nd with me are my children, my brothers, my household, and my friends (Xerxes 7.39)” and he punishes Pythius for even considering his son not fighting by murdering his eldest son. Another example of Herodotus’ view on fighting is when the Spartans are entrapped by the Persians and desire to battle to the death. Leonidas one of the kings of Sparta knew his fate was to die if he went to battle the Persians because it was prophesied before the war began. His fate was to die but he still went to fight the Persians at the battle of Thermopylae and “for himself he thought it would be dishonorable to leave (Leonidas 7.220).” Herodotus also uses these diverges to demonstrate that Tyranny is a poor form of government. Herodotus shows that Tyranny is a form of government that contains faults which are not beneficial to the people or the state as a whole. Herodotus uses Artabanus to show how a government controlled by one man is more susceptible to making bad decisions. Artabanus is advising Xerxes not to wage war on Greece by telling him of the past mistakes of former kings. He tells Xerxes “I told your father, my brother Darius, not to wage war against the Scythian” and “He made his campaign and returned, having lost many good men from his army (Artabanus 7.10).” He also tells Xerxes of other past failed conquests; Cyrus’ expedition against the Massagentae and Cambyses’ attack on the long lived Ethiopians. Herodotus also says through Artabanus that “It is a terrible thing, even to hear, that all the power if the King should lie at the disposal of one man (Artabanus 7.10).” Some may say that all kings have advisors that help him make correct decisions but as Herodotus demonstrates the king does not always listen to his advisors sound advice as in the case of Xerxes and Artabanus. In a Tyrannical form of government the people within the government are not content se...
