THERMOPYLAE 480 BC : LEONIDAS LAST STAND PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Nic Fields | 96 pages | 20 Nov 2007 | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | 9781841761800 | English | New York, United Kingdom Thermopylae 480 BC : Leonidas Last Stand PDF Book The latter hardship promoted the stealing of food as an adventurous duty, which in turn led to severe beatings if a boy was caught in the act. It seems certain that, in the ships of his novel, mass-produced navy with which he was so anxious to give battle in narrow waters, Themistokles must have planned to carry many more hoplites than ten per ship. Persia was vast and rich, but Greece was small and poor; it had little to offer the Great King who, after all, was the richest man on earth. And that, said the Greeks, is why they could send only an advance force to Thermopylae. In all, 4, troops from the Peloponnesian states accompanied Leonidas north in that fateful August of B. Yet Persian arrows could do little damage against a wall of Greek shields or a rapid charge by bronze-covered infantrymen. He was ostracised and his life was made so unbearable that he preferred to die as a berserker fighting against the Persians a year later. Number of troopsI The Persian infantryThe mainstay of fifth-century Persian armies was the foot soldier. Athenaios, albeit using second-hand evidence unlike Xenophon, even says the Spartans made preliminary sacrifice to Eros in front of the battle lines 'with the belief that safety and victory lies in the love of those ranged alongside each other' After the full moon 2, Spartan hoplites had left for Attica and arrived after only three days, but just too late. Leonidas was born on Spartan territory in the Peloponnesian Peninsula in southern Greece probably between the years B. Here, the Persian speaker's words leave us in no doubt that the art of political 'spin' was alive and well several thousands of years ago. This lapidary and suitably laconic couplet reminded all Greeks for generations to come of the debt owed to the Spartans. A Greek force of about 7, men marched north to block the pass in the summer of BC. Enough to stop him for this campaigning season. T o Xenophon, a keen hunting man, warfare constituted an expansion of the animal-hunting techniques common to pre-state warrior societies. As Xerxes crossed the Hellespont from Asia Minor, several of the northern Greek states began to defect. After six years, the rebellion was ended. With their small heads, these relatively lightweight arrows were more effective against unarmoured targets than penetrating shield or body armour. Normally, after a final blood sacrifice sphagia , the two opposing phalanxes would simply head straight for each other, break into a trot for the last few metres, collide with a crash and then, blinded by the dust and their own cumbersome helmets, stab and shove till one side cracked. TacticsIt was the hoplite shield that made the rigid phalanx formation viable. This article lists ten…. For instance, Herodotos describes them as 'past masters' 7. As in past battles, Greek treason saved the Persians. And, second, what actually happened on that final, fateful day? Herodotus relates that the Greek territorial units fought in rotation to relieve each other, and that some units feigned retreat in order to draw out the enemy, then suddenly turned and counterattacked their disordered pursuers. The loose coalition of Hellenes ancient Greeks identified the mountain pass of Thermopylae and the cape of Artemisium as the key defense land-and-sea points respectively and sent a conglomeration of Greeks headed by King Leonidas of Sparta to protect Thermopylae. Thermopylae 480 BC : Leonidas Last Stand Writer Indeed, Herodotos later emphasizes the confidence of the Persians at Marathon in his remark that they thought the Athenians plain mad to risk an attack 'with no support from either cavalry or archers' 6. Of course, Leonidas did eventually stand here in the high summer of BC, with a small force representing a wavering grouping of anti-Persian Greeks Spartans, 2, Arcadians, Corinthians, from Phleious, 80 from Mycenae all Peloponnesians ; Thespians and Thebans representing Boiotia ; and from the local Greek people most directly affected, 1, Phokians and the full force of the Opountian Lokrians Herodotos 7. Of course, such a defense could have happened, but it might have been harder knowing that the Spartans and other Greeks defending freedom at the Battles of Thermopylae, Salamis, and Platea had not been able to do it. In short, we have good reason to believe that Herodotos deliberately suppressed the contribution of the Lacedaemonian perioikoi in the battle, writing the story as if they were never there. But Thermopylae did — crucially — prove that the Persian war machine could be stopped. Heavily outnumbered, the Greeks held off the Persians for seven days in total including three of battle , before the rearguard was annihilated in one of history's most famous last stands. It was a useful sidearm to carry, being light enough to be used effectively one-handed but still able to penetrate a metal helmet or body armour. If the man on the left moved in close he was protected by the shield overlap, which thus guarded his uncovered side. The most famed of the Great Kings is Dareios, and like many famous men, he was not unduly modest. In this inscription Dareios commemorates his military victories. By using our site, you agree to our collection of information through the use of cookies. Battle of Thermopylae Under Xerxes I, the Persian army moved south through Greece on the eastern coast, accompanied by the Persian navy moving parallel to the shore. Sparta the steadfast and self- sacrificing, Greece unflagging in its fight for freedom, Xerxes the flummoxed, Demaratus the traitorous: These are the images left in the summer heat. The intelligence arrived in stages. But the Greeks had the advantages of home water, short supply lines, and maritime expertise. He explains Politics b that it is not so much the methods the Spartans used to train their young men that made them superior, as the fact that they trained them at all. The Spartan king Leonidas leads his army in attack during the battle of Thermopylae. TacticsIt was the hoplite shield that made the rigid phalanx formation viable. In such anecdotes, the Great King appears as an essentially weak figure, a prey to the machinations of powerful women and sinister eunuchs. Xenophon Anabasis 3. For two days the Persians attacked in force, only to retreat badly mauled. These formed a personal bodyguard, the hand-picked warriors that followed close after the Great King. Like most military decisions, the choice was made not on military grounds alone but in the heat and dust of the political arena. As the Immortals approached the Greeks, a unit of one thousand Phocian infantrymen stationed on the ridge above Thermopylae heard them coming. Hence, Thespiae made an all-out effort at Thermopylae. The Greek resistance tried to halt Persian progress on land at the narrow pass of Thermopylae and at sea nearby in the straits of Artemisium. The one obvious advantage of conquering rock-strewn Greece that might have occurred to the Persian high command was the belief that their empire would never really be secure when there was a definite possibility of revolt, backed up by the Greek mainland, of the Greek states in Aegean Anatolia. An archer or a javelin thrower who launched his weapon from a great distance was not held in high esteem, because he could kill with little risk to himself. Just before contact they would raise, in unison, a collective war cry paean. Cite this article:. We tend to think of Thermopylae in isolation, but this was a joint land and sea operation. They were particularly concerned about Thebes, the largest and strongest central Greek state, and an uncertain ally, since strong rumors circulated of its impending defection to Persia. It was extremely narrow at both ends, but widened in the middle, where hot springs lay. Later sources present the whole campaign as a suicide expedition When the battle was joined the soldiers dressed ranks, plucked their first arrows and eyed the opposition. They played a major role in Graeco-Persian cultural relations, and helped an eastward expansion of Hellenic culture. Light shields of cane and rawhide first appeared around BC, and it is thought Scythians, who carried a smaller elongated version of the spara for cavalry use, employed as mercenaries by the Persians first introduced their use. The key tactic was to gather their foot soldiers in close formation behind their pavises. When the Greeks learned that the pass had been turned, most went home, considering the battle lost. The elasticity of the sinew meant that when the bow was drawn it stretched and was put under tension. Here for three days the Greeks more than held their own against the Persians, although the losses they sustained and the fall of Thermopylae eventually compelled withdrawal. But the Greek position had a flaw. It marked the beginning of several important Greek victories against the Persians and represented a morale shift among the Greeks. There was another advantage to be gained from the site he chose. This suggests that the greater Persian range was the result of lighter arrows and different training, rather than any difference in bow technology. The Greek army was led by Leonidas, who was estimated to have had around 7, men. Greece would become a Persian province. Thermopylae 480 BC : Leonidas Last Stand Reviews There is an ancient Chinese proverb, which says: 'A general who is brave or stupid is a calamity.