Xerxes Makers of History — A Closer Reading

Contrasting Imperial Scales

The excerpts repeatedly juxtapose Persian and Greek resources to highlight asymmetry. Xerxes' naval armament is described as 'six times as large' as the Athenian fleet of about two hundred galleys. Yet Abbott does not simply marvel at Persian numbers; he shows how Themistocles' earlier political maneuvering—opposing a public dividend to fund ships—created the very fleet that would later resist the invasion. The narrative also contrasts the 'panic-stricken' smaller Greek states, some already submitting to Persian rule, with the Athenians and Spartans who 'settled, for the time, their own quarrels' to form a confederation. This tension between overwhelming force and strategic alliance is a recurring pattern.

Oracles and Ambiguity

Abbott gives unusual weight to the Delphic oracle's role in Greek decision-making. The Argives consult the oracle before even receiving the Spartan embassy, and its answer is 'unfavorable to their entering into an alliance with the Greeks.' The famous 'wooden walls' prophecy is interpreted by some as referring to the fleet, with Salamis as the likely battle site. Abbott presents this not as divine intervention but as a political tool: the oracle's ambiguity allows different factions to claim its support. The narrative thus weaves religious practice into strategic calculus, showing how the Greeks used oracular authority to justify their choices.

The Mechanics of Alliance

Abbott's account of the Greek confederation is notably procedural. He details the embassy sent 'to all the states of Greece, as well as to some of the remoter neighboring powers,' and records the specific negotiations with Argos. The Argives propose a thirty-year alliance conditional on sharing command of Peloponnesian troops; the Spartans refuse, citing their superior rank and the complication of having two kings. This exchange reveals the internal rivalries that persisted even in the face of invasion. Abbott's focus on such diplomatic wrangling—rather than on battlefield heroics—reflects his aim to teach readers about 'the motives of conduct' and the gradual development of political decisions.

Readers approaching Xerxes as a textbook will find its value in the detailed exposition of strategic reasoning rather than in dramatic action. Abbott's method rewards attention to how characters justify their choices—whether through oracles, treaties, or fiscal policy. The excerpts suggest a narrative that moves deliberately, mirroring Xerxes' own slow march, and that treats historical events as a series of calculated risks and responses.

That rainy afternoon, I kept circling back to how Xerxes weighed omens before marching—the way certainty could feel so fragile. It reminded me, almost unwillingly, of another old text I’d once skimmed, where prophecies and history braid together differently. Hours slipped by as I opened Antiquities of the Jews — Key Ideas to Explore, finding the same quiet ache of human decisions under divine shadows.