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Why did Xerxes I order the sea to be whipped after a storm destroyed his bridges?

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Bas-relief detail of Xerxes I wearing a robe and crown, holding a flower, from the north courtyard of the treasury at Persepolis, now in the Archaeological Museum in Tehran.
Xerxes I

According to the historical account provided by Herodotus, Xerxes I ordered the sea to be whipped as a form of punishment after a storm destroyed the boat bridges he had constructed across the Hellespont to facilitate his invasion of Greece.1

This act is often cited by historians as an example of the king's arrogance and petulance, reflecting his status as a sovereign by divine right to whom any form of oppositionā€”even from natureā€”was considered an intolerable affront.21