Herodotus Book 7 Flashcards
(30 cards)
Where does xerxes want to invade?
Greece , athens
What is the name of the bridge that xerxes wants to build to bridge the gap between Persia and europe?
Hellespont
Who is xerxes’ father?
Darius
Wy does xerxes want to invade athens?
To seek vengeance on what they did to his father and the persians
Who agrees with Xerxes’ plan and why does he think the enemies shouldnt be feared ?
Mardonius:
- because the persian army is bigger and they have more wealth
- because some of the daughter coties are already part of the persian empire
- because they are not united so dont plan effectively
Why does mardonius think that the greeks shouldnt result to war against each other?
Because they speak the same language so should speak out their differences.
What is the motivation behind mardonius sucking up to xerxes?
He wants to become a king in greece
Who is the only person to speak up against xerxes?
Artabanus
Who is artabanus in relation to xerxes?
His uncle
Xerxes decides to listen to artabanus’ advice but them changes his mind- why?
He receives visions telling him not to- the second one says he will lose his title of king if he doesnt lead the expedition
Who does xerxes believe his visions are from?
A god
What are the 3 things that Artabanus should do in order to receive the same dream?
Wear xerxes clothes, sit on his throne and sleep in his bed
How did Artabanus react to Xerxes saying he should sleep in his bed etc?
He was at first unwilling and explained to Xerxes why the dreams are not from a god and are instead just manifestations of his daily concerns. But, he gave in saying that if this works out he will let Xerxes do the expedition in peace because then the dreams must be from some sort of divine power.
How did The Magi interpret Xerxes’ third dream?
That he would enslave the whole world and all races
Describe the third vision
Xerxes was crowned with an olive wreath but then it vanished from his head .
What did Xerxes men build the hellespont out of first time round?
Flax cable and a papyrus one
How did the bridge get destroyed?
A powerul storm destroyed it
What 3 things did xerxes do when he found out that his bridge was destroyed?
Said that it should receive 300 lashes
Ordered men to shout barbarous and arrogant words at the river
Wanted the heads of those who built to bridge to be chopped off.
Why did the persians plan to winter at Sardis?
So that they could go to greece in spring time in more favourable weather conditions
What portent did Xerxes see on the march to Greece?
The sun disappeared and it went from day to night
What did the Magi interpret this portent of the sun to mean?
He believed that it was a message to the greeks showing them the eclipse of their cities
Who was demaratus amd what did xerxes ask him?
An ex king of sparta, exile in persia.
Xerxes asked him what the Greeks will do in this fight- fight or surrender?
Xerxes says that even if the Greeks had the same amount of people in their army they would still struggle to beat the Persians - why does he say this and what does Demaratus say in response?
He says this because they are not lead by one men so don’t have that same discipline but Demaratus says that they have a master to the law which they fear much more.
What did the greeks do when they learnt that the persians would be coming?
They sent messangers to other greek colonies asking for help and they sent spies to spy on the persian army.
