Editing Xerxes I (section)

== Reception ==
[[File:Trilingual inscription of Xerxes, Van, 1973.JPG|thumb|[[Xerses I's inscription at Van|Trilingual inscription of Xerxes at Van]] (present-day Turkey)]]
Xerxes is portrayed in a particular way in Greek and Roman sources, and this depiction influenced many later representations of him. Xerxes is a central character of [[Aeschylus]]' play ''[[The Persians]]'', first performed in Athens in 472 BC, only seven years after his invasion of Greece. The play presents him as an overconfident figure whose hubristic attempts to expand his empire lead to the ruin of both himself and his kingdom.{{sfn|Hall|1993|p=118-127}}

[[Herodotus]]'s ''Histories'', written later in the fifth century BC, centre on the Persian Wars, with Xerxes as a major figure. Some of Herodotus' information is spurious.{{sfn|Briant|2002|p=57}}{{sfn|Radner|2013|p=454}} Pierre Briant has accused him of presenting a stereotyped and biased portrayal of the Persians.{{sfn|Briant|2002|pp=158, 516}} Richard Stoneman regards his portrayal of Xerxes as nuanced and tragic, compared to the vilification that he suffered at the hands of the [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonian]] king [[Alexander the Great]] ({{reign|336|323|era=BC}}).{{sfn|Stoneman|2015|p=2}}

Xerxes is identified with the king [[Ahasuerus]] in the biblical [[Book of Esther]],{{sfn|Stoneman|2015|p=9}} which some scholars, including [[Eduard Schwartz]], [[William Rainey Harper]], and [[Michael V. Fox]], consider to be historical romance.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fox |first1=Michael V. |title=Character and ideology in the book of Esther |date=2010 |publisher=[[Wipf and Stock]] |location=Eugene, OR |isbn=9781608994953 |page=145}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Book of Esther between Judaism and Christianity |last=Kalimi |first=Isaac |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2023 |isbn=9781009266123 |page=130 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HvnAEAAAQBAJ}}</ref> There is nothing close to a consensus, however, as to what historical event provided the basis for the story.<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Book-of-Esther|title = Book of Esther &#124; Summary & Facts| date=8 August 2023 }}</ref><ref name="Encyclopædia Iranica 1984">{{cite web | first=W. S. | last=McCullough | title=Ahasureus | website=Encyclopædia Iranica | date= 28 July 2011 | orig-year=15 December 1984 | url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahasureus | access-date=3 April 2020 | quote=There may be some factual nucleus behind the Esther narrative, but the book in its present form displays such inaccuracies and inconsistencies that it must be described as a piece of historical fiction.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Barton |editor-first1=John |editor-last2=Muddiman |editor-first2=John |first=Carol|last=Meyers|title=The Oxford Bible Commentary |date=2007 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9780199277186 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DWUTDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA325 |language=en | page=325 | quote=Like the Joseph story in Genesis and the book of Daniel, it is a fictional piece of prose writing involving the interaction between foreigners and Hebrews/Jews.}}</ref><ref name="JewishEncyclopedia.com">{{cite web | author-first1=Emil G.|author-last1=Hirsch|author-first2=John|author-last2=Dyneley Prince|author-first3=Solomon|author-last3=Schechter|editor-first1=Isidor|editor-last1=Singer|editor-first2=Cyrus|editor-last2=Adler|title=Esther | website=Jewish Encyclopedia | year=1906 | url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5872-esther | access-date=25 April 2020 | quote=The vast majority of modern expositors have reached the conclusion that the book is a piece of pure fiction, although some writers qualify their criticism by an attempt to treat it as a historical romance.}}</ref>

Xerxes is the protagonist of the opera ''[[Serse]]'' by the German-English [[Baroque]] composer [[George Frideric Handel]]. It was first performed in the [[Her Majesty's Theatre|King's Theatre]] London on 15 April 1738. The famous [[aria]] {{lang|it|italic=no|"[[Ombra mai fù]]"}} opens the opera.

The murder of Xerxes by Artabanus (''Artabano''), execution of crown prince Darius (''Dario''), revolt by Megabyzus (''Megabise''), and subsequent succession of [[Artaxerxes I of Persia|Artaxerxes I]] is romanticised by the Italian poet [[Metastasio]] in his opera libretto ''[[Artaserse]]'' (1730), which was first set to music by [[Leonardo Vinci]], and subsequently by other composers such as [[Johann Adolf Hasse]] and [[Johann Christian Bach]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johann-Adolph-Hasse|title=Johann Adolph Hasse {{!}} German composer|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=27 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume2/actrade-9780195384826-div1-04005.xml|title=Metastasio's Musicians: Music In The Seventeenth And Eighteenth Centuries|website=Oxford Western Music|access-date=27 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://christermalmberg.se/documents/musik/klassiskt/bach_johann_christian/bach_johann_christian_verk_uvertyrer_cpo.php|title=Christer Malmbergs värld - Musik – Klassisk musik – Johann Christian Bach|website=christermalmberg.se|access-date=27 April 2020}}</ref>

The historical novel ''Xerxes of de Hoogmoed'' (1919) by Dutch writer [[Louis Couperus]] describes the Persian wars from the perspective of Xerxes. Though the account is fictionalised, Couperus nevertheless based himself on an extensive study of Herodotus. The English translation ''Arrogance: The Conquests of Xerxes'' by Frederick H. Martens appeared in 1930.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bibliotheek.nl/catalogus/titel.110734645.html/xerxes--of-de-hoogmoed/|title=Xerxes, of De hoogmoed|website=www.bibliotheek.nl|access-date=27 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Classe|first1=O.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=myLDA0_brhcC&q=Arrogance%3A+The+Conquests+of+Xerxes+by+Frederick+H.+Martens&pg=PA315|title=Encyclopedia of Literary Translation Into English: A–L|last2=AC02468681|first2=Anonymus|date=2000|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-884964-36-7|language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Esther haram.jpg|thumb|upright|left|The Persian king in the Biblical [[Book of Esther]] is commonly thought to be Xerxes]]
Later generations' fascination with ancient Sparta, particularly the [[Battle of Thermopylae]], has led to Xerxes' portrayal in works of [[popular culture]]. He was played by [[David Farrar (actor)|David Farrar]] in the film ''[[The 300 Spartans]]'' (1962), where he is portrayed as a cruel, power-crazed despot and an inept commander. He also features prominently in the graphic novels ''[[300 (comics)|300]]'' and ''[[Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander]]'' by [[Frank Miller]], as well as the film adaptation ''[[300 (film)|300]]'' (2007) and its sequel ''[[300: Rise of an Empire]]'' (2014), as portrayed by [[Brazil]]ian actor [[Rodrigo Santoro]], in which he is represented as a giant man with androgynous qualities, who claims to be a god-king. This portrayal attracted controversy, especially in [[Iran]].<ref>Boucher, Geoff. [http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2010/06/01/xerxes-300-frank-miller-300-zack-snyder-300/ "Frank Miller returns to the '300' battlefield with 'Xerxes': 'I make no apologies whatsoever{{'"}}]. ''The Los Angeles Times''. 1 June 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2010.</ref> [[Ken Davitian]] plays Xerxes in ''[[Meet the Spartans]]'', a parody of the first ''300'' movie replete with sophomoric humour and deliberate [[anachronisms]]. Similarly, a highly satirized depiction of Xerxes based on his portrayal in ''300'' appears in the ''[[South Park]]'' episode "[[D-Yikes!]]"

Other works dealing with the Persian Empire or the Biblical story of [[Esther]] have also featured or alluded to Xerxes, such as the video game ''[[Assassin's Creed Odyssey]]'' and the film ''[[One Night with the King]]'' (2006), in which [[Ahasuerus]] (Xerxes) was portrayed by British actor [[Luke Goss]]. He is the leader of the Persian Empire in the video game ''[[Civilization II]]'' and ''[[Civilization III|III]]'' (along with [[Scheherazade]]), although ''[[Civilization IV]]'' replaces him with [[Cyrus the Great]] and [[Darius I]].{{citation needed|date=June 2013}} He reappears as a Leader in ''[[Civilization VII]]''. In the ''[[Age of Empires (video game)|Age of Empires]]'', Xerxes featured as a short swordsman.

[[File:Ahasuerus by Ernest Normand.jpg|thumb|upright|Xerxes ([[Ahasuerus]]) by [[Ernest Normand]], 1888 (detail)]]
[[Gore Vidal]], in his historical fiction novel ''[[Creation (novel)|Creation]]'' (1981), describes at length the rise of the Achaemenids, especially Darius I, and presents the life and death circumstances of Xerxes. Vidal's version of the Persian Wars, which diverges from the orthodoxy of the Greek histories, is told through the invented character of Cyrus Spitama, a half-Greek, half-Persian, and grandson of the prophet [[Zoroaster]]. Thanks to his family connection, Cyrus is brought up in the Persian court after the murder of Zoroaster, becoming the boyhood friend of Xerxes, and later a diplomat who is sent to India, and later to Greece, and who is thereby able to gain privileged access to many leading historical figures of the period.<ref>Gore Vidal, ''Creation: A Novel'' (Random House, 1981)</ref>

Xerxes ([[Ahasuerus]]) is portrayed by [[Richard Egan (actor)|Richard Egan]] in the 1960 film ''[[Esther and the King]]'' and by [[Joel Smallbone]] in the 2013 film, ''[[The Book of Esther (film)|The Book of Esther]]''. In at least one of these films, the events of the Book of Esther are depicted as taking place upon Xerxes' return from Greece.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

Xerxes plays an important background role (never making an appearance) in two short works of [[alternate history]] taking place generations after his complete victory over Greece. These are: "Counting Potsherds" by [[Harry Turtledove]] in his anthology ''[[Departures (collection)|Departures]]'' and "The Craft of War" by [[Lois Tilton]] in ''Alternate Generals'' volume 1 (edited by Turtledove).{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}