How does Herodotus use rivers and other bodies of water in Book 7 of the Histories?

Answer by Chris Carey

The most obvious function of rivers in this book is the shaping of Herodotus’ readers’ perception of space. Take, for instance, Xerxes’ journey from southern Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) to northern and central Greece: here the mention of the rivers crossed by Xerxes’ army gives a sense of the immense distances covered by the army, which is a measure of Xerxes’ determination to conquer Greece. It also generates the impression that a threatening menace is slowly but relentlessly approaching.

Water contributes to the sense of scale in another important way in this book. Xerxes’ invasion of Greece represents the climax of what is framed as a long-term conflict between East and West, the core subject of Herodotus’ work: none of their previous reciprocal offenses (including the Trojan war), not even when added together, can equal this one (7.21). The whole of Asia is mobilized, and the immense scale of the expedition is emphasized by its effects on rivers: the drinking dry of rivers becomes a drumbeat in the narrative (7.43.1, 108.2, 109.2, 127.2, 196). That is to say, this human enterprise is so immense and daring as to put a strain on nature. But immense scale has its dangers: the warnings of King Xerxes’ uncle Artabanus (7.49) become true when the fleet is hit by a violent storm at Pelion, not to mention what happens when their vast Persian forces are channelled into the narrow pass at Thermopylae, where their number becomes a severe disadvantage.

Besides underlining the vast size of Xerxes’ expedition and creating a virtual map of its westward march in Book 7, we could add that generallythroughout the Histories bodies of water shape the moral landscape of the work. As a natural boundary, water becomes a means to measure humans’ daring (and thus perilous) attitudes towards natural limits. Human attitudes towards water help articulate Herodotus’ way of thinking about the world and the place of humankind within it. This is especially clear when it comes to the description of imperial overreach: one after another, Asian rulers try to stretch their area of control beyond the natural boundaries marked by rivers with disastrous consequences. When he attacks Persia, Croesus famously crosses the Halys river only to be defeated by Cyrus soon after. In turn, Cyrus is led by his endless stream of successes (1.204) to cross the Araxes to conquer the Massagetae in an expedition which ends up costing him his life. The pattern is repeated when Darius bridges the Bosporus and the Ister to attack the Scythians. They draw him further and further into Scythian territory ultimately forcing him to retreat; he is saved from disaster only by the loyalty of the Ionian fleet guarding the crossing over the Ister. The passage of the Bosporus receives far more detail (4.83-9) as the penultimate boundary crossing in a crescendo which will climax in Xerxes’ invasion of Greece. Finally, Xerxes’ fateful move over the Hellespont from Asia into Europe is flanked by dialogues with advisers (Artabanus and the Spartan king Demaratus) who lay out for him the obstacles he is facing. The construction of bridges is described in great detail (7.36), as the ceremonial march over them (7.54-5). The crossing is given further salience by Xerxes’ speech to his generals and by the awed remarks of the ‘Hellespontine man’ who sees Xerxes as an incarnation of Zeus (7.56).

Xerxes’ dramatic reaction to the storm which destroys his first bridge further adds to this climatic effect: the engineers are beheaded, the Hellespont is whipped, and chains are dropped into the water among the insults uttered by the servants carrying out the task. The beheading of the engineers might be interpreted as a mere act of despotic brutality. Insulting the sea, however, is a colossal act of sacrilege, explicitly condemned by Herodotus. Aeschylus had already denounced Xerxes’ bridge as an insult to Poseidon – it impiously converted sea into dry land (Pers. 723-5, 745-51). Herodotus, instead, sees the deliberate humiliation of the sea as a manifestation of the sacrilegious nature of Xerxes’ ambition.

The role of water as a measure of excessive ambition in Book 7 goes still further. Xerxes’ canal turns mainland into island (7.22). Herodotus makes no comment but his action replicates one presented as impious in the case of Cnidos in 1.174: