Battle Of Thermopylae: A Brief Analysis Of Film

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

Xeones joins the Spartan military and becomes a squire he starts to serve his whole country rather than his family and his home. When Sparta learned of the Persian invasion, they sent out a small force of three hundred troops to slow the enemy’s advance. “By Zeus and Eros, by Athena Protectress and Artemis Upright, by the Muses and all the gods and heroes who defend Lakedaemon and by the blood of my own flesh,

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.

Although many historical filmmakers alter some events and use fiction as a tool in providing an accurate historical representation, the makers of “The

The Persian Wars were a series of destructive and malevolent battles which occurred in the time frame of 490B.C and 480 – 479B.C. The Greek victory over the Persians in the Persian Wars cannot be attributed to only one factor, more it was a commixture of factors. Such factors include unity, leadership, strategy, tactics and the pre-eminence of the Greek soldier. Each contributing factor was to play a distinctive and pivotal role in the various battles to come, which ultimately would lead to the subsequent demise of the Persians.

In this paper I will discuss the play, The Persians, produced by the Greek playwright Aeschylus which was performed in 472 B.C. Throughout this paper I will be discussing how the battle of Salamis was viewed by the Persians as well as why the Greeks were able to win at Salamis and what it tells us about Xerxes according to Aeschylus. The play opens with a chorus of Persian elders anxiously awaiting news Xerxes’ expedition against the Greeks. They are soon joined by the Queen who who expresses her worry over the outcome of her son’s expedition. A messenger soon arrives and gives the Queen and elders a description of the battle of Salamis and its outcome. The messenger then lists off all of the generals who have died and retells the gruesome battle story from his view as the Greek soldiers charged into battle. The Queen then commands the chorus to summon the ghost of her former husband, Darius the Great. When he hears of the defeat his

Themistocles was responsible for the Greek victory in the Persian wars to a considerable extent. The key to Athens' strength in the 5th Century BC was in this general and statesman and therefore, as Greek victory relied so heavily on Athens, Themistocles vitally contributed to the outcome of the Persian king’s invasion of 480-479 BC. His early life reflects the character and skills developed that were responsible for these contributions. Five pivotal roles he undertook were of varying degrees responsible for Greece’s success against Xerxes. Themistocles possessed an incredible foresight

will learn why Leonidas was chosen to be king of Sparta and commander of the Spartan military. The

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).

The Battle of Thermopylae took place simultaneously with the naval battle at Artemisium, in August 480 BC, at the narrow coastal pass of Thermopylae, which was also known as "The Hot Gates". The Persian invasion was in fact a delayed response to the defeat of their first attempt, it ended with the Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. It was made clear with his strategy that Xerxes' expedition was undoubtedly directed towards Athens. However, his actual intent was to succeed in the conquest of Greece, and if it were to come into fruition, the Persian Empire could effortlessly spread into Europe. At the Battle of Marathon, King Darius attacked the Athenian and Ionian armies.

Battle of Thermopylae 480 a. Battle that happened approximately 2,500 years ago and had a short duration of only 7 days, of which 3 days were fighting. The battle of Thermopylae took place during the Second Medical War, when the Greek polis led by Sparta and Athens decided to unite to face the invasion of the Persian Empire by Xerxes I. The Battle of Thermopylae is an icon in Western culture, it appears in numerous writings, poems, songs, stories, films and television. Its didactic use is innumerable since it appears constantly in educational articles. After the battle, the culture of Sparta has become an object of inspiration and emulation throughout the world, creating several monuments in favor of the battle. Battle of Salamis

After the battle of Marathon, Darius had become sick and passed away. His son Xerxes succeeded the throne. Xerxes was “no way eager to launch an invasion of Greece” (Hdt 7.5) but was later convinced after being visited by a phantom in a dream. I believe that Xerxes was the downfall of the Persians because he led his army into a battle that he should not have, even Persian soldiers realized they were going to lose the war and that a large number of them would die. Xerxes led the Persian fleet towards Thermopylae and “as the Persians neared Thermopylae and Artemisium, major confrontation both on land and sea began to take shape” (Romm p. 139). This is the battle where Sparta’s King Leonidas died after a three-day fight. While this battle was

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 Persian army takes Athens. Xerxes holds the head of Leonidas boastfully over the city as his men lay waste to the people and burn everything down. He continues to brag about his victory and states that Themistocles was nothing but a coward. Ephialtes returns to Xerxes and Artemisia to report that the Greeks are continuing to take their battle back into the sea, led again by Themistocles. Hearing his name and realizing he 's not dead, Artemisia vows to end the Athenians once and for all. She leaves to prepare her command.

My film I watched was Gladiator. It was an action movie as opposed to a documentary about war. It was based in Rome in the early times.