
Herodotus found Egyptian customs to be opposite to Greek customs, especially in terms of religious beliefs and social practices. While he saw Greeks calling Persians 'barbarians', he acknowledged the complexity of other cultures, including the rich Egyptian beliefs surrounding their deified kings and afterlife rituals.
Step-by-step explanation:
Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian, is known for his extensive writings on the customs and practices of various cultures, notably the Egyptians and Persians. He found himself puzzled by the notion of whether one culture's beliefs and practices could be considered "better" than another's. Herodotus perceived Egyptian customs as fundamentally opposite to those of the Greeks, particularly in religious and social practices.
For example, he noted similarities between Egyptian religious practices and the Greek Orphic and Bacchic rites, yet he also observed profound differences. While the Greeks would refer to the Persians as "barbarians," and by extension, their cultural practices as inferior, Herodotus acknowledged the complexity and power of other societies, including Persia, and the rich religious beliefs of the Egyptians, who saw their kings as gods on Earth, maintaining universal harmony.
In specific terms, Herodotus contrasted Egyptian customs to the Greek notions of the afterlife and the divine. Where the Egyptians had a rich pantheon and complex rituals surrounding death and afterlife, Greeks held different beliefs about the heavens and permissible burial practices. This contrast elicited from Herodotus a significant reflection on cultural relativism and the subjective nature of evaluating one culture against another.