The Lost Fleet of Mardonius

The account

Herodotus tells it plainly: Mardonius sent the Persian fleet around the cape of Athos, and a savage north wind caught it on the rocks, three hundred ships gone in a night, twenty thousand men drowned or taken by the sea-monsters the sailors swore lived there. So feared was this coast that Xerxes later dug a canal through the peninsula rather than risk it again. The wrecks lie somewhere off the monks' mountain.

Leads, where the trail points now

• Where the trail goes cold: The disaster is fixed to the rocky east coast of the Athos peninsula; the ancient hulls have never been located. That is where any serious search begins.
• What you are chasing is 300 Persian warships and 20,000 men, wrecked rounding the holy mountain. Work the documented record of The Lost Fleet of Mardonius back to primary sources and separate what is attested from folklore.
• Confirm who owns and governs Off Mount Athos, Chalkidiki, Greece and get written permission before any search; treat protected or archaeological ground as off limits.