# Question regarding Xerxes I's Persian army at Thermopylae.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-xerxes-is-persian-army-at-thermopylae/823964>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 4, 2018, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-xerxes-is-persian-army-at-thermopylae/823964 "2018-11-04T08:00:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-xerxes-is-persian-army-at-thermopylae/823964/21 "2018-11-05T06:42:09Z")

</div>

[quote=“davidmich, post:20, topic:823964”]

[quote=“DrDeth, post:13, topic:823964”]

However, of course the support train had many slaves.  
[/QUOTE

Zoroastrianism repudiated slavery. As a Zoroastrian himself, Xerxes I presumably did so as well, although I haven’t been able to find any evidence of it. Any links referencing the royal family’s/Archaemenid dynasty’s view of slavery?[/QUOTE]

Thank you all. Very helpful.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-xerxes-is-persian-army-at-thermopylae/823964/22 "2018-11-05T10:44:19Z")

</div>

> [@Tamerlane](#):
>
> You can spread the blame there a bit to earlier generations as well( gotta give the first wave its bloody due ), but it’s a fair cop. Good ol’ Timur was not exactly a keen preservationist, especially during sieges.

Its a very very lame excuse.

On topic.  
We have two sources. Greek accounts, and 19th century Victorian interpretations of them. Neither are particularly reliable\* frankly.  
All we kmow at Thermopayle is that the combined Greek Army collapsed and the road to Athens was open. (Herodotus) _Everything_ else is pure speculation. Remember, even Herodotus reports that mutiple people besides Ephialtes were accued of showing the Persians the path around the pass (and that it was well known), he only thinks he is the most likely canddidate. Plus frankly, the Persians, who had conquered 5 million sq KM of territory probably would have understood and been capable in the idea of reconnoitring. :rolleyes:  
And no, a single horseman who returned after getting confused by homoerotic pre-battle grooming does not count.

\*Personally, I think Herodotus gets too much flak, he is careful to distinhish between what is fact, what is opinion, what is verified, what is not. 19th century flogged-to-an-inch-of-their-lives classics scholars? Not so much.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-xerxes-is-persian-army-at-thermopylae/823964.md?page=1)