Herodotus 's Depiction Of The Battle Of Thermopylae

Herodotus Portrays Leonidas and the Spartans as brave and strong throughout the text because Leonidas is a Greek descent as well as Herodotus himself. In the reading of The History of Herodotus, one of the first things Herodotus states is Leonidas’ ancestors. He states, “Now Leonidas was the son of Anaxandridas, who was the son of Leo, who was the son of Eurycratidas, who was the son of Anaxander, who was the son of Eurycrates...who was the son of Hyllus, who was the son of Hercules. Leonidas had come to be king of Sparta quite unexpectedly(Herodotus 7.204). Herodotus explains how Leonidas is Greek because he is a descendant of the Greek God Hercules. This is an important aspect to consider because It is easy for Herodotus to portray Leonidas and the Spartans as

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.

Firstly, the story of the 300 Spartans. The movie 300 is based off of the historic Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. The movie begins with the King of Sparta holding a newborn baby over a cliff. It next shows the spartan men training and preparing for battle at an early age. Sparta was a Greek city which houses the finest warriors, and 300 of these soldiers are chosen to intercept the Persians in the mountain pass of Thermopylae. The Persian King Xerxes lead an Army exceeding over 100,000 men to Greece and was confronted by 300 Spartans. Xerxes waited 10 days for King Leonidas to surrender or withdraw. Tremendously outnumbered, the Greeks held back the enemy for three days before falling to the Persian army. A local shepherd named Ephialtes abandoned the Spartans to inform Xerxes of a separate path through Thermopylae, which the Persians could use to outflank the Greeks (Snyder et al 0-1:57:00).

Herodotus shows the foreshadowing and betrayal of theban are an important aspect of the battle of thermopylae because he wanted leonidas and the Spartans to have all the glory. This idea is also supported by a scholarly article that states,“Herodotus [7.220.5] gives Leonidas another motive, which historians have largely disregarded: he wished to win glory for himself and his Spartiates which he did not want to share with his allies, and so he sent them away while he himself remained”(Evans 234). Leonidas proved that wanting all the glory for himself so he sends the thebans away and he makes the statement clear that honor and glory is part of the Spartan honor code and he was not willing to give that up. This idea is supported one last time

King Leonidas, a superior tactician, accurately assessed the Persian army’s motivations and capabilities and decided to use the natural terrain to his advantage. Assuming that the Persians would challenge the Greek forces from their staging point, derived from pervious knowledge during the Battle of Marathon and the Persians encampment location, King Leonidas had chosen to eventually maneuver his forces into the Pass of Thermopylae, also known as Hellespont; saddled between a mountain range and the Gulf of Maliakos (Frye, 2006). Hellespont would provide the Spartans some significant tactical advantages, where within the pass, at its narrowest portion which was only 50 feet wide; countering the Persian greatest strength of archery and mounted horsemen (Frye, 2006).

Already the Thessalians had gone over to the Persian side, but some Greek cities had come together and forgotten their usual rivalries, determining to stop the Persian invasion. These cities agreed that Sparta would lead the Greek army, as her reputation in war was unmatched by any other Greek state."Spartans were combing their hair and exercising. However, the king was warned not to misread this information: the Spartans were preparing to fight to the death and were men of great bravery”.The battle of Thermopylae was the first between the Persians and Greeks during the

“Gates of Fire” by Steven Pressfield is a historical fiction novel that describes the Spartans at The Battle of Thermopylae. The story is told from the perspective of the only survivor, Xeones, who is recovered and captured by the Persian Empire. Some argue that this novel is not a great source for 21st-century history students, and some also argue that this novel should not be read in a classroom setting due to its lack of historical content. Several even question the novel’s historical accuracy and find it to be no better than a traditional textbook. Although this novel is classified as fiction, a literary works of imagination, Pressfield’s description of the Spartans makes this novel a creditable source for students and makes it appropriate to read in a college environment.

But according to most historians, the aim at Thermopylae was to hold the Persian army back while the Greece forces ready themselves at the Isthmus. Buckley states “The Persian army could not be defeated in such a position, but it’s advance could be held up indefinately.” This shows that the Greeks had a plan and knew exactly what they were doing. Leonidas’ decision to stay and die with the 300 spartans is said to have been in the vain hope that the Persian force that had travelled down the path might itself be trapped between the 300 Spartans and the main Greek force south of Thermopylae. This shows unity between the Greek states against

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” This quote by G.K. Chesterton perfectly illustrates the Spartans and their courageous leader King Leonidas. The Spartans displayed brilliant determination and resiliency, even with death knocking on their door. While the Persians showed slyness and perseverance, when faced with adversity. Greece has a long and bloody history, the Spartans and Persians have had a large part in that, and the Battle of Thermopylae was one of the bloodiest in Greek history.

The Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC was between the Spartans and the Persians. King Leonidas of Sparta was declared to lead his men to march to the pass of Thermopylae to guard the pass from the Greek city-states. Leonidas went to the Oracle to find out what was going to happen in the battle. The oracle revealed that he was going to die. He knew that he would not be the only one dying, but he also knew that the sons of his men would continue their lineage. While the Spartans marched to the pass, they acquired more men from neighboring Greek city-states. The Persians were going through the pass to get to the Greek city-states to conquer them,

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.

On the morning of September 17, 480 B.C, the day known throughout history and Hollywood as the last stand of the 300 Spartans. King Leonidas and the brave Spartans faced imminent death as they fought the overwhelming 200,000 Persian soldiers. History sees this event as the battle of Thermopalae, but to Hollywood and most viewers it is better known as the movie- 300 directed by Zack Snider. The movie is very unique as it brings to light the events leading up to the one of the greatest last stands in history displayed by the Greeks. But what makes the movie memorable is the Speech given by Dilios played by actor David Wenham in the final scene. Dilios 's speech captures the attention of many for expressing passion, logic, and credibility to call his Greek army to arms as they charge against the Persians facing imminent doom.