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Xerxes Invades Greece
This work talks about a king who would be worshipped as a god. When Xerxes, King of Persia, crosses the Hellespont at the head of a formidable army, it seems inevitable that Greece will be crushed beneath its might. But, the Greeks are far harder to defeat than he could ever have imagined. As storms lash the Persian ships, and sinister omens predict a cruel fate for the expedition, Xerxes strives onward, certain his enemies will accept him as their king. But as he soon discovers, the Greeks will sacrifice anything, even their lives, to keep their liberty.
113 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 441
9 people are currently reading
428 people want to read
About the author
Herodotus
1,678 books794 followersHerodotus (Greek: Ηρόδοτος) (c. 484 – c. 425 BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He is known for having written the Histories – a detailed account of the Greco-Persian Wars. Herodotus was the first writer to perform systematic investigation of historical events. He has been described as "The Father of History", a title conferred on him by the ancient Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero.
The Histories primarily cover the lives of prominent kings and famous battles such as Marathon, Thermopylae, Artemisium, Salamis, Plataea, and Mycale. His work deviates from the main topics to provide a cultural, ethnographical, geographical, and historiographical background that forms an essential part of the narrative and provides readers with a wellspring of additional information.
Herodotus has been criticized for his inclusion of "legends and fanciful accounts" in his work. The contemporaneous historian Thucydides accused him of making up stories for entertainment. However, Herodotus explained that he reported what he could see and was told. A sizable portion of the Histories has since been confirmed by modern historians and archaeologists.
The Histories primarily cover the lives of prominent kings and famous battles such as Marathon, Thermopylae, Artemisium, Salamis, Plataea, and Mycale. His work deviates from the main topics to provide a cultural, ethnographical, geographical, and historiographical background that forms an essential part of the narrative and provides readers with a wellspring of additional information.
Herodotus has been criticized for his inclusion of "legends and fanciful accounts" in his work. The contemporaneous historian Thucydides accused him of making up stories for entertainment. However, Herodotus explained that he reported what he could see and was told. A sizable portion of the Histories has since been confirmed by modern historians and archaeologists.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 18, 2022
Full of lies!
❗❗❗
As a Persian this book and let's say all of Herodotus's books are quite offensive toward other nations especially Persians.
This book is a fairy tale, I cannot even believe the amount of lies Herodotus had put in this work and that's literally why The Hollywood made the movies 300 because it's totally nonsense fiction! Herodotus was a extremist on his nationalism and he had always been disrespectful towards his biggest enemies the Persians!
My beloved King Xerxes neither eradicated nor destroyed acropolis holy temple and it was the Peloponnesian War which lead to the destruction of Acropolis temple!
By the way, Spartans were the evil Barbarians not the Persians who established the first empire of the world by the hands of King Cyrus the great who founded his dynasty by human rights and the freedom to all the races and religions of the countries he conquered! He wasn't as evil as Alexander the great who massacred and killed thousands of innocent Iranians back in the fall of achaemenid dynasty
❗❗❗
As a Persian this book and let's say all of Herodotus's books are quite offensive toward other nations especially Persians.
This book is a fairy tale, I cannot even believe the amount of lies Herodotus had put in this work and that's literally why The Hollywood made the movies 300 because it's totally nonsense fiction! Herodotus was a extremist on his nationalism and he had always been disrespectful towards his biggest enemies the Persians!
My beloved King Xerxes neither eradicated nor destroyed acropolis holy temple and it was the Peloponnesian War which lead to the destruction of Acropolis temple!
By the way, Spartans were the evil Barbarians not the Persians who established the first empire of the world by the hands of King Cyrus the great who founded his dynasty by human rights and the freedom to all the races and religions of the countries he conquered! He wasn't as evil as Alexander the great who massacred and killed thousands of innocent Iranians back in the fall of achaemenid dynasty
September 2, 2022
Pros:
* Starts with an X so you can read it for alphabet reading challenges
* You don't need to read the rest of Herodotus' Histories
* Probably of interest to historiographers or whatever
* I'm sure he was trying his best
Cons:
* Absolutely gd everything else. I don't care that it's a classic and historically significant, I care that it sucks. Shut up nerds.
* That one bit where H spends forever wildly estimating the number of "men" (both combatants and noncombatants) in Xerxes' army to the nearest 10 when it is more than 5 million, and then goes "also eunuchs, women, and animals, but who counts those sorts of things?"
* The experience of reading the thing
Conclusion:
I'm glad I don't live in 400BCE when all there was to read was this trash. More evidence, if such was needed, that life sucked before the advent of the Animorphs franchise.
* Starts with an X so you can read it for alphabet reading challenges
* You don't need to read the rest of Herodotus' Histories
* Probably of interest to historiographers or whatever
* I'm sure he was trying his best
Cons:
* Absolutely gd everything else. I don't care that it's a classic and historically significant, I care that it sucks. Shut up nerds.
* That one bit where H spends forever wildly estimating the number of "men" (both combatants and noncombatants) in Xerxes' army to the nearest 10 when it is more than 5 million, and then goes "also eunuchs, women, and animals, but who counts those sorts of things?"
* The experience of reading the thing
Conclusion:
I'm glad I don't live in 400BCE when all there was to read was this trash. More evidence, if such was needed, that life sucked before the advent of the Animorphs franchise.
October 23, 2024
Dream My Dream!
Xerxes the Persian, son of Darius, his history/ legend is taken from part of Herodotus' History. The story has been told for almost 2500 years, and is still a simple and yet entrancing read. Herodotus writes in the conversational style of a storyteller. He recounts tales of epic battles. I enjoyed the story so much that I found a copy of Herodotus' History to read 'the rest of the story.' I'm not sure why the story of Xerxes starts with the departure for battle, but a really great part of the story is in the History before he leaves.
There he announces his battle plan to his compatriots, where his Father's, and now his own, advisor Artabanus explains the benefits of caution, and advises him that he will face defeat if he goes into battle so boldly. Xerxes calls him a coward and tells him to stay home with the women while they go win glory. But, that night he rethinks his rash plans and decides to humbly recant. But, a vision in the night urges him on to battle. He does recant humbly and apologize the next day to Artabanus, but the vision continues to haunt and threaten him. Finally he tells Artabanus the problem of the vision. Then he urges his advisor to wear his robe, sit in his throne and then sleep in his bed to see if he too will not have the same vision as Xerxes. Long story short, after arguing over the foolishness of this plan, Artabanus dreams his dream and relents to back the Greek Wars.
That part is left out of this portion of the History. But, it serves to illustrate what is included, as only an epic prequel can do. Herodotus shares the conversational styles of the speeches different characters make, and describes scenes brave and cowardly. He relates the bravery of the Spartans, and the often brutal justice of Xerxes. All in all it is a book that is well worth reading in any century: an enduring classic. I highly recommend this account of Xerxes for anyone.
Xerxes the Persian, son of Darius, his history/ legend is taken from part of Herodotus' History. The story has been told for almost 2500 years, and is still a simple and yet entrancing read. Herodotus writes in the conversational style of a storyteller. He recounts tales of epic battles. I enjoyed the story so much that I found a copy of Herodotus' History to read 'the rest of the story.' I'm not sure why the story of Xerxes starts with the departure for battle, but a really great part of the story is in the History before he leaves.
There he announces his battle plan to his compatriots, where his Father's, and now his own, advisor Artabanus explains the benefits of caution, and advises him that he will face defeat if he goes into battle so boldly. Xerxes calls him a coward and tells him to stay home with the women while they go win glory. But, that night he rethinks his rash plans and decides to humbly recant. But, a vision in the night urges him on to battle. He does recant humbly and apologize the next day to Artabanus, but the vision continues to haunt and threaten him. Finally he tells Artabanus the problem of the vision. Then he urges his advisor to wear his robe, sit in his throne and then sleep in his bed to see if he too will not have the same vision as Xerxes. Long story short, after arguing over the foolishness of this plan, Artabanus dreams his dream and relents to back the Greek Wars.
That part is left out of this portion of the History. But, it serves to illustrate what is included, as only an epic prequel can do. Herodotus shares the conversational styles of the speeches different characters make, and describes scenes brave and cowardly. He relates the bravery of the Spartans, and the often brutal justice of Xerxes. All in all it is a book that is well worth reading in any century: an enduring classic. I highly recommend this account of Xerxes for anyone.
"You know one half of what is involved, but not the other half. You understand well enough what slavery is, but freedom you have never experienced, so you do not know if it tastes sweet or bitter. If you ever did come to experience it, you would advise us to fight for it not with spears only, but with axes too."
"at Sparta they were pushed into a well – and told that if they wanted earth and water for the king, to get them from there."
"‘Well,’ said the king, ‘are we not bound ourselves for the same destination? And does not our equipment include grain amongst other things? I do not see that the men in those ships are doing us any harm in carrying our grain for us.’ The three spies, then, after their tour of inspection, were allowed to return to Europe."
March 2, 2024
At this stage of my life, willingly reading Herodotus will only happen because of the annual reading challenge.
This book very surprisingly made a 6 hour flight go, well, flying. Go figure. It only took about half of that time.
Full of terrible visual imagery and with excellent descriptions, the narrative was very engaging and interesting.
I was initially dreading it, but it seems that the essential element for me in successfully reading the ancient classics and not abandon mid-way, is a good translation, and this one was superb. Very much enjoyed it. Who’d have thought?
Popsugar Reading Challenge 2024. 50. A book that starts with the letter X. Xerxes invades Greece by Herodotus.
The other 3 hours of the flight, I managed to teach myself to crochet with a beginners book. So chuffed about that too! 🤗
This book very surprisingly made a 6 hour flight go, well, flying. Go figure. It only took about half of that time.
Full of terrible visual imagery and with excellent descriptions, the narrative was very engaging and interesting.
I was initially dreading it, but it seems that the essential element for me in successfully reading the ancient classics and not abandon mid-way, is a good translation, and this one was superb. Very much enjoyed it. Who’d have thought?
Popsugar Reading Challenge 2024. 50. A book that starts with the letter X. Xerxes invades Greece by Herodotus.
The other 3 hours of the flight, I managed to teach myself to crochet with a beginners book. So chuffed about that too! 🤗
February 9, 2025
My business is to record what people say, but I am by no means bound to believe it - and that may be taken to apply to this book as a whole. - Herodotus
As someone who is not remotely informed on the Ancient Greek/Persian political world (or much generally regarding the ancient, Greek, or Persian...), I found myself utterly hooked from the offset. To be able to fully appreciate this story, I believe a strong grasp on the Ancient World political landscape is a must - and this I was lacking quite badly.
I took longer than I expected to read this, but that was because I wanted to understand what was actually going on, and much time was devoted to additional reading and researching. I find myself still lost on some of the details, and look forward to reading into the era in far more detail and returning to this book in due course.
The quote from the book at the top of this review summarises the story perfectly, and can be found on page 52 of my edition. Fundamentally, no one can say for certain which events are true recounts, which have been glorified, or which have been destroyed to weaken the enemy.
Yet this makes it all the more fascinating!
I found myself wanting additional footnotes and explanations/arguments for/against events on every page - then quickly realised that a breakdown of events described would far exceed the length of the book. I'm certain this must exist and look forward to reading it.
With this in mind, anyone reading this expecting a 100% accurate account of what happened in 5th-century BCE is delusional. A large dollop of salt must be spluttered over each page. Yet Herodotus did not claim this either, as alluded to in the opening quote. This is merely a report on what stories existed at the time, and this in itself is a spectacular insight. The mere fact this work existed and STILL exists is amazing.
For a complete amateur like myself, what may have been useful at the beginning or end of the book is a bit of additional editorial context, such as a map identifying key places and regions. The number of places mentioned exceeded my expectations, and it became very hard to remember who what where when how - a map would have helped.
Nevertheless, as I have said, I was captivated, researching constantly whilst reading this story. I feel compelled to find out more about the larger Greco-Persian war.
As someone who is not remotely informed on the Ancient Greek/Persian political world (or much generally regarding the ancient, Greek, or Persian...), I found myself utterly hooked from the offset. To be able to fully appreciate this story, I believe a strong grasp on the Ancient World political landscape is a must - and this I was lacking quite badly.
I took longer than I expected to read this, but that was because I wanted to understand what was actually going on, and much time was devoted to additional reading and researching. I find myself still lost on some of the details, and look forward to reading into the era in far more detail and returning to this book in due course.
The quote from the book at the top of this review summarises the story perfectly, and can be found on page 52 of my edition. Fundamentally, no one can say for certain which events are true recounts, which have been glorified, or which have been destroyed to weaken the enemy.
Yet this makes it all the more fascinating!
I found myself wanting additional footnotes and explanations/arguments for/against events on every page - then quickly realised that a breakdown of events described would far exceed the length of the book. I'm certain this must exist and look forward to reading it.
With this in mind, anyone reading this expecting a 100% accurate account of what happened in 5th-century BCE is delusional. A large dollop of salt must be spluttered over each page. Yet Herodotus did not claim this either, as alluded to in the opening quote. This is merely a report on what stories existed at the time, and this in itself is a spectacular insight. The mere fact this work existed and STILL exists is amazing.
For a complete amateur like myself, what may have been useful at the beginning or end of the book is a bit of additional editorial context, such as a map identifying key places and regions. The number of places mentioned exceeded my expectations, and it became very hard to remember who what where when how - a map would have helped.
Nevertheless, as I have said, I was captivated, researching constantly whilst reading this story. I feel compelled to find out more about the larger Greco-Persian war.
February 12, 2010
Xerxes gets his posse together and plans to whoop Greek arse for not face planting before the might of King Xerxes.
Proskynesis is not acceptable to Greeks so Xerxes sets out to avenge the defeat of Darius at Marathon.
Herodotus paints a picture of an ant swarm with highly improbable numbers. The fleets invasion force would strip the Amazon of wood if there were a fraction of the numbers e suggests.
BUT this is Herodotus and his is the stuff of some fact and lashings of farce and preposterous sources, which he even wont put his name to without saying so I am told.......as if to doubt.
Herodotus the Histories is and always will be the book that got me into Ancient History, and the bug hasn't left.
Proskynesis is not acceptable to Greeks so Xerxes sets out to avenge the defeat of Darius at Marathon.
Herodotus paints a picture of an ant swarm with highly improbable numbers. The fleets invasion force would strip the Amazon of wood if there were a fraction of the numbers e suggests.
BUT this is Herodotus and his is the stuff of some fact and lashings of farce and preposterous sources, which he even wont put his name to without saying so I am told.......as if to doubt.
Herodotus the Histories is and always will be the book that got me into Ancient History, and the bug hasn't left.
December 12, 2017
This abridged excerpt from Herodotus' The Histories is an interesting read. Like its original, Xerxes Invades Greece can be an extremely boring and tedious experience for those uninterested in archaic styles of history that (like the bible) catalog things endlessly. Luckily, moments of intrigue and excitement are spaced out quite reasonably throughout the text and they are extremely engaging. The horrors of Persia are absolutely shocking, and Herodotus' arc about the Spartans and king Leonidas made for a great read. I'm not to happy about where the book ends, but I guess it had to end somewhere. I look forward to finishing the full Histories one day, but for now this will do.
January 10, 2023
There are two types of historians: Those who convey history as an ongoing narrative, and those who observe and document with no overt narrative, freezing information in that time of observance. Herodotus is the latter. This text is full of statistics: how many horses, how many soldiers, how many leagues travelled, how many died in the first attack, how many conversations, etc. Without a cohesive or somewhat of an encompassing narrative all of that seems indulgent and boring. One can extract history from numbers and statistics, but when that is presented as the history itself, it makes this so called "epic" read like a phone book (to date myself.) Bursting with numbers and describing everything does not really make something an epic.
July 16, 2017
This sat on my shelf for ages and it was only when I got into an argument with an Iranian (cough Persian) friend about the accuracy of '300' that I finally got round to reading this. I'm so glad I did. Ok, it's a bit dry in places and there are some lists of army units and apparel that is strictly for the scholars, but it's still incredible to read about this campaign from the world's first historian, Herodotus. Thrilling stuff.
August 10, 2020
Grieķu aizvēsture ir sasodīti interesanta.
Visa secinājums - Kserksu visu laiku vada bailes, i karu sāka jo sabijās no sapņa, i karu pameta, jo nobijās no jūras kaujā redzētā. Būt impērijas valdniekam noteikti nav viegli.
Visa secinājums - Kserksu visu laiku vada bailes, i karu sāka jo sabijās no sapņa, i karu pameta, jo nobijās no jūras kaujā redzētā. Būt impērijas valdniekam noteikti nav viegli.
August 23, 2024
I read the Histories a long time ago but I had to read a book starting with X. This was an excerpt from the Histories. Some points very interesting, but I had to gloss over all the names son of . . . .
February 14, 2019
Herodotus is fascinating ans this is a good translation but the excerpt chosen is a bit strange and breaks of unexpectedly.
November 20, 2023
A great introduction to the Histories, if only to get you into the main works.
February 15, 2024
I was very lucky to be able to keep all of my grandmother's (extensive) classic collection. I consider myself very fortunate be able to read these wonderful books belonging to such great men.
December 4, 2024
My first Herodotus after success with other ancient writings but the language of this revision reads strangely -- too modern.
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August 12, 2009very good
July 9, 2012
Great idea but much too short.
Read
March 4, 2013I keep meaning to finish this, but it's been a while since it fell from my hand...
Read
October 4, 2020La historia de Herodoto es genial, me ha encantado. Pero la edición de Penguin corta el maldito libro a la mitad (Jerjes llega a Atenas) y me ha parecido un timo considerable.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews