Dr. Roel Konijnendijk

What I find interesting about the narrative account of it is actually the use of the lie, liar, kings in this. So Themistocles, of course, tells a whopping great lie, which convinces the Persians that they can win this thing. And I do think that Herodotus is very deliberate in presenting it in that kind of way, because as we know, the whole Persian idea is about truth and lie, okay?

So this is a complete distortion of the Persian version of things. And because they are tricked in that way by the lie, by the ungodly, they lose their position. So again, I think maybe sitting behind here as well, Herodotus has something of a Persian version going on too. I think it's just too much of a coincidence that the whole ruse is built on a lie of this kind.

So this is a complete distortion of the Persian version of things. And because they are tricked in that way by the lie, by the ungodly, they lose their position. So again, I think maybe sitting behind here as well, Herodotus has something of a Persian version going on too. I think it's just too much of a coincidence that the whole ruse is built on a lie of this kind.

So this is a complete distortion of the Persian version of things. And because they are tricked in that way by the lie, by the ungodly, they lose their position. So again, I think maybe sitting behind here as well, Herodotus has something of a Persian version going on too. I think it's just too much of a coincidence that the whole ruse is built on a lie of this kind.

Yes. For me, I'm not doubting her historicity, but the role that she takes, I think, is created to weaken Xerxes, that, you know, women are more capable women.

Yes. For me, I'm not doubting her historicity, but the role that she takes, I think, is created to weaken Xerxes, that, you know, women are more capable women.

Yes. For me, I'm not doubting her historicity, but the role that she takes, I think, is created to weaken Xerxes, that, you know, women are more capable women.

of military command than than he is and it's part then of the myth of anti-persian propaganda that goes on for the next centuries in which persians are molded into the figures of amazons and other sort of you know it's the effeminization of the east that we get going here so i don't want to i don't want to dismiss her as a historical figure or the fact that she might have

of military command than than he is and it's part then of the myth of anti-persian propaganda that goes on for the next centuries in which persians are molded into the figures of amazons and other sort of you know it's the effeminization of the east that we get going here so i don't want to i don't want to dismiss her as a historical figure or the fact that she might have

of military command than than he is and it's part then of the myth of anti-persian propaganda that goes on for the next centuries in which persians are molded into the figures of amazons and other sort of you know it's the effeminization of the east that we get going here so i don't want to i don't want to dismiss her as a historical figure or the fact that she might have

you know, certainly offered some support to Xerxes. But I think in the way that Herodotus creates the narrative, it's saying more about Xerxes than it is about Artemisia. And what is that narrative, by the way?

you know, certainly offered some support to Xerxes. But I think in the way that Herodotus creates the narrative, it's saying more about Xerxes than it is about Artemisia. And what is that narrative, by the way?

you know, certainly offered some support to Xerxes. But I think in the way that Herodotus creates the narrative, it's saying more about Xerxes than it is about Artemisia. And what is that narrative, by the way?

And if you want to follow a kind of through thread with this, of course, his interaction with this woman, Artemisia, kind of heralds the interaction that he's going to have with his wife, a mistress, and with his mistress, Artemisia, in the last few books of the histories, which, of course, completely brings him down. We don't see...

And if you want to follow a kind of through thread with this, of course, his interaction with this woman, Artemisia, kind of heralds the interaction that he's going to have with his wife, a mistress, and with his mistress, Artemisia, in the last few books of the histories, which, of course, completely brings him down. We don't see...

And if you want to follow a kind of through thread with this, of course, his interaction with this woman, Artemisia, kind of heralds the interaction that he's going to have with his wife, a mistress, and with his mistress, Artemisia, in the last few books of the histories, which, of course, completely brings him down. We don't see...

Xerxes being assassinated in Herodotus, but we know that that's coming. And it seems to be that this kind of woven storyline of women and in Xerxes' world having his ear actually is all played out from the Salamis narrative onwards.

Xerxes being assassinated in Herodotus, but we know that that's coming. And it seems to be that this kind of woven storyline of women and in Xerxes' world having his ear actually is all played out from the Salamis narrative onwards.

Xerxes being assassinated in Herodotus, but we know that that's coming. And it seems to be that this kind of woven storyline of women and in Xerxes' world having his ear actually is all played out from the Salamis narrative onwards.

What we can say, though, is that Salamis very quickly enters into the Athenian imagination, and it becomes a defining moment in the creation of Athenian-ness, really, because only seven, eight years after the battle is fought, Aeschylus, the great dramatist, puts that battle on stage, or at least a Persian messenger talks us through as an audience the narrative.