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In Mary Renault's "Fire From Heaven" she mentions an incident in which some Persian envoys were being entertained at Aigai, demanding earth and water as a sign of surrender to Xerxes. While being entertained, they demand that the royal women we allowed to join the party. In the story they are tricked by having cadets dressed as women come to their couches. The Persians are then killed and supposedly buried in the forest.Does anyone know if this incident really happened or is a fiction story?

Well, Ruth, it's in Herodotus (don't have the reference, unfortunately). There's no way of knowing whether it's entirely true - but there's a better than evens chance that it was commonly known, for Herodotus to have heard it and recorded it (that is, it's unlikely that Herod. made it up).ATBMarcus

Ruth, Project Guttenberg has Herodotus' books online. The story is in Volume II which you can find at:http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext01/2hofh10.txtScroll down to chapter 17.Best regards,Amyntoros

You people are amazing! Thanks so much for the info. You know I am hurrying to finish my novel and I try very hard not to put any facts in it that are totally fictional.

Tell us what you read there !! Istor
Macedonian, therefore Greek