He did this in order to avoid rounding the edge of Athos peninsula , where Mardonius saw his fleet being destroyed ten years earlier due to extreme weather conditions .
In 480 BC , Xerxes , King of Persia , opened a canal for his fleet to pass through .
Xerxes did this in order to avoid rounding the edge of Athos peninsula , where Mardonius saw his fleet being destroyed ten years earlier due to extreme weather conditions .
In 480 BC , Xerxes , King of Persia , opened a canal for his fleet to pass through .