A quiz question · hard
How many lashes did Xerxes I order to be administered to the Hellespont in 480 BCE?
Herodotus's Histories Book 7 records 300 lashes plus a pair of iron fetters thrown into the strait. The order followed a storm that broke Xerxes' first pontoon bridge for the invasion of Greece.
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The Persian Emperor Who Ordered His Engineers Beheaded and the Sea Itself Flogged After a Storm Broke His Pontoon Bridge in 480 BCE Xerxes I of Persia ordered the Hellespont — the strait between Europe and Asia at modern Dardanelles — to be bridged in spring 480 BCE for his invasion of Greece. A storm destroyed the first bridge. Xerxes had the engineers beheaded, ordered the sea given 300 lashes, and had a pair of fetters thrown into the water. The second bridge held.
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