English to Greek Art/Literary History

We must also contend with the falling away of many of the details that we would consider most valuable. [...] Xerxes' construction of a mole at Salamis is seen by Herodotus only as a bluff to conceal his planned retreat: modern historians suggest plausibly that the mole may have been designed for a more positive role, that its construction may in part have predated Salamis, and that the King's decision to retreat was made in a more reasoned and calm fashion. Similarly various attempts have been made to find a sober, strategic reason for Leonidas' self-sacrifice at Thermopylae. Reconstruction, however, can quickly become fanciful. In a useful recent *corrective*, it has been suggested that the absence of detailed strategic considerations in Hdt's narrative may only reflect the lack of detailed strategy on the part of the war's commanders.