300: The Historical Battle Of Thermopylae

After closely reading documents, A, B, C, and D, I believe that the were around 10,000 Persian soldiers at the Battle of Thermopylae, this according to Document B. I found Document B most reliable because they claimed to have seen the official Persian archives, which may be they only exact number shown in all of the Documents. He also worked for the King of Persia so there would most likely be repercussions if he gave out incorrect information. To add on this is was written in 398 BCE, much closer to the date of the battle than Document C which was written in 1980, or Document D which was written in 2006. Why not Document A you ask, well in this Document Herodotus has a lot of incomplete information. For example, how are around 1.8 Million

Based on Ernle Bradford’s knowledge of the area and terrain where the Persians marched from General Sir Frederick Maurice, there were 210,000 Persians at the battle of Thermopylae. Unlike other documentations of the Battle of Thermopylae, Ernle Bradford used physical knowledge of the terrain in Thermopylae as a way to support his claim. General Sir Frederick was a British army officer and had a great military and logistical knowledge. He was able to visit the area where the Persians marched after the First World War, and he examined the terrain. He focused on the available water sources for the Persians while investigating the land. General Sir Frederick Maurice concluded that the Persian Army couldn’t be made up of more than 250,000 men because

The Greek victory against Persia was largely due to efforts of mainly Athens but also Sparta as well. Athens was responsible for the major turning points of the Persian invasions, while Sparta was responsible for the deciding battle. Miltiades, with his skilful battle strategies, defeated the Persians during their second invasion at Marathon, which gave Athens a confidence boost on their military. During the third invasion, when the Athenians were evacuated to Salamis, Themistocles had devised a plan to trick the Persians which had resulted in Persian army without a supply line. Sparta?s importance had revealed during their sacrifice at Thermopylae and at Plataea, where they provided the most effective part of the army.

Greeks rain of power was dwelling during the Macedonian rule, this was a direct result of the Battle of Chaeronea. This battle was fought in 338 BC and was between the Greece allied city-states and the Philip II of Macedon. Philip had not only brought peace to Greece, he had also claimed the spot as the leader of the nation. Philip's new nation was growing rapidly and needed to expand. Philip became to concurred several cities and countries but while Philips was worried about the conflict outside of his nation, Athens attempted to flee from Philips leadership. Athens would go on to form an alliance with the several cities that Philip was trying to seize. Philip was furious with the un-loyalty of Athens and declared war on the nation and anyone

Another wrong in 300 is that that the Spartans did not own any slaves while in real Sparta they did. The Spartans and other Greeks were very like the Persians in that when they conquered a foe they made these conquered foes their Slaves. In the movie the whole Spartan economy could not survive because the Spartans had no slaves and the Spartan depended on slaves for everything ranging from agriculture, to masonry, to minimal tasks. One thing they actually got right in 300 is in the role of a Spartan woman in affairs. Distinct difference compared to other city-states the Spartan woman has many more rights, including but not limited to of advising the men, holding the household, and woman are even involved in sporting events. Another thing the creators of 300 got right was the cruel eugenics policy taken place in Sparta. Yes the Spartans would murder unfit or deformed babies. The last thing the movie got right is how the Spartan child is raised and how the child is taken from the mother at an early age of seven to be trained to fight like a Spartan warrior.

The Role of Themistocles in the Greek Defeat of the Persians in 480 - 479 BC.

Spartans military was a hard core and well rounded out military in its time. Part of the reason why they were so successful is because of their rigorous training each boy had to go through. Why I said boy is because the Spartan military training would start at age 7 for a chosen boy. The boy gets chosen to live in spartan society at birth. If the Spartans did not believe that the boy would be rounded out for their society they would leave the boy to die. During the boys training hazing and fighting was encouraged to help improve strength among the boys. During spartan training each boy was mainly taught mathematics, music, and how to fight. Also during their training, they would learn how to steal but without getting caught. If they were caught they would not be punished for stealing but only for getting caught. This type of training continues until the boys would become men. Which is at the age of 20 for the Spartan's. At age 20 Spartan men would have to pass a series of demanding

The Battle of Thermopylae, which Herodotus recorded in his writing The Histories, was one of the most arduous and notable battles of western history. Herodotus was an extremely significant historian who lived during the 5th century B.C. In this primary source writing, he portrays how Xerxes was superstitious and tyrannical, how the battle informs you about the Spartan culture, how the values of Greek promoted society, and he displayed how significant the Persian invasion was on Greek development, for example, their political and intellectual expansion. The Persian King Xerxes

In Zack Snyder’s 300, the battle of Thermopylae, the life of the Spartans and the glory of war comes to life on the big screen for all audiences worldwide. The movie, 300, released in 2006 is based on the graphic novel written by Frank Miller, 300. The movie focuses on the use of the Classical past to portray everything from the upbringing of a Spartan to the bravery of King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans on the battle fields of Thermopylae against the mighty Persians. Unlike most Hollywood movies proliferated based on real events, the movie 300, keeps accurate to the novel and the events that occurred in history. Despite the minor alterations and exaggerations such abandoning body armor and over-glorifying the Spartans, the movie still remains faithful to both the novel and history by using the classical past to explore social norms, accurately depict the way of life, events that occurred such as the battle of Thermopylae and the nature of people during 500 BCE.

In all versions of the Battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas and the Spartan army are seen as tough soldiers who grew up under harsh conditions. Spartans typically leave home to begin training on their

In 480 BC, when the Persian horde, estimated by some historians to range from 300,000 to 1.7 million soldiers, landed on the shores of Thermopylae, the Persian King Xerxes sent emissaries to the leaders of the Greek city-states demanding their surrender and patronage to the Persian Empire (Frye, 2006). Despite the massive threat that was encamped on the shores off the Gulf of Maliakos in small town known as Trachis, the Greeks refused. Sparta, known for their superior military might, were chosen by the Greek leaders to lead a coalition of Greek warriors to defend their homeland from the invading Persian army (Frye, 2006).

Leonidas was the king of the Spartans during the time of the Persian War. The Spartans were the elite of the elite when it came to military strength. One of the greatest displays of his courage and honor was in his last battle, The Battle of Thermopylae. At the Battle of Thermopylae the Persians were trying to come down into Greece through the mountain pass Thermopylae. The odds were heavily against the Greeks with the Persians numbering in the hundreds of thousands and the Greeks only having a couple thousand Athenians and only 300 Spartan warriors under the command of King Leonidas. The Greeks stopped-up the pass with phalanxes and were slaughtering the Persians. The battle was looking like a major victory for the Greeks until the Persians discovered a back-road on a mountain pass and were about to surround the Greeks. King Leonidas told the remaining Athenian Greeks to flee back to Athens while he and his 300 hundred Spartans held off the Persians. The Spartan army caused massive damage to the Persian army by killing off thousands of them. All the Spartans died in that battle, along with Leonidas, but this weakened the Persians and allowed the

The battle of Thermopylae was the Greek’s first stand against the massive army of King Xerxes, and was the most influential battle of the entire war. Up to this point, the Persian army was seen as too massive and powerful to be stopped. The once warring city-states of Greece knew they couldn’t stand against the Persians alone, and knew in order to defend their homeland they would have to unite. A unity of command was agreed upon; King Leonidas of Sparta was chosen to lead the Greek forces. He was chosen to lead because of the unsurpassed warring abilities the Spartans were so well known for made him perfect for the objective of stopping the Persians.

Sparta was, above all, a military state, and emphasis on military fitness began at birth, imprinted through society and the political system. The education of the Spartan male children prove that the military and war was constantly a huge part of Spartan society, and the laws and systems that Sparta was governed by, only enforced the militaristic attitude into the society of Sparta. That the Spartans needed to be ready for war is proved by the discord between the Spartiate and the helots, who outnumbered and under ranked the Spartans.

In both the battle of Thermopylae and the battle of the Alamo, the Spartans and the Texans were the David in the fight against their own Goliath. Neither of these groups were prepared to fight a battle of that scale, and though they awaited reinforcements that never came, both received aid from men who had the full knowledge that this battle would lead to their indubitable demise. Despite their likely inevitable failure and termination, these men continued to show the utmost intrepidity and allegiance to their cause. Herodotus told Xerses that the Spartans would “either conquer or die”, and similarly, William Barrett Travis wrote in his famously heroic letter that the Texans would accept no less than “Victory or Death”. Ultimately, both