# Mardonios — Histories character guide

> Mardonios in Histories by Herodotus.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Barbarians, the Barbarians with Mardonios

**First appearance:** 0008-book-vii-polymnia

## Snapshot

Persian commander who inherits Xerxes' stalled campaign, patient enough to court Athens with diplomacy before burning what he cannot win.

## Who they are

Mardonios leads the Persian land force in Greece after Salamis, answerable to a king whose appetite for conquest outruns his luck. He holds back from ravaging Attica in the hope the Athenians will sign a treaty, a restraint that reveals both his strategic caution and his frustration with a war he did not start. When word arrives that the Spartans are marching, he must choose ground for a battle he knows will decide whether Persia's invasion ends in triumph or retreat.

## Relationships

### [Cambyses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/characters/cambyses)

_professional_

Mardonios serves as a general under Cambyses, later becoming a key figure in Persian campaigns.

### [Xerxes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/characters/xerxes)

_professional_

Mardonios is a trusted general and advisor to Xerxes, leading major military expeditions.

### [Cambyses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/characters/cambyses)

_professional_

Mardonios serves as a general under Cambyses, later becoming a key figure in Persian campaigns.

### [Xerxes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/characters/xerxes)

_professional_

Mardonios is a trusted general and advisor to Xerxes, leading major military expeditions.

## In the story

### [Book VI: Erato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/chapters/book-vi-erato)

Mardonios, son of Gobryas, leads a large Persian expedition, deposing Ionian despots and establishing democracies, but suffers losses from a storm at Athos and an attack by Brygian Thracians.

### [Book VII: Polymnia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/chapters/book-vii-polymnia)

Mardonios, cousin of Xerxes, urges him to invade Greece and later advises him to ignore the advice of Artabanos.

### [Book VIII: Urania](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/chapters/book-viii-urania)

Mardonios urges Xerxes to stay and attack the Peloponnese, or to let him take 30 myriads to subdue Greece while the king withdraws.

### [Book IX: Calliope](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/chapters/book-ix-calliope)

Leads the Persian army from Thessaly to Athens, captures the deserted city, and sends envoys to Salamis with peace proposals.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/chapters/endnotes)

Referenced in a note about unfavorable sacrifices and his retreat.

## Links

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