300: The Legendary Battle Of Thermopylae

The Spartans fought in a formation called the Hoplite Phalanx. The Hoplite Phalanx is a highly organized fighting formation where Spartans are lined up side by side with overlapping shields. The goal of the Hoplite Phalanx is to protect the person to your left and right. When one person in the front line of the Phalanx is injured or killed someone behind them takes their place. The Hoplite Phalanx was very effective and it helped Spartans win battles where they were heavily outnumbered. The fighting formation that the Spartans used in the film included a variation of unorganized infantry lines, chaotic hand-to-hand combat, and a technique that they used which consisted of them laying down on the ground to let Persian horses jump over them as they approached. The hand-to-hand combat showed Spartans fighting by themselves with no teamwork from their fellow soldiers to help them battle the Persians. This fighting style would have never happened. The reason that Spartans were so successful in battle was because they fought as a team and kept to the Hoplite Phalanx. In “Herodotus, The Histories” Demaratus says, “so it is with the Spartans; fighting singly, they

While Herodotus in theory refers to Persians as the opposite of Xerxes and the Persians, so Leonidas and the Greeks are viewed as God-Like or Immortals. Later on in the story, Herodotus describes a man named Demaratus speaking to the Persian king Xerxes, he says, “You are now face to face with the first kingdom in Greece and with the bravest men”(Herodotus 7.209). This quote explains how Demaratus tells Xerxes that Leonidas and his men are the bravest people he knows. This claim helps supports Herodotus idea of portraying the Greeks as stronger then the Persians for it gives another person's perspective on how strong the Greeks were. Herodotus shows that not only did other people need to say how strong the Greeks where, you could also see how strong they were on the battlefield. In the text, Herodotus says,“They would turn their backs in unison as if they were in flight, where whereupon the enemy would pursue them with much noise and shouting: then the Spartans, just when the Persian were upon them, would wheel around, face the enemy and inflict heavy losses on them. Some Spartans also feel, but not may”(Herodotus

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

Another way the movie, 300, is different to real life is in the details. One of the details that they left out in the movie 300 is that the Spartans actually wore body armor. Frank Miller, the author of the book 300, explains “"I took those chest plates and leather skirts off of them for a reason. I wanted these guys to move and I wanted 'em to look good. ... Spartans, in full regalia, were

In no other city-state did women enjoy the same freedom and status as Spartan women. As a military-driven society, the Spartans realized that “regardless of gender all Spartiates had an obligation to serve the militaristic end of Sparta.” With this focus in mind, women were allowed more freedom, rights, and independence. Spartan women were

Herodotus’s superb writings help explain these war dealings in detail, which can warn of the indomitable Spartans and the overconfident Persians. Overall, Herodotus has created The Histories, a magnificent token of western history; the famous battles of the Greeks and Persians, will always be remembered because of Herodotus’s brilliant elucidations.

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

The structure of The Histories presents a problem. The secondary structure of The Histories almost obscures the primary structure, making the book difficult to follow. We are presented with two possibilities. Either Herodotus is not a good author or The Histories was not meant to be read as a book. Given the oral nature of fifth century Athens the later is far more likely. Books were likely a rarity in Herodotus' time given the difficulty in reproducing them. Given the oral

In contrast, the character Queen Gorgo stands for many female stereotypes in the movie. The queen portrays the domestic female stereotype. In the film Queen Gorgo cares for her young son and stays at home while her husband, King Leonidas, is fighting for their country. Like many of the women in the film, Queen Gorgo performs many domestic tasks such as retrieving food and water for her family, as well as looking after her child. Queen Gorgo is also a sex object. She is easily seduced by her King. She bribesone of the councilmen with sex. At times in the film the Queen, among many other women, wear little clothing. The 300 Spartans also wear little clothing in the film. Due to the lack of clothing, the Spartans show their ripped and brute physique to reinforce the male stereotype of being

Not only does Herodotus try to glorify the Spartans, he leaves out important facts regarding the thebans at the battle of thermopylae. This can be seen in diodorus account, diodorus himself explains the member of the greek mary, Diodorus states,“And there gathered at Thermopylae also a thousand Locrians, an equal number of Melians,and almost a thousand Phocians, as well as some four hundred Thebans of the other party; for the inhabitants of Thebes were divided against each other with respect to the alliance with the Persians”(Diodorus 11.4). Herodotus leaves out the important fact the the thebans were actually divided into two fractions with two different viewpoints. This is supported by a scholarly figure who states,“For the Thespians and

The advancements he made while the act of recording the past was just beginning to flourish were substantial enough to be considered still effective today. In his work called The Histories, Herodotus explores a copious amount of topics while keeping not a word impartial and remaining thoroughly unbiased. His main conflict was centered on the civilizations of the East and the West, a topic that has been illustrated over and over again by many of his successors. Although in his time technology was scarce, he took matters into his own hands and began to ask questions of the people at the places he would write about and unveil their histories, customs, artwork, and buildings.

College history students should read this novel because many of the concepts and ideals of the Spartan culture are presented and described. One of the author’s greatest strength in the novel is his ability to demonstrate the Spartan’s culture through the use of story. For example, readers can often gather from a traditional textbook that the Spartans were one of the greatest fighting forces of their time. This is brought out in the novel when Pressfield describes how “men passed beyond themselves… [and] feats of heart-stopping valor fell down from the sky like rain” (308). This is showing that the Spartans presented great courage, bravery and fearlessness in battle, which is often how they are

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.

The Spartans lived and breathed war. They learned to fight when they were children, and trained hard for it when they were adults.