Point of View

Xeones offers the Hellenic point of view to Xerxes, while supposedly giving away the secrets of the Spartans. Ironically though, the Spartans have no secrets. They tear apart the Persian forces for obvious and logical reasons that Xeones freely shares with Xerxes. Had the King of Persia thought a little more and a little more honestly, he could have figured all this out for himself. That he needs to read it from Xeones indicates either the King has buried his common sense underneath his ego or he is a hopeless fool. One may lead to the other, but from Xerxes view of the battle, the Spartans had somehow worked magic. From a detached viewpoint, the Spartans simply played a better war game.

The scribe adds another viewpoint, that of an objective observer. He has no other duty than to report Xeones' dictation accurately, but the scribe...