WI Gelo of Sicily had joined the Persian Wars?

So I've been rereading the histories, and wondered what the impact of Sicily in the Persian wars would have been. OTL he was willing to send a contingent of 200 ships and 28,000 troops to support Greece in the war, but withdrew support when he was not offered a command.

I think that had the Greeks acquiesced and given him command of the navy, it would have prompted other borderline states like Corcyra to join the Greek cause. I suspect, given that Eurybiades had command of the navy OTL and still ended up following Themistocles plans, that the same could have been true of Gelo, which means that the Persian defeat at Salamis would still have occure, albeit with more loss on the Persian side.

If that were to happen, the Greeks could have followed up more decisively on the battle of Salamis, crushed the Persian navy and blocked Xerxes from crossing back into Asia.

I know it's a lot of 'what ifs', but I suspect Xerxes entrapment and eventual defeat in Greece could have led to the Anatolian and Egyptian portions of his army (and empire) to desert him and result in an earlier dissolution of the Persian empire.
 
I'm gonna wager that Gelon deliberately made an offer that he knew they would not accept. Because I can't see under any circumstances him managing to gather 28,00 troops and 200 ships to take to Greece. If he could manage to gather that number in the first place, taking them to Greece is practically inviting Carthage to steamroll Syracuse while they're gone.

If Gelon really wants to help Greece, more likely he'll offer to send a few thousand men and a few ships maximum, maybe throw in some small command. The thing is, judging by his offer he didn't want to get involved with Greece. And he must have had good reason, for it wasn't long before a war broke out with Carthage simultaneous with the Persian War.

So I really don't see how you can get Gelon to commit anything substantial to Greece's aid.
 
I agree that sending aid would be a bit of a gamble, but suppsoing the Carthaginians still invaded, wouldn't the combined Greek forces send aid after dealing with the Persians. OTL the Greeks continued to campaign against Persia for years afterwards, but if Xerxes and his entire force are defeated more quickly, the Greeks would be free to help in Sicily.

Perhaps Gelon could ask for a condition to his aid being that if the Carthaginians attacked then the Greek states would come to his aid after they defeat the Persians?

I know it's a bit of a long shot, but I've got this idea coalescing in my head about a much earlier united Hellenic state arising from this decision
 
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