Xerxes was a major influence in the Persian wars; without him, the result would have been different.
Through my research, I reject my hypothesis. I believe the result of the Persian wars would not have been different had Xerxes not been involved. Xerxes took over from his father Darius, who before his death aimed to invade Greece. It is possible that had another of Darius' children become king, such as Xerxes' brother Achaemenes, then Darius' plans would still have been followed through.
Xerxes however saw great value in building relations with other states, which allowed him to increase numbers in his army and his fleet. It is not possible to determine whether another king would have achieved this. Xerxes also suffers from being compared with his father, Darius, and his grandfather, Cyrus: both appear to have achieved more of historical note, such as Darius commissioning the construction of the Empire's Royal Road from west to east. The Greek armies suffered defeats, but through shrewd tactics they were able to lure Xerxes' fleet into a trap and defeat them. The key player in this was the politician Themistocles. Whilst a different king possibly would not have sent his whole fleet to the Peloponnesus, Themistocles nonetheless would have found some way to manipulate his opponent and turn the situation to his advantage.
Xerxes appears to be remembered not entirely for his roles in the wars, but also for his attitudes towards people. His failure to support the beliefs of the Egyptians, by not naming himself as a Pharaoh, hurt his credibility in their eyes. He treated subjects in remote areas with very little compassion. Also, he was noted as being influenced by the women in his life: his mother Atossa, and his Queen consort Amestris. This colours Xerxes as a very insular man, looking out for himself and for very quick satisfaction. If problems were too far away, they were not worth dealing with. Even Handel in his opera portrayed Xerxes as a womaniser, having eyes for a woman despite being engaged to someone else. In conclusion, Xerxes' role in the Persian wars was significant, if only through his defeat. Had Persia defeated Greece in those battles, it is likely the Greeks would have regrouped and defeated Persia during the following decade. This is because the state of Athens itself showed great resilience, and the Greek Empire prospered through Athens' influence. |
Greece repelled the Persians, to the point where Persia saw little point in expanding westward, and their empire began to shrink. Greece meanwhile saw a cultural boom over the following decades. Statesman Pericles built the Parthenon and other monuments of the period. Some of the greatest names of cultural and intellectual history lived in Athens during this period: the dramatists Euripides and Sophocles, the philosophers Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates, the historian Herodotus and the poet Simonides. The main reason for this was the rise of the state of Athens to dominate the Greek empire, which would not have occurred had they not been the main force behind the Persian defeat.