“I’m overwhelmed with sadness at the brevity of human life,” Xerxes mused. “Each of these men is in their prime but not a single one will be alive in a hundred years’ time.”
Herodotus no doubt invented the anecdote. After all, who would have told him? Even so, it is very moving, all the more so since Xerxes is far from sympathetically portrayed elsewhere in his History. Even the most arrogant people on earth are humbled—at least momentarily—by the consciousness of the inevitability of death. You’ll die too, great king, Herodotus is saying. Act accordingly. But, of course, Xerxes didn’t. He went on to invade Greece and suffered a catastrophic defeat.
[Via]
