[I] am not surprised if in Sparta they deem death preferable to a life so steeped in dishonour and reproach.. As Herodotus tells us, the Persians waited for four days after arriving at the pass to begin their attack. Leonidas head was a reminder that the butchers bill for the three days of killing four thousand Greeks (the others escaped) was twenty thousand Persians. This is probably a legend. Leonidas (c. 530-480 B.C.) He told Xerxes that Sparta had eight thousand soldiers, all as good as the men who had fought at Thermopylae. Thermopylae was a strategic location, because the Persians had to travel along a road through this region in order No Persian account of the epic battle has survived, and many statistics related to it remain hazy. ; the place, Thermopylae, Greece; the occasion, the aftermath of a great battle. marble bust, was dismayed to learn that a mountain trail could allow the invaders to circumvent his position. The navy stopped about fifty miles to the north, at Aphetae, opposite the Greek fleet at Artemisium. The pass at Thermopylae was a natural choice. The Persians, led by King Xerxes, had the bones of Leonidas were transferred to Sparta. That was the question that Thermopylae would test. a numerical advantage of over 2:1 and expected an easy victory. Their advantage in numbers was of no benefit in this tight space, as Leonidas had anticipated. One Spartan king had died trying to stop Persias march southward and another had put his life on the line in an endeavor to deflect it. A vast army of Persians was on the march to conquer Greece. Though he left a force to continue the invasion the next year, they too proved unsuccessful. Since the Persians normally took pride in treating their enemies with respect, they would not have insulted the body of a fallen foe like Leonidas unless he had enraged them by the force of his resistance. It was a bold plan, but a bad one because it would have allowed the outnumbered Greeks to even the odds and attack a divided Persian fleet at will and in two stages. However, while the Persians did eventually defeat the defenders, it was certainly not easy. Leonidass plan was to hold Xerxes at the narrow passadvantageous terrain that would act as a force multiplier for an army of inferior size. In 480 BC, an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta faced an enormous invading Persian army at the pass of Thermopylae. The dirt of battle is probably still upon Leonidas, and there is a dark purple bruise on his chin from the pooling of what little blood is left. The dispatch of a king symbolized Spartan resolve, even if he had only few men with him. The Athenian politician and general Themistocles led the Greek naval opposition, blocking the Persian fleet at the strait of Artemisium. The Battle of Thermopylae was a significant event in ancient history. The Greeks had a fleet of around 270 triremes under the command of the Spartan admiral,Eurybiades, and the Athenian commander, Mountains lie to the south, and to the north is the sea, here known as the Gulf of Malis. It was here that an army of some 7,000 Greeks, led by the Spartan king Leonidas, chose to make their stand. of the Achaemenid Empire (named for Achaemenes, the semilegendary founder of Cyrus clan). Paul Cartledge. But they never quite lost their focus on Thermopylae. A few Thebans were killed before the Persians realized that they truly meant to surrender. A crimson-colored, sleeveless wool tunic extended from his waist to mid-thigh. But the Battle of Thermopylae has little competition when it comes to sheer drama. Barry Strauss is an MHQ contributing editor and the author or editor of numerous books on classical history. In the slaughtering pen at Thermopylae as the narrow killing fields might be called a king died and a legend was born. WebIn the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC, an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian Empire at the pass of Thermopylae in central Greece. The Greeks sent only a small force to Thermopylae, fewer in fact than at Tempe a month or two before. of only about one hundred million, Xerxes empire held perhaps one-fifth of the people on the planet. Its name, Thermopylae, means hot gates: hot because of the sulfur springs there and gates rather than gate because of the three separate places where the land narrows. Since it would be impossible to close all three passes to Persia, they withdrew southward. At Thermopylae a king and three hundred of his soldiers set the standard for battle to the death against overwhelming odds. Web. The Greeks, whod been keeping a wary eye on the Persian warmongering, knew they had few chances to defeat the far larger enemy forces. 01 Jun 2023. Leonidas appears to have not expected a victory against the Persians, but hoped to fight a delaying action. The braids of his long hair ran out from under his helmet, while a horsehair plume swayed above it. Its little spoiler to say the Greeks lost. he continued his march towards Athens. In exchange for a handsome reward, he promised to show the Persian soldiers the way. And the Spartans, he pointed out, were great warriors. Greeks used narrow pass so that they could counter the numbers and the cavalry, also had iron or bronze weapons Academy, Dept. World History Encyclopedia. Their bows and arrows also proved useless against the Greeks stout shields. Leonidas was slain, and the few Greeks remaining retreated to the narrowest point of the pass to make their last stand. A gold daric from the fifth century B.C. Today, it is still studied in military academies around the world as an example of effective leadership and strategic planning. Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine. The Greek hoplites were heavy infantry, armed with long spears and heavy shields, while the Persians were light infantry, armed with short spears and wicker shields. until his death at the Battle of Thermopylae against the Persian army in 480 B.C. Yet what a landscape it was. The latter, which was his main weapon, was an ash-wood spear, about nine feet long, with an iron head and a bronze butt spike. Fact or Fiction: The Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) between Greeks and Persians is known for two things: an utter Greek defeat leading to the "Persian The Greeks, whod been keeping a wary eye on the Persian warmongering, knew they had few chances to defeat the far larger enemy forces. By dawns first light it was calm and windless, and the sound carried of soldiers feet tramping on fallen leaves. They promised that the main army would follow, after the festivals. He was buried in Thermopylae, along with the other soldiers. The Greeks, outnumbered and fighting to a certain death, displayed the greatest strength they had against the barbarians, fighting recklessly and desperately, Herodotus says. And they could leverage success simply by bloodying Persia and slowing it down. Greeks and Persians had been at war for more than a generation. And how might Persia defeat them? The story of the world's most important battleshow they were fought, how they have been commemorated, and the long historical shadows that they have cast types on both sides. His feet were protected by shoes. When Xerxes arrived at Thermopylae in mid-August, he met a stern resistance that was ready for him. World History Publishing is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. During the Persian Wars, in 480 BCE, Persians attacked the Greeks at the narrow pass at Thermopylae that controlled the only road between Thessaly and central Japan had little chance of victoryso why did it attack Pearl Harbour? The Greeks pushed back Xerxes men time after time, and Persian casualties mounted. That night, Ephialtes led a group of Persian soldiers through a secret path that went around the narrow pass. No doubt he was hoping that the Greeks would retreat in fear. The Great Battles The Spartans' bravery and sacrifice also inspired other Greeks to resist the Persian invaders. army was delayed long enough for the Greeks to prepare their defenses at the narrow pass at Corinth and to evacuate the people from the city of Athens. when the Kallidromo massif formed the southern wall of the narrow Thermopylae Pass, and the northern boundary was the Aegean Sea. The carnage of the last, heroic moments of the Battle of Thermopylae is vividly re-created in this 20th-century battle scene by Stanley Meltzoff. Demaratus might have been thrilled at these questions because they opened the door for revenge on the Spartan homeland that had exiled him. But equipment was only part of the story. And then the Persian attack came. This victory marked a turning point in the Suicide missions were downright un-Spartan. Tempe had been a failure of intelligence, a sign of how little the Greeks knew about their own country and how much darkness ancient strategists often worked in. Leonidas, seen here in a fifth-century B.C. Besides, Thermopylae was close enough to the harbor at Artemisium to allow a coordinated land-sea strategy. initial volley of arrows to do as much damage to enemies as possible before sending a huge number of infantry in waves to overwhelm the remaining defenders. It was too late to change the strategy, however; the fleet was already in position. When the two fleets finally fought each other on the day of battle, neither side was able to gain an advantage. Taking advantage of a dilapidated old wall, which they rebuilt, they took their stand between the sheer cliffs and the sea. eventuated. As in past battles, Greek treason saved the Persians. In early June of 480 B.C., a mighty Persian army crossed the Dardanelles strait on two pontoon bridges to continue a brutal advance into Greece. They must have made an odd pair, the king of kings in his purple robes and gold jewelry and the austere Spartan, raised in a country whose citizens slept on straw pallets and allowed their sons only one cloak a year. Instead, they finished off their enemies with arrows. Knowing this, Leonidas may have believed that his sacrifice would save his city-state. Perhaps better known today as that battle from the movie 300, the Battle of Thermopylae was an epic, three-day face-off between a small group of Greek soldiers and the massive Persian Army in 480 B.C. Led by Leonidas, the three hundred Spartans stood and fell and took the pride of the Persian Empire down with them. Herodotus reported that when the Greeks reached Thermopylae and realized the huge size of the enemy army, they had second thoughts about the operation. A skirmish broke out around him. Numbers, first. However, when it became apparent that the invading Persian force was Those who still had swords defended themselves; others fought with fists and teeth.The Persians eventually broke down the wall and surrounded them, but avoided hand-to-hand fighting. Plutarch wrote that when the king was asked before the battle, What, Leonidas, do you come to fight so great a number with so few? he replied laconically, I have enough, since they are to be killed.. Xerxes forces had advanced with ease through the regions of Thrace, Macedonia, and Thessaly, where the overawed inhabitants surrendered without a fight. On the fifth day, however, Xerxes patience wore out. By order of Xerxes, the Theban Greeks who had survived were branded on their foreheads, marked as slaves. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. Xerxes consulted with his generals and decided to send in his elite Immortals on the second day. Uploaded by Mark Cartwright, published on 06 April 2013. The Persian infantry was armed with short spears and wicker shields, while the cavalry was armed with bows and lances. On the plus side, Thermopylae was too strong a position to give up and a successful forward defense might have kept war away from the Peloponnesian homeland. The Battle of Thermopylae, which Herodotus recorded in his writing The Histories, was one of the most arduous and notable battles of western history. And existing fortifications there, built by the Phoecians, offered another layer of defense. overrun. These main Persian forces could defeat the rest of the Greeks. No wonder Xerxes held his men back for four days. from these storms, as they were sheltered in harbours. In exchange for money, he guided Xerxes Immortals over a steep, narrow, and hard-to-follow mountain track. The Peloponnese would provide most of the infantrymen, since Athens would devote all its manpower to its big navy. They set out in the evening, around the lighting of the lamps, and traveled by night. And he followed in the footsteps of Cyrus the Great, founder in 550 b.c. Stories Greco-Persian Wars: Battle of Thermopylae by HistoryNet Staff 6/12/2006 In the 5th century bc, the Persian empire fought the city-states of Greece in The intelligence arrived in stages. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike. In Sparta, men generally married around the age of thirty, so soldiers with sons were probably in their thirties or forties. Persepolis was founded by Darius I, also known as Darius the Greatthe king who initiated the war against Greece that his son Xerxes then continued. Therefore the Greeks had an incentive to drag out the war until the Persians gave up. During this time Xerxes, sure of an easy victory, sent an ambassador who asked the Greeks to lay down their arms and retreat peacefully. Supply caches were stored along the route beforehand for the hungry soldiers, including great piles of salted meat and grain for the horses. World History Encyclopedia, 06 Apr 2013. Situated where steep mountains ran nearly into the sea, the pass was the only clear path available to an army bent on invading the Greek homeland. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/1134/battle-of-thermopylae-480-bce/. It took place at the pass of Thermopylae. The Battle of Thermopylae took place during the Second Medical War; in it an alliance of Greek polis, led by Sparta (by land) and Athens (by sea), united to stop the invasion of the Persian Empire of Xerxes I. At first, not even the Immortals, the Persian elite corps of archers which are shown here in a frieze from the Palace of Darius at Susa, could subdue the Spartan-led Greek army at the Battle of Thermopylae. On the other side stood the Persian and Median infantrymen of Iran. However, when the Persians encountered them, they simply continued past them in order to get to the A council of war was held among the Greeks to decide what to do. Leonidas response, as recorded by historians, has become legendary: Come and take them.. He carried a short iron sword and a long pike. Since the Greek navy was the smaller, they knew that they could not hold out for another day of similar losses. had been aware of this mountain path, and he had sent the 1000 Phocians to keep watch over it. The gantlet at Thermopylae had punished the Persians. This 3,500-year-old tomb held the treasures of Greece's 'Griffin Warrior', Dionysus, Greek god of wine and revelry, was more than just a 'party god', Vikings in North America? Back in Sparta, Pantites is said to have hanged himself in disgrace, while Aristodamus overcame the nickname Aristodamus the Coward by fighting to the death in a later battle. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2023) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Before the first day was over, Xerxes had assembled his best troopsan elite group of 10,000 men under the command of the Persian nobleman Hydarnes. of History, US Military Academy. Herodotus was an extremely significant historian who lived during the 5th century B. C. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines.
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