Latest / The Achaemenid Empire: Persia's Golden Age of Power — Fexingo History / Xerxes' Greek Campaign: The Battle of Thermopylae and Its Aftermath
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've covered a lot of ground in this Achaemenid series — the Royal Road, the qanats, the satraps, even the siege of Tyre. But there's one episode that looms large in the popular imagination, and we haven't touched it yet: Xerxes' invasion of Greece, and especially the Battle of Thermopylae. Luna: I was wondering when we'd get to the 300 Spartans. Lucas: Right — the movie, the graphic novel, the whole myth. But the real story is more complex and, I think, more interesting. First, a quick refresher: Xerxes succeeded his father Darius around 486 BCE. Darius had tried to punish Athens and Eretria for supporting the Ionian Revolt, but his forces were defeated at Marathon in 490. Xerxes inherited that unfinished business, and he also wanted to consolidate his own authority. So he spent years preparing a massive expedition. Luna: How massive are we talking? Lucas: Herodotus gives numbers that are clearly exaggerated — over two million soldiers, plus support crews. Modern estimates put the combat force at maybe 70,000 to 150,000, plus hundreds of ships. Still, it was the largest army ever assembled in the ancient world up to that point. And the logistics were staggering — Xerxes had a bridge built across the Hellespont, a canal dug through the Athos peninsula to avoid storms. This was a state-sponsored project on an imperial scale. Luna: And the Greeks knew he was coming. Lucas: They did. Themistocles in Athens had been pushing for a naval buildup, and a council of Greek city-states formed an alliance — the Hellenic League. Sparta took command on land, Athens at sea. Their strategy was to stop the Persian advance at a narrow pass called Thermopylae — the Hot Gates — while their navy fought at nearby Artemisium. The idea was that the narrow terrain would neutralize the Persian numbers. Luna: So the 300 Spartans were just part of a larger force. Lucas: Absolutely. Leonidas brought 300 Spartans, but there were also several thousand other Greeks — maybe 7,000 total. Thebes sent 400, Thespiae 700, and various other contingents. The Spartans were the elite, but it was a coalition. They held the pass for three days against frontal assaults. On the third day, a local named Ephialtes betrayed them — showed the Persians a mountain path that allowed them to outflank the Greek position. Leonidas dismissed most of the allies and made a last stand with his Spartans, the Thespians who refused to leave, and some Thebans who were forced to stay. Luna: What about the Immortals — the Persian elite? Lucas: Herodotus claims that the Persians sent in the Immortals on the second day, and they failed to break through. But the reality is that the Immortals were a 10,000-strong unit, probably armed with spears and bows, and they likely fought similarly to other Persian infantry. The idea that they were invincible is Greek propaganda. Still, the stand at Thermopylae bought time and inflicted heavy casualties. Persian sources don't mention the battle, which is typical — but from their perspective, it was a tactical victory. They cleared the pass and continued south. Luna: But the naval battle at Artemisium was a draw, right? Lucas: Yeah, the Greeks held their own, but when they heard about Thermopylae, they withdrew. So the Persians advanced into central Greece, sacking Athens. Xerxes burned the Acropolis — we actually mentioned that in a previous episode. But the Greek navy, under Themistocles, lured the Persian fleet into the narrow straits of Salamis and won a decisive victory. Xerxes retreated to Asia, leaving his general Mardonius to finish the campaign. The next year, at Plataea, the Greeks crushed the Persian army. Luna: And that effectively ended the invasion. Lucas: It did. But from the Persian perspective, it wasn't an existential defeat. Xerxes remained king for another two decades, and the empire continued to control Ionia and parts of Thrace. The wars with Greece became a kind of cold war that lasted for decades. The real losers, in the long run, were the Greeks themselves — the constant warfare between Athens and Sparta that followed weakened them all. Luna: It's interesting how Thermopylae became such a symbol of Western freedom versus Eastern despotism. Lucas: That narrative was largely crafted by later Greek writers and then revived by Europeans in the 19th century. The actual historical reality is more nuanced: Xerxes was not a tyrant in any unique sense, and the Persian Empire was remarkably tolerant and multicultural. But the battle stories are powerful. And there are small details that bring it to life — like the fact that the Spartans combed their hair before the final battle, and a Persian scout reported that they were preparing for death, not fear. Luna: Speaking of bringing things to life — we've been doing this series for a while now, and it's funded entirely by listeners like you. Lucas: Yeah, we don't run ads. A small but wonderful group of supporters chips in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's what makes it possible to keep digging into topics like this — the real Persia behind the myths. Luna: If you've been enjoying these conversations, that's the place to help keep them going. And now, back to Xerxes. Lucas: So after Salamis, Xerxes returned to Persia but Mardonius stayed with a large army. He tried to win over the Athenians with offers of peace and autonomy, but they refused. The next year, the Greek coalition under the Spartan Pausanias met Mardonius at Plataea. The Persians were defeated, Mardonius was killed, and the survivors retreated. Simultaneously, the Greek navy destroyed a Persian fleet at Mycale in Ionia. That really marked the end of the invasion. Luna: What happened to Xerxes after that? Lucas: He continued to rule for about fifteen more years. He focused on building projects at Persepolis and Susa, and he had a harem and court intrigues. He was assassinated in 465 BCE by his vizier Artabanus, possibly with the help of a eunuch. His son Artaxerxes I succeeded him. The empire continued strong, but the Greek wars left a lasting legacy of mutual distrust and mythmaking. Luna: So the popular image of Xerxes as a decadent tyrant is mostly Greek propaganda. Lucas: Pretty much. Persian sources are sparse, but what we have — administrative tablets, royal inscriptions — show a king who was competent, religious, and involved in major state projects. The Greek sources emphasize his arrogance and cruelty, but that's the nature of wartime propaganda. In reality, he was just another Achaemenid king trying to expand and secure his empire. Luna: Thanks for the reality check. It's easy to get caught up in the legend. Lucas: It is. And that's why we keep doing these deep dives — to separate the history from the Hollywood. Next time, maybe we'll look at the Persian side of the story more: the satraps in Ionia, or the Persian fleet.