Book 7

7.51 Artabanus advised Xerxes to at least leave the Ionians home: if they went on the campaign they might elect to help their fellow Greeks.

Posted on 12-26-17 | Permalink

7.52 No way, Xerxes said: their families back home are hostages to their good behavior. BTW, you're in charge of Persia while I'm gone.

Posted on 12-27-17 | Permalink

7.53 So Xerxes sent his uncle off to Susa to run things in his absence. Then he called his nobles in and gave them a pep talk.

Posted on 12-28-17 | Permalink

7.54 A couple days later they were ready to start crossing the Hellespont. Xerxes poured a libation and prayed to the sun.

Posted on 12-29-17 | Permalink

7.55 Then the crossing started--baggage animals, the 10,000, the cavalry, Xerxes, and everybody else. The fleet crossed over to Europe too.

Posted on 12-30-17 | Permalink

7.56 After Xerxes crossed, he watched the rest of his army do so. The crossing took seven days and seven nights, without a break.

Posted on 12-31-17 | Permalink

7.57 Afterwards X ignored an omen--a horse birthed a hare. It seemed to mean the Persians would run like rabbits on their way out of Greece.

Posted on 01-01-18 | Permalink

7.58 The fleet sailed west out of the Hellespont, and the army marched east out of the Chersonese, then west to meet up with the ships.

Posted on 01-02-18 | Permalink

7.59 They met at Doriscus in Thrace. The ships were hauled ashore to dry, and Xerxes decided it was a good place to number his army.

Posted on 01-03-18 | Permalink

7.60 There were 1,700,000 in the land army. They counted them by herding men into a walled area they built that could hold 10,000 at a time.

Posted on 01-04-18 | Permalink





"Tweeting Herodotus, or recasting The History for the digital age"

Press release

Herodotus Timemap (see for maps)

Macaulay's trans. with facing Greek


Browse tweets by book
Or click here to find a specific section.

1534 of 1534 sections posted:
0%
100%