Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

I mean, crossing the Hellespont and moving the army over land is also what Darius did when he invaded a few decades before then, invaded Thrace and then moved north. So he moved into Scythia. Xerxes now is going to move west. Sorry, my apologies. What is the Hellespont? Is that kind of Gallipoli, Dardanelles area? Exactly, yeah.

So the Hellespont is the narrow strip sort of at the south end of the sea of the Propontis, so the Sea of Marmors. So this is the bit where Gallipoli is now, so perhaps more notorious for that. But it's a strip of land where the Athenians have long had interest, but it's also the narrowest point where you can cross from Asia into Europe. And so it's about two kilometers across.

So the Hellespont is the narrow strip sort of at the south end of the sea of the Propontis, so the Sea of Marmors. So this is the bit where Gallipoli is now, so perhaps more notorious for that. But it's a strip of land where the Athenians have long had interest, but it's also the narrowest point where you can cross from Asia into Europe. And so it's about two kilometers across.

So the Hellespont is the narrow strip sort of at the south end of the sea of the Propontis, so the Sea of Marmors. So this is the bit where Gallipoli is now, so perhaps more notorious for that. But it's a strip of land where the Athenians have long had interest, but it's also the narrowest point where you can cross from Asia into Europe. And so it's about two kilometers across.

Darius and now again Xerxes build a pontoon bridge across. So that's how they transport the army. And for Herodotus, I think this is very much one of those examples of Xerxes trying to prove that he can achieve things that no other human has achieved before. Like he's subjecting nature and geography to his will. He's saying, there's a sea here. No, there isn't. Now there's a bridge.

Darius and now again Xerxes build a pontoon bridge across. So that's how they transport the army. And for Herodotus, I think this is very much one of those examples of Xerxes trying to prove that he can achieve things that no other human has achieved before. Like he's subjecting nature and geography to his will. He's saying, there's a sea here. No, there isn't. Now there's a bridge.

Darius and now again Xerxes build a pontoon bridge across. So that's how they transport the army. And for Herodotus, I think this is very much one of those examples of Xerxes trying to prove that he can achieve things that no other human has achieved before. Like he's subjecting nature and geography to his will. He's saying, there's a sea here. No, there isn't. Now there's a bridge.

I can walk here. I can walk wherever I want. And similarly later on, when they get to the peninsula at Athos, which is now Mount Athos where there were the monasteries on it, On a previous occasion, his cousin Mardonius had tried to lead an army there, but his fleet had suffered shipwreck around the Cape of Athos. And so this time Xerxes doesn't want his fleet to take the same route.

I can walk here. I can walk wherever I want. And similarly later on, when they get to the peninsula at Athos, which is now Mount Athos where there were the monasteries on it, On a previous occasion, his cousin Mardonius had tried to lead an army there, but his fleet had suffered shipwreck around the Cape of Athos. And so this time Xerxes doesn't want his fleet to take the same route.

I can walk here. I can walk wherever I want. And similarly later on, when they get to the peninsula at Athos, which is now Mount Athos where there were the monasteries on it, On a previous occasion, his cousin Mardonius had tried to lead an army there, but his fleet had suffered shipwreck around the Cape of Athos. And so this time Xerxes doesn't want his fleet to take the same route.

So he decides to dig a canal through the route of this peninsula, which is quite narrow. So again, for Herodotus, this is a moment to prove firstly, I mean, obviously that the Persians are fantastic engineers, both for the pontoon bridge and for the canal, in which they rely on a lot of Phoenician advice. But fundamentally, they're doing amazing logistical things.

So he decides to dig a canal through the route of this peninsula, which is quite narrow. So again, for Herodotus, this is a moment to prove firstly, I mean, obviously that the Persians are fantastic engineers, both for the pontoon bridge and for the canal, in which they rely on a lot of Phoenician advice. But fundamentally, they're doing amazing logistical things.

So he decides to dig a canal through the route of this peninsula, which is quite narrow. So again, for Herodotus, this is a moment to prove firstly, I mean, obviously that the Persians are fantastic engineers, both for the pontoon bridge and for the canal, in which they rely on a lot of Phoenician advice. But fundamentally, they're doing amazing logistical things.

but also because Xerxes at this point has turned sea into land and land into sea. So he is saying to geography, he's staring the world in the face and saying, I'm better than you, essentially, which is a sensibility that I think modern people, especially me as a Dutch person, I mean, it has something of this modern idea of technology overcoming nature that resonates with us.

but also because Xerxes at this point has turned sea into land and land into sea. So he is saying to geography, he's staring the world in the face and saying, I'm better than you, essentially, which is a sensibility that I think modern people, especially me as a Dutch person, I mean, it has something of this modern idea of technology overcoming nature that resonates with us.

but also because Xerxes at this point has turned sea into land and land into sea. So he is saying to geography, he's staring the world in the face and saying, I'm better than you, essentially, which is a sensibility that I think modern people, especially me as a Dutch person, I mean, it has something of this modern idea of technology overcoming nature that resonates with us.

Whether the Persians saw it that way, we have no idea. This is only in Greek sources and the traces that still exist. So the canal through Mount Athos, you can still see it as a swampy strip that runs through the neck of the peninsula. But otherwise, we have no idea how they would have seen it or specifically why they would have done it other than to display their power.

Whether the Persians saw it that way, we have no idea. This is only in Greek sources and the traces that still exist. So the canal through Mount Athos, you can still see it as a swampy strip that runs through the neck of the peninsula. But otherwise, we have no idea how they would have seen it or specifically why they would have done it other than to display their power.

Whether the Persians saw it that way, we have no idea. This is only in Greek sources and the traces that still exist. So the canal through Mount Athos, you can still see it as a swampy strip that runs through the neck of the peninsula. But otherwise, we have no idea how they would have seen it or specifically why they would have done it other than to display their power.

Yeah, so we're told that Darius has already sent out these messengers to demand earth and water, which is the ritual that we talked about earlier. This is when the Athenians and the Spartans, we're told, sort of commit to this idea they reject that offer. So both of them essentially kill their messengers. So the Spartans kick them into a pit and the Athenians kick them into a well. Oh, okay.