Book 7

8-17

Persian Council. Speeches of Xerxes, Mardonius and Artabanus.

Preparations for the campaign

Darius is very angry when informed of the defeat at Marathon. Another

vexing event is a rebellion in Egypt. He resolves to crush both the Greeks
and the Egyptians. However, he must first deal with the question of his
successor. His son, Xerxes, is chosen and Darius prepares his new
campaign against his enemies. He dies, however, before he can set out,
and Xerxes becomes king. Xerxes is convinced to take up his father's
campaign against Greece by his general, Mardonius. Another advisor,
Artabanus, attempts to convince Xerxes to abandon the project.
Artabanus warns the king that "it is always the great buildings and the tall
trees which are struck by lightning." That is, Xerxes's arrogance is likely to
be punished by the gods. Xerxes ignores this advice.

Mardonius

Mardonius was the son of Gobryas, a Persian nobleman who had assisted
the Achaemenid prince Darius when he claimed the throne. The alliance
between the new king and his friend was cemented by diplomatic
marriages: Darius married Gobryas' daughter, and Gobryas married
Darius' sister. Furthermore, Mardonius married Darius' daughter
Artozostra. Thus, Darius the Great was simultaneously Mardonius' uncle,
father-in-law, and half-brother-in-law.

He encourages Xerxes to invade Greece flattering him (”O king, you are
not only the best of the Persians who have ever lived, you are also the
best of any who will be born in the future) arguing that:

 Revenge on those who burnt Sardis and defeated Datis and

Artaphernes in Marathon is necessary.
 If the Persians invade others unprovoked, what should they
do in this case?
 Can they possibly be afraid of the Greeks? Why?
 They cannot have more forces than the Persians themselves
 They do not have more wealth
 They have subjugated the Ionian, Aeolians and Dorian living
in their area.
  Greeks are easy to defeat, if they do decide to fight. They
choose the flattest plain where both sides suffer great
losses.
 When Mardonius himself marched to Macedonia knowing
offered resistance.
 They fight one another instead of resolving their differences
through heralds and negotiations.
Artabanus

According to Aristotle, Artabanus was responsible for the death of Darius.

He then became afraid that Xerxes would seek revenge and proceeded to
assassinate the King. On the other hand, it is reported that Artabanus had
personal ambitions for the throne. He first secretly murdered Xerxes and
then accused Darius of parricide, resulting in his execution.

He discourages Xerxes from invading Greece, arguing:

 He had warned Darius against the Scythian expedition, but

he was ignored. The Greeks are better warriors than the
Scythians. The bridging of the Hellespont carries many risks,
just as Darius bridged the Thracian Bosphorus and crossed
the River Ister to attack the Scythians. The latter nearly
persuaded the Ionians who were guarding the bridge to
destroy it. It was a near miss which they should heed
against.
 God punishes the arrogant, just like lightning always strikes
the biggest houses or the tallest trees.
 Rashness leads to mistakes.
 He suggests that Mardonius and himself put their own
children at stake and depending what the outcome of
Mardonius’ expedition his own or Mardonius’ s children will
pay the price.

Xerxes’ response

Xerxes gets angry and punishes Artabanus by leaving him behind.

He believes that if the Persians remain inactive the Greeks will
attack them. In this conflict, either the Persians win total control
or the Greeks.

The dreams of Xexes and Artabanus finally determine the king to

make war. The greatness of the expedition.

Xerxes’s vision

He dreamt that a man warned him against changing his mind and
cancelling the expedition. The next morning, he talked to his men and said
that he does regret his reply to Artabanus and goes on to cancel the
expedition, after all. That night however, the dream is repeated, and the
man threatens him that if he disobeys him as quickly as he became
important and mighty, just as quickly he will become an ordinary man
again.

Artabanus agrees to sleep in Xerxes’s place to satisfy his superstition,

although he believes that he will be proven wrong. The vision also visits
Artabanos and repeats his threats.

Artabanus spoke to Xerxes explaining why he originally advised him

against the expedition. He speaks of wanting to prevent Xerxes being
carried away by his youthful impulses, an image of Xerxes supported
by Herodotus. He speaks of a divine agency being at work here, wanting
the Persians to invade Greece.

 This betrays the characteristic Greek bias that the gods are on their
side, and they deceive the Persians leading them to destruction.
This bias is also very evident in Aeschylus’ Persians.
Xerxes makes extensive preparations. He gathers an army that "dwarfed"
that of Darius on his campaigns. The army is composed of people and
equipment from all over the known world. Xerxes also orders the cutting
of a canal near Mt. Athos. Herodotus believes Xerxes did this simply to
show his power.

To get his army into Greece, Xerxes uses a bridge constructed over the
Hellespont. When the bridge is destroyed by a storm, Xerxes orders the
strait's waters to be whipped 300 times, and the men responsible for the
bridge's construction are executed. The bridge is rebuilt, and Xerxes and
his army make the crossing into Greece.

Analysis

A hint at Xerxes's future failure rests in Herodotus's dismissal of the canal

at Mt. Athos (a mountain in northeastern Greece) as simply an attempt to
prove his power and not a matter of practical use. Xerxes's preparations
can be read as the careful actions of someone who wants everything to go
well. Alternatively, and this is probably Herodotus's intention, they are
simply setting him up for an even bigger and harder fall than his ancestors
suffered.

Xerxes's temper is revealed when he orders the Hellespont (the narrow

waterway between the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara he must cross
to reach Greece) to be whipped after a storm. This is a clear sign of his
arrogance and his belief that the whole world is his by right. This is a good
story, but Herodotus also uses it to show that Xerxes does indeed intend
to conquer the world, not just to punish the Athenians.
So vast is Xerxes's army that it takes seven full days and nights to cross
the Hellespont. Herodotus catalogues the many contingents that comprise
the Persian army. The army includes Persians, Medes, Cissians, Bactrians,
Indians, Arabians, Ethiopians, Libyans, Phrygians, Lydians, Thracians,
Pisidians, Cabalians, Moschians, and Marians. Herodotus describes their
equipment and leaders, and he gives the numbers of their infantry,
cavalry, and support vessels.

The bridge over the Hellespont. The march from Sardis to Abydos.

Then, follows the construction of the pontoon bridge over the Hellespont
and the incident of the flogging.

The march from Sardis to Abydos

Xerxes calls on Demaratus, deposed king of Sparta, to speak to him of

the Greeks. Demaratus, cautiously, asks if Xerxes wishes to hear a "true
answer, or a pleasant one." Xerxes asks for the truth, which Demaratus
supplies. He states that the Spartans They would fight Xerxes even
if the rest of Greece surrenders. Their number is irrelevant. They
will fight however few they might be.

Xerxes refuses to believe Demaratus’s claims. But the reason why he does
so, is telling about his own preconceptions: How could one thousand or
ten thousand or fifty thousand men face an army as great as
Xerxes’s, especially when they are all equally free and not
controlled by any one person?

He believes that the men can only behave bravely if they fear
their leader and under the force of the whip.

This mentality contrasts sharply with the Greek mentality of fighting for
freedom. The contrast is eloquent, but we should not forget that it is
Herodotus’ anti-Persian bias prescribing what Xerxes says on this
occasion.

Demaratus replies that the Spartans will never surrender because

they fear their laws more than the Persians fear their tyrants.

Xerxes ‘s armies continue their march. Xerxes pauses for some

sightseeing at Therma before returning his attention to the war. He sends
no envoys to demand the surrender of Athens and Sparta. Those cities
had their chance to submit to Darius, but they threw the Persian envoys
down a well. They will receive no second chance.

Analysis
Herodotus indulges his love of ethnography, this time with the peoples
who made up the Persian army. He probably had access to an eyewitness
report of the army, because this section is very thorough. What it reveals
is the extent of the Persians'
. Their army is massive and consists of warriors from all over the known
world. The Persians ruled a truly multicultural empire, and this was one of
the benefits they reaped for their tolerance of non-Persian cultures.

Herodotus's record of the size of the army is probably highly exaggerated.

He may have believed that it truly numbered in the millions. Whether he
did or not, it makes the subsequent Greek victories more impressive.

Demaratus, the deposed ruler of Sparta, fulfils the role of the ignored
advisor this time around. Xerxes laughs at his tales of Spartan valour and
their regard for their laws. To a tyrant like Xerxes, such beliefs are childish.
Here, Herodotus aims to show once more the pitfalls of tyranny.
As Darius himself acknowledged, tyranny can only work if the ruler is "the
best." Xerxes is not the best. Herodotus implies that to trust in the
qualities of a tyrant is foolhardy.

Herodotus notes that while Xerxes ostensibly meant to punish Athens, his
real intent was to conquer all of Greece. He explains his theory that it is
the Athenians who ensured the freedom of Greece by taking the course of
action he is about to describe. He argues that had the Athenians not
decided to fight and build a fleet, that no end of resistance on the part of
Spartans or others would have been able to prevent a Persian victory. The
fleet is the brainchild of Themistocles. Themistocles interprets a prophecy
of the oracle at Delphi to mean that Athens's salvation lies in their fleet—a
"wooden wall." Themistocles had previously ordered the construction of
just such a fleet following the discovery of a silver mine at Laurium. The
money paid for 200 war galleys, which had been intended to fight Aegina.
Instead, they would be used to fight the Persians. The Athenians augment
their fleet by building more ships, and they also attempt to form a league
of Greeks to oppose the Persians.

Analysis

Herodotus's praise of the Athenians might not have been well received
when he was writing his history. At the time, in the mid-5th century BCE,
Athens was a powerful empire that bullied its neighbours. Herodotus feels,
however, that he must report the facts as he finds them, and he makes a
convincing case that Greek freedom was indeed owed to the Athenians.
His argument rests on the fact that it is an Athenian fleet and an Athenian
strategy that led to the victories that follow.
Greek Unity: The Council of patriotic states. Dispatch of spies to
Sardis.

Messengers were sent as scouts to Persia

Messenger were sent to Argos, Gelon of Sicily, Corcyra and Crete.

The scouts were found out and brought before Xerxes, but he did not
agree to execute them. He asked his spear holders to show the scouts
around the army.

His reasons were the following: If he allowed these scouts to return

to Greece, then he was convinced that the Greeks would hear of
his great power and surrender their freedom before the
expedition left Persia. Then there would be no need for them to
continue their invasion.

Negotiations with Argos

The Argives then sent envoys to Delphi

They were mindful that only recently six thousand Argives had been killed
by a Spartan army led by Cleomenes son of Anaxandrides.

Pythia answered: “Hated by your neighbours, loved by the

immortal gods, poise your javelin, hold your guard, keep your
head protected, and your head will keep your body safe.”

The Argives asked for a thirty-year peace had been signed with
Argos and they were given an equal share of the command of the
army. They said that the Argives had the right to demand full
control of the army but that they would settle for a joint
command.

The Spartans’ answer was that they had two kings, but the
Argives only had one and they could not deny the command to
either of the Spartan kings. However, there was nothing to
prevent the Argive king from ruling alongside the two Spartans.

Herodotus claims that the Argives had received an offer from the
Persians, before the Spartans contacted them and they were
much impressed by that offer. So, when they suggested the joined
command, they knew that it would not have been accepted, so it
was not a genuine request.

Analysis
While Herodotus anxiously disclaims all responsibility for the stories which
implied most clearly the Argive guilt, he seems to condemn them in his
heart. He even reported that the Argives were regarded by some as the
people who invited the Persian invasion, even if he expresses his disbelief.

The attempt to excuse the Argives by the suggestion that others-perhaps

the Thebans- were yet more guilt, is not convincing.

Book 8

The Greek fleet at Salamis. Council of war.

The Athenians try to convince the other Greeks to marshal their naval strength at Salamis.
Thanks to their efforts, the Greek fleet swells to almost 400 ships. Herodotus describes the
contingents and their numbers.

Xerxes wastes Attica and seizes Athens. Storming of the Acropolis. Portent of the sacred
olive.

During the council, news arrives that the Persians have entered Athenian territory and are
looting and burning as they go. Most of the population of Athens itself is with the fleet, and so
when the Persians enter the city, they find it all but deserted. The few who remain barricade
themselves in the Acropolis, which is besieged. They are defeated, and Athens falls to Xerxes.
He orders the temples to be looted.

An unusual generous gesture from Xerxes: On the day after the messenger was sent, he
gathered together the Athenian exiles who were part of his following and ordered them to go up
onto the acropolis and make sacrifices according to their own customs. He either did this
because he had seen something in his dreams or because he felt some guilt for burning the
temple. The Athenian exiles carried out his instructions. Again, this is a relatively generous
gesture from Xerxes.

Greek council of war at Salamis. Anecdotes of Themistocles, Mnesiphilus, Eurybiades and

Adimantos.

Most argue for fighting in the Peloponnese. Because if they were defeated at Salamis, they
would be besieged on an island where no help would come to them, whereas from the
Isthmus, they might be able to escape to their own territories.

Some admirals left on hearing about the taking over and burning of the Acropolis.

Some of the Greeks once more argue for splitting the fleet.

The Mnesiphelus episode is there to affirm that Themistocles’ suggestion was objectively
mostadvantageous: “If they sail away from Salamis, ...each contingent will make for their
own city, and neither Eurybiades, nor any other man will be able to stop the f leet being
disbanded. Greece will be lost due to this poor decision.’

Themistocles tries to convince Eurybiades to stay and keep the fleet together, for this is the only
way to ensure the collective defence of Greece.
Eurybiades is convinced. Themistocles has a tougher time with the other naval leaders

 He said that if they retreat to their Isthmus you will be fighting where it not
advantageous for the Greek ships, where is more open.
 You will be leading the Persian army into Peloponnese endangering the rest of
Greece.
 Fighting in narrow straits will benefit Greece.
 If everything goes into plan, the Persians will not go near Isthmus, they
will flee in disorder
 It has been foretold that we will defeat our enemies in Salamis.
Adimantus the Corinthian asked Themistocles to shut up and called him a stateless
man, to whom Eurybiades should not give a say. Themistocles reminded him that his
own city was bigger and had contributed 200 boats.

Persian fleet at Phalerum. Council of War. Decision to fight against Artemisia’s

advice.

Themistocles then only convinced them to stay and fight by threatening that the Athenians will
take their fleet, head to Italy, and leave the rest to Xerxes's wrath.

On the other side, all of Xerxes's leaders are in favour of attacking the Greek fleet, except for
Queen Artemisia, who rules Halicarnassus. She argues that such is the Greek superiority as
sailors that the Persians have no hope of victory.

 When fighting at sea, Greek men are as much stronger than Persians as men are
stronger than women.
 Xerxes should be content with Athens, why should he have the rest of Greece?
 If he does not engage in a sea battle but instead advances towards the
Peloponnese, he will cause them to disperse, each will flee to his own city.
 If he engages in a sea battle straightaway, if something bad happens to his f leet,
this will affect the land army.
Xerxes said he held Artemisia in even higher esteem now, but he ignored her advise,
thinking that has men will fight more bravely if he watches them.

She is ignored, and the Persian fleet advances to give battle.

The day before the battle of Salamis. First movement of the Persian fleet. Fortification of
the Isthmus on digression about the ethnology of the Peloponnese.

But amongst the Greeks there was terror and dread, especially with those from the
Peloponnese who feared that in remaining at Salamis to fight for the Athenians they would
be defeated and then barricaded and besieged on an island, while their own land was left
unprotected.

Here, Herodotus bias is evident. The Peloponnesians are the ones to fear and be reluctant to
fight away from their homeland, whilst the Athenians will be saving the day.
The land forces after learning about the defeat in Thermopylae, collect at the Isthmus under the
command of Leonids’ brother Cleombrotus.

Herodotus lists the forces gathered there and make a poignant comment about those who did not
care to come and help Greece in its hour of need:

These were those who had come to help, united with concern for Greece in her hour of
need. None of this mattered to the rest of the Peloponnesian states even though the
Olympic and Carneian festivals had already taken place.

Herodotus talks about the communities living in the Peloponnese and is condemning about the
ones which claimed to have remained neutral. The remaining cities of these seven territories,
other than those I have mentioned, all remained neutral. In my honest opinion, if they were
not against the Persians, then they were with them.

Herodotus now describes the anxiety and fear which cause debate about the Salamis sea-battle
to reiterate: Then a rumour started, whispered from man to man, expressing amazement at
Eurybiades’ foolish decision. Finally this burst into the open and an assembly was held
where the same arguments which had been made before were made again: that they
should sail away to the Peloponnese and take their chances over this land, rather than
stay where they were and fight for a country which had already been conquered.
Herodotus again presents the doubters of the Athenian plan as failing patriots, prioritising local
interests instead.

Council of war and strategem of Themistocles. Themistocles uses a trick to limit the Persians'
numerical advantage. He sends a spy to the Persians with a secret message that induces them
to attack at dawn in a very narrow bay.

Themistocles plan is presented as entirely a private mission carried out unbeknownst of his
allies: Themistocles... sneaked out of the assembly and sent a man...

Sicinnus announces the following:

 Themistocles betrays the Greeks and supports the Persians in secret.

 The Persians should stop the Greeks from escaping.
 They do not agree with one another
Second movement of the Persian fleet. Fortification of
Psyttaleia. The oracle of Bacis. Council of war. Arrival of
Aristeides and the Tenians.

 The preparations of the Persians: they pushed up their western wing towards Salamis to
attempt to encircle the Greeks.
 They sent out their ships so that the Greeks would not be able to flee but should instead
by blockaded at Salamis
 They landed on the island called Psyttalea as, when the sea battle
began, this island would be where all the shipwrecked sailors would
come ashore. They could then save any of their own men who were
washed ashore and finish off any of the enemy.
Then, Herodotus cites the oracle of Bacis. He proclaims his trust in
oracles:
I have no way of proving that oracles are not true, their
messages are clear, and I have no desire to speak against
them.

In the meantime, Herodotus describes the Greek council as: a long

and forceful exchange of views arose between the admirals
at Salamis.

Herodotus states his high regard for Aristeides and praises him and
Themistocles for putting their differences aside for the sake of
Greece: their differences had been forgotten in view of the
importance of the present situation. Aristeides says to
Themistocles: now our rivalry should be about which of us can
be of greater service to our country.

Themistocles admits that he caused the Persians to surround the

Greeks. He claims that he had to, because the Greeks did not
want to begin the battle, so he needed to compel them to
take action. He then suggested that Aristeides told them the news,
because they would not believe Themistocles himself.

The Greeks did not believe that they were in fact surrounded by the
Persians before a trireme of Tenians who were deserting
arrived, their captain being Panaetius son of Sosimenes, and
they reported the whole truth of the matter.

Themistocles proceeds to make a speech to urge the Greeks on,

since each man has in their nature good and bad, and they must
now choose the right path.

The day of the battle

 The first Greek to ram a ship was Aminias of Pallene

 The Aeginetans say that the ship which had brought the Sons of
Aeacus from Aegina was the one which began the battle.
 The following is also said: a ghost of a woman appeared and
called out commands for the entire Greek fleet, first rebuking
 them in this way, “You fools, how much further back do you plan
to go?
Herodotus mentions Theomestor son of Androdamas and Phylacus son of
Histiaeus, from Samos. As a reward, Theomestor was made by Xerxes
ruler of Samos and Phylacus was recorded as a king’s benefactor and
given a great amount of land. In the Persian language, these benefactors
are known as “orosangae”.

According to Herodotus, the Greeks fought in order and with tactics,

the barbarians had no organisation and did not carry out a clear
battle plan: therefore, it was entirely predictable that things
would turn out as they did.

Artemisia’s endeavours. The narrowness of the terrain means the Persians cannot simply
overwhelm the Greeks with numbers. In the battle, Artemisia wins Xerxes's esteem for her
bravery, even though she rammed a friendly ship. Still, Xerxes witnesses her apparent valour
and curses the cowardice of his men, shamed by a woman's exploits. The Greeks are victorious
in the battle. Herodotus credits Aegina with the greatest exploits in the fight, followed by Athens.

Artemisia's exploits in the Battle of Salamis are more famous than most because Herodotus says
that he cannot relay many other exploits but hers. Artemisia's reasons for ramming a friendly ship
are unknown, as Herodotus acknowledges, but they give him the chance to unfold a punchline
that reveals something of Greek expectations of gender roles. It also shows that Xerxes, at the
height of his power, is actually powerless: watching the battle from afar, he cannot affect its
course, and he cannot even clearly see what is happening. He praises Artemisia by mistake.

The Phoenicians accused the Ionians as traitors. But Xerxes witnessed an

event, which confirmed in his eyes the bravery of the Ionians and
rewarded the Phoenicians by having their heads cut. A Samothracian
ship, which for Herodotus was vaguely Ionian, was rammed by an
Aeginitian ship. The Samothracians however, turned around and threw
spears at the Aeginitians, taking eventually control of their ship.

Herodotus talks about the distinction of the Aeginitians in battle, who

nevertheless were accused of medizng.

Similarly the Corinthians were said to have followed Adimantus, the

Corinthian admiral, who was struck with fear and panicked at the very
start of the battle when the first clashes occurred, and that he hoisted his
sails and fled. It is said that when the fugitives were passing the temple of
Athena Sciras on Salamis, they ran into a ship which appeared to be sent
by a god, as no-one admitted to sending it. Someone shouted from the
ship. “Adimantus, you have turned your ships in flight and betrayed the
Greeks. But the Greeks have won as complete a victory over their
enemies as they ever hoped they might.”

Herodotus hints that the malicious rumour was a later addition when he
says: however, the Corinthians do not agree and say that they
were amongst the bravest fighters in the battle; and the rest of
the Greeks support their story.

8.95 Xerxes considers flight. The news of the defeat arrives in

Persia.

Unlike Aeschylus, Herodotus does not make a big deal of Aristeides

contribution at Psyttaleia.

Another case of discrediting/shaming Xerxes.

He made other preparations for war as if he was planning to fight

another sea battle. All those who watched him preparing in this
way were convinced that he fully intended to stay where he was
and fight again. However, Mardonius was not convinced by any of
this as he knew Xerxes better than anyone.

Compare 8.99 with Aeschylus’ description of how the Persians received

the news of Salamis.

Mardonius after the defeat, thought that it was likely that he would be
punished for urging the king to mount a campaign against Greece, and
thought that is was better for him to gamble on either taking Greece or
dying nobly in the effort. This is telling about Xerxes’ cruelty.

The advice given by Mardonius and Artemisia to the king.

Mardonius knows he will not be spared, so it is worth risking a comeback.

 This whole contest does not depend on wooden ships but on

infantry and cavalry. He asks Xerxes to allow them to attack
the Peloponnese immediately.
 Do not punish the Persians and make them a laughing stalk
to the Greeks.
 ‘leave me to deliver Greece to you in chains and let me
choose three hundred thousand men for this purpose’.
Xerxes decided to send for Artemisia to take part in the discussions,
since, in the previous council, she had been the only one who had known
what to do.

Artemisia answers:

 I think that you should march back to Persia and leave

Mardonius here with the troops he requires, if he is keen to
do what he says and feels that he can deliver on his
promises.
 If he fails there will be no great loss for Xerxes, since his
household is safe, and the Greeks will in the future have to
fight battles for their existence.
 If Mardonius is lost,...nor have the Greeks won in any real
sense by defeating him, they will have only killed your slave.
 You have achieved your purpose, you are returning home
after burning Athens to the ground.

Herodotus expresses a condemning opinion for Xerxes:

I do not think he would have stayed in Greece even if every man

and every woman in his army advised him to do so, as he was so
concerned for his safety.

Retreat of the Persian fleet and pursuit of the Greeks as far as

Andros. Stories of Themistocles and his message to Xerxes.

The Greek admirals, having pursued Xerxes’ s ships up to Andros, consider

their actions.

 Themistocles’ view was that they should sail on through the

islands in pursuit as far as the Hellespont so that they could
destroy the bridges.
 But Eurybiades proposed a very different course of action,
claiming that if they did what Themistocles suggested it
would be a calamity for Greece.
 If the Persian king were cut off from Asia and compelled to
stay in Europe, he would be forced to renew his campaign.
 As Xerxes had decided after his defeat at sea not to stay in
Europe, Eurybiades thought that he should be allowed to
escape back to Asia, as the war could then be carried on in
his territory.
Themistocles realised he had to change his approach and said instead to the Athenians who
were the keenest to pursue the Persians further:
  Themistocles knows that people once defeated may regroup and ‘throw off their
earlier feebleness’.
 The Greek victory was owed to the gods.
 The gods do not wish that one man should be king of both Asia
and Europe, especially such a godless and arrogant one.

Herodotus’s comment which follows is damning about Themistocles’

motives:

Themistocles said this because he wanted to have a claim on the

king’s gratitude in the future, so that if he fell out of favour with
the Athenians he would have somewhere to escape to – this did in
fact turn out to be needed.

He also adds:

Themistocles deceived the Athenians and persuaded them to

follow his advice; in the past he had always been considered
clever, but now they thought him both clever and an excellent
adviser, so they were very willing to do exactly what he
suggested.

That Herodotus himself believed that Xerxes’s arrogance would be

punished by the gods when he affirms that the Persians were punished as
follows:

 The Hellespont bridge was destroyed by a storm.

 Many Persians eating and drinking without restraint after so long,
died.
Xerxes’s adventure when sailing back to Sardis on a Phoenician ship:

The ship was at risk because it was top-heavy, as the men accompanying
Xerxes on deck were so numerous. The captain suggested that the got rid
of some sailors. As a result, Xerxes said:

“Persian men, now some of you have a chance to prove how much
you care about your king, for it would appear that my safety
depends on you.”

When men did volunteer to die for their king and the ship arrived at Sardis
safely,
first Xerxes gave a golden crown to the captain, for saving the life
of his king, then he gave orders for his head to be cut off as he
had been responsible for the death of so many Persian men.

Herodotus expresses his disbelief about the story. He says that if the
captain of the ship had indeed come up with such news, Xerxes would
have insisted that the Phoenician rowers would have been thrown into the
sea.

Another story he disputes:

The people of Abdera say, but I do not believe them, that Xerxes
had not loosened his girdle until he had reached there from
Athens, as he was only then safe.

Herodotus instead affirms that Xerxes returned to Persia by land.

Xerxes sends a message to the Athenians that he is willing to forgive

your actions against him and befriend you, alone of all the other
Greeks.

He is suggesting that they make peace with him, an alliance without

victory since they are not able to overthrow him or resist him for
ever.

The Spartans, afraid that the Athenians would collaborate with the
Persians sent messengers to them.

The Spartans in their speech blame the Athenians for starting the war with
the Persians. But Herodotus claims that it would be unbearable to think
of the Athenians as responsible for Greece being enslaved, when you
Athenians have always, up until this point, been known on many
occasions as liberators. They promise they will look after their women
and children for them. Adding, you know that you never get the truth
or indeed anything trustworthy from a barbarian.”

The Athenians answer that it is understandable the Spartans should think

that the Athenians might make an agreement with the Persians, but it is
shameful at the same time.

Then they explain why this would never happen

 First and most importantly, the homes and gifts of our gods
have been destroyed and burnt, we are compelled to exact
 full revenge for these dishonours, rather than make terms
with the one responsible for the offences.
 next we are Greek, we share the same blood, the same
language, the same shrines of the gods and methods of
sacrifice, the same customs; it would not be right for the
Athenians to betray all of this.