05-19-2005, 07:18 PM
I don't have the book with me as I am at work right now, but I want to point out some things I remember from it.
This expedition by Xerxes, looks very much like a gigantic logistical failure. This army he raised (not including Mardonius's 300,000 picked men who fought at Platea) fought one tiny battle against a few guys at Thermopylae, yet almost none of them made it home. Herodotus mentions that the produce of the land could not support them. They ate all the bark off the trees as they marched back, and that many died of disease.
Another indication of the pathetic state they were in was the story given to Herodotus by Thersandrus, who was present at a feast given to Mardonius and some leading Persians by a wealthy Theban man. This was after Mardonius and Xerxes split their forces so Xerxes could go home. One of the Persians, presumably an officer or part of Mardonius's bodyguard, with tears in his eyes, told Thersandrus that he was certain that all the Persians would be dead soon. This is from one of Xerxes very best troops that Mardonius judged worthy of keeping in Greece! If he felt this way, you could imagine that the rest of the army was having a very rough going for some long time.
From what I can gather about Xerxes character, this was a man who had big ideas, and fully expected his subordinates to take care of the details. Informing Xerxes that something he wanted was not possible was a very delicate matter. Artabazus was the only one to openly cast doubt on the expedition, and Xerxes patience was wearing thin with his defeatism. I wouldn't be surprised if there were many who shard Artabazus's opinion, who decided to keep quiet.
One question I would like to answer is this; what size army would be required, having full control of the resources north of the Pelopennese, to utterly starve to death in one season?
This expedition by Xerxes, looks very much like a gigantic logistical failure. This army he raised (not including Mardonius's 300,000 picked men who fought at Platea) fought one tiny battle against a few guys at Thermopylae, yet almost none of them made it home. Herodotus mentions that the produce of the land could not support them. They ate all the bark off the trees as they marched back, and that many died of disease.
Another indication of the pathetic state they were in was the story given to Herodotus by Thersandrus, who was present at a feast given to Mardonius and some leading Persians by a wealthy Theban man. This was after Mardonius and Xerxes split their forces so Xerxes could go home. One of the Persians, presumably an officer or part of Mardonius's bodyguard, with tears in his eyes, told Thersandrus that he was certain that all the Persians would be dead soon. This is from one of Xerxes very best troops that Mardonius judged worthy of keeping in Greece! If he felt this way, you could imagine that the rest of the army was having a very rough going for some long time.
From what I can gather about Xerxes character, this was a man who had big ideas, and fully expected his subordinates to take care of the details. Informing Xerxes that something he wanted was not possible was a very delicate matter. Artabazus was the only one to openly cast doubt on the expedition, and Xerxes patience was wearing thin with his defeatism. I wouldn't be surprised if there were many who shard Artabazus's opinion, who decided to keep quiet.
One question I would like to answer is this; what size army would be required, having full control of the resources north of the Pelopennese, to utterly starve to death in one season?
Rich Marinaccio
