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A Bitter Defeat for Xerxes

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN GREECE

THE unsuspecting traveler is intrigued by the hot springs and the geysers that spit sulfur gases. He may be surprised to learn that the coastal plain—at this point called Thermopylae, meaning “Hot Gates”—was once an almost impassable strip of land. But he may be even more intrigued by the realization that here, as well as more to the south at the island of Salamis, he can find concrete evidence of the remarkable accuracy of Bible prophecy.

Indeed, viewed in retrospect and in the light of fulfillment, the details of certain prophecies in the Bible book of Daniel that relate to these areas are simply astounding. They provide convincing proof that the Bible is the Word of God. In Daniel chapter 11, we find a striking example. The prophetic information was given to Daniel “in the first year of Darius the Mede,” about 538 B.C.E. (Daniel 11:1) But the fulfillment of what was then revealed spanned a period of many centuries.

Daniel 11:2 prophesied regarding a certain Persian king: “Look! There will yet be three kings standing up for Persia, and the fourth one will amass greater riches than all others. And as soon as he has become strong in his riches, he will rouse up everything against the kingdom of Greece.”

Succeeding Cyrus II, Cambyses II, and Darius I, ‘the fourth king’ was actually Xerxes I, evidently the Ahasuerus mentioned in the Bible book of Esther. Did he really “rouse up everything against the kingdom of Greece,” and what was the outcome of this?

Xerxes—A Determined Conqueror

Xerxes had to cope with the aftermath of the defeat of the forces of his father, Darius, at Marathon.a Thus, Xerxes spent the first years of his reign crushing revolts in the empire and also becoming “strong in his riches.”

However, the conquest of Greece, which his ambitious courtiers urged him to undertake, lingered in Xerxes’ mind. So starting in 484 B.C.E., he spent three years assembling, from all the satrapies and states under Persian control, what was reportedly one of the greatest armies that had ever marched on the face of the earth. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, the combined strength of Xerxes’ land and naval forces amounted to an incredible 2,317,610 warriors.b

In the meantime, the Greeks began preparing in their own manner. Though a seafaring people, they were lacking in naval strength. But now, responding to the threat of the Persian onslaught and an oracle from Delphi that instructed them to defend themselves with “wooden walls,” Athens began to build a fighting navy.

The state-owned mines of Laurium were the site of a rich strike of silver, and Themistocles, a prominent Athenian politician, persuaded the Assembly to use the whole surplus in order to build a fleet of 200 triremes. After some initial indecisiveness, Sparta led the formation of the Hellenic League, made up of some 30 Greek city-states.

Meanwhile, Xerxes was moving his aggressive destructive force to Europe—by no means an easy task. Food was to be provided by the cities along the road, at a cost of 400 talents of gold a day for the whole army to eat a single meal. Months before, heralds had been sent ahead to prepare grain, cattle, and poultry for the royal table. Only Xerxes enjoyed a tent; the remainder of the army slept in the open.

The vast army had first to cross the Hellespont (now called the Dardanelles), a narrow strait that separates Asia from Europe. After a pair of boat bridges collapsed during a storm, Xerxes—in a frenzy of rage—ordered the very waters of the Hellespont to be whipped with 300 lashes, branded with irons, and fettered. He also had the engineers beheaded. When a second pair of bridges was built over the Hellespont, it took a full week for the army to cross.

Thermopylae—A Costly, Narrow Strip of Land

About the middle of 480 B.C.E., the imperial Persian army, attended by the fleet, progressed down the coast of Thessaly. The Greek allied forces had finally decided to make their stand at Thermopylae, a narrow strip of land where at that time the mainland mountains dropped steeply to within 50 feet [15 m] of the beach.c

The Persians would have to pass this strip in such a narrow column that a band of staunch soldiers might check them. An advance force of 7,000 Greeks under King Leonidas of Sparta took up their position at the straits near Thermopylae. Meanwhile, the Greek navy, 270 warships, lay off the coast at Artemisium, playing cat and mouse with the Persian fleet.

Xerxes reached Thermopylae in early August, confident that the vastness of his force would rout the Greeks. When the Greeks held fast, he sent the Medes and the Cissians to clear them out; but these forces suffered heavy losses, and the Immortals (a crack fighting troop), whom Xerxes sent under the satrap Hydarnes, fared no better.

Ephialtes, a Nightmare

Just when it seemed that the Persians had been thwarted, Ephialtes (Greek for “nightmare”), an avaricious Thessalian farmer, offered to lead them over the hills, to the rear of the Greek force. The next morning the Persians were closing in to attack the Greeks from behind. The Spartans, realizing that they were doomed, defended themselves with fury; many of their assailants, driven under the lash, were trodden to death or forced into the sea. Eventually, King Leonidas and all those with him, about 1,000 men, were killed. Hydarnes gained the Spartan rear.

The Persian army along with the remnants of the Persian fleet hounded the Athenians home. Xerxes marched into Attica, pillaging and burning as he progressed. The Athenians evacuated to the nearby island of Salamis. The Greek fleet stayed between Athens and Salamis. It took two weeks for the acropolis of Athens to fall. The defenders were all killed, and the sanctuaries were smashed, burned, and plundered.

Salamis—The “Wooden Walls” at Work

Greek warships had already met the Persian fleet in several fierce but irresolute engagements near Thermopylae. Then, with the retreat on land, the Greek fleet had withdrawn to the south. It now reassembled in the bay of Salamis, where Themistocles began setting up a battle plan.

He knew that the 300 Phoenician warships that formed the nucleus of the Persian navy were larger yet more maneuverable than the smaller, sturdier Greek triremes. The Persian fleet numbered some 1,200 vessels, compared with 380 in the Greek force. And the Greek sailors were not as experienced as the sailors on the Persian warships. But the channel between Salamis and the coast of Attica was narrow, only wide enough for the ships to advance 50 abreast. If the Greeks could lure the Persians into this natural funnel, the Persian advantage in numbers and maneuverability would be gone. Allegedly, Themistocles precipitated the contest by sending a deceptive message to Xerxes telling him to attack before the Greek fleet had an opportunity to flee.

And so it happened. The Persian fleet, each warship in full battle array with its banks of oarsmen and its fighting force of spearmen and archers, rounded the tip of Attica and sailed toward the channel. Xerxes, certain of victory, had set up his throne on a mountain where he could watch the battle in comfort.

Bitter Defeat

There was great confusion as the Persians crowded together in the narrow passage. Suddenly, a trumpet sounded from the heights of the island of Salamis, and the Greek vessels surged forward in orderly ranks. The triremes smashed into the Persian vessels, crushing their hulls and driving them into one another. Greek warriors leapt onto the battered enemy ships, wielding swords.

The sands of Attica’s shores became littered with shattered timbers and broken bodies. In the aftermath of this catastrophe, Xerxes mustered his remaining ships and set out for home. His campaign was finished for the year. But he left a sizable army to winter there under the command of his brother-in-law Mardonius.

For diligent students of the Bible, the defeat at Salamis was an indication, long in advance, of the eventual supremacy of the Greek “he-goat” of Daniel’s prophecy over the ‘two-horned ram’ of Medo-Persia. (Daniel 8:5-8) More important, Bible prophecy assures God’s servants that the futile human struggle for domination will finally be ended by the rulership of the King Jesus Christ.—Isaiah 9:6; Daniel 2:44.

[Footnotes]

[Box/Picture on page 25]

The Trireme—A Lethal Vessel

The strength behind the naval domination of the Athenians in the Aegean in the fifth century B.C.E. was the trireme, a slender vessel that traveled under sail to its destination but was powered by oars during naval battles. Each galley carried a small band of soldiers. But their goal was not so much to board enemy ships as it was to disable them with the metal-tipped ram of the trireme propelled to its target by 170 rowers.

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Hellenic Maritime Museum/Photo: P. Stolis

[Map on page 26]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

XERXES’ BATTLE FORCES

HELLESPONT

THESSALY

ARTEMISIUM

THERMOPYLAE

ATTICA

ATHENS

MARATHON

LAURIUM

SALAMIS

SPARTA

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Mountain High Maps® Copyright © 1997 Digital Wisdom, Inc.