In the world of the ancients, humans were the playthings of the gods. Xerxes, as you will remember, was thinking about not invading Greece which, as you will soon learn, would have been defying his gods’ given destiny. He was beginning to think that Artabanus, his uncle, was right. Why invade Greece? To set Xerxes on the correct trajectory, the gods wanted him to take, a little prodding was going to be needed from a transparent friend.

Tag words: Xerxes; Artabanus; Greece; Darius; Magi;