The Old and the Restless - The Egyptians and the Scythians in Herodotus' Histories by Robert J. Hagan

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things they have to eat” (1.71). The ceremonial opulence of a Persian meal is a blunt display of
their decadence, and like the Laconic black soup, the Scythian milk-based diet, and the Egyptian
avoidance of certain foods, is highly indicative of their national character. The contrast of the
deserted Persian camp and the victorious Greeks recalls again the theme of invasion committed
against the less civilized, and the futility of such an undertaking.
With Xerxes’ war, the cycle of the soft attacking the hard is completed. It began when
Lydia under Croesus, known for the richness of its king and for its luxuries, attack the Persians,
who “have nothing” (1.71). The Lydians lose, but the Persians themselves are taken captive by
the riches of their subjects, for, as Herodotus states, “before the Persians conquered Lydia, they
had no delicacies or anything good” (1.71). As Sandanis correctly predicts, once the Persians
have had a taste of Lydian luxury, “they will “cling to them and it will be impossible to dislodge
them,” and it is proven in the bloody Ionian Revolt.
We see the same softness of the Persian nobility having infected their king as well. As
Xerxes exits the Greek stage after the disastrous Battle of Mycale, we witness the empire’s
descent into violent court infighting and sexual affairs at the Persian capital, Susa. Back on
Persian soil, Xerxes develops an interest in the wife of his brother, Masistes. Attempting to
become closer to her, he arranges for the woman’s daughter to be married to his own son.
Instead, he loses interest and begins to woo his son’s new bride, Artaynte, secretly starting a
relationship with her. In his devotion to the girl, he asks her what she would want most in the
world, promising her anything she desires. To his deep regret, she requests the brilliant shawl
Xerxes wears, given to him by his wife Amestris. Failing to convince her otherwise, he relents
and gives her the shawl. Learning of Artaynte’s possession of the shawl, Amestris blames the
girl’s mother and concocts a wrathful plan for her. At a feast for the king’s birthday, at which no