Leonidas - Leadership Skills

A supporting role in “The 300 Spartans” is Demaratus. He was once a king of Sparta, but eventually he became a traitor and helped fight against his own men at the Battle of Thermopylae. In “The 300 Spartans” he is often seen beside the Persian king, Xerxes, telling him about Spartan culture and bravery. In the movie he says that Persia should not underestimate Spartans. Even with their small numbers he says that they are great fighters who are courageous until the end. The information that the movie says about Demaratus is true and accounts from Herodotus can confirm this. In, The Histories, Herodotus talks about the history of Demaratus. Herodotus says that Demaratus was once a king of Sparta and then was eventually forced into exile by Cleomenes. Once in exile he

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

Xeones relates the narrative of his life and experiences with the Spartans to Xerxes. It is through his eyes that the rigors of Spartan military life are revealed. He recounts his childhood, his capture by the Spartans and his interactions with the leading men and women of Sparta. He dies soon after the defeat of the Persian navy at Salamis. Alexandros and Dionekes are killed at Thermopylae with Leonidas and the other Spartans. Rooster, who is almost put to death for sedition, eventually redeems himself as a great Spartan warrior at the battle of Platea, which effectively ends the Persian invasion of Greece.

300 is a Hollywood film that focuses primarily on ancient Greece and the battle of Thermopylae as reminisced from history and partly from Frank Miller’s novel, 300. The battle of Thermopylae was a war in which the alliance of Greek city-states such as Athens and Greece went to war against the Persian King Xerxes. Moreover, the movie strictly focuses on the last stand of King Leonidas and his men. According to historical evidence, it is known that the battle between Greece and the Persians consisted of not only the

The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place simultaneously with the naval battle at Artemisium, in August or September 480 BC, at the narrow coastal pass of Thermopylae. The Persian invasion was a delayed response to the defeat of the first Persian invasion of Greece, which had been ended by the Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC.

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

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).

inquiry questions that are helping my essay are 1. What great things did Leonidas do for Sparta 2? Why

At the battle of Thermopylae Leonidas chose a narrow mountain pass to defend against the Persians which was one of the best choices one could have made. Combined with the Spartans combat formation the Phalanx the Persians stood no chance: the History.com website states "The Phalanx was at least eight ranks deep and fought as one unit. And with the hoplite shield protecting the soldier from chin to knee personally, also presented an impenetrable wall to the opposing army" (Leonidas). Leonidas knew that his armies Phalanx and the narrow mountain pass was a deadly combination. However, a big decision was still to be made. Nothing did Leonidas know that a Greece had a traitor. The traitor had lead the Persians to a secret mountain pass and were planning on flanking Leonidas' army at night. The library.flawlesslogic.com website states "Leonidas learned of this treachery in time to send away most of his men and all his allies. Then he swung his remaining force of 300 guardsmen against the enemy, with undaunted courage and grim determination worthy of their Gods" (Leonidas). Sending back most of his men Leonidas gave the Persians a fair fight and avoided the worst. Leonidas' strategies were unparalleled at his time, but every great leader has his own motives for such a

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).

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 other hand, Leonidas showed a great affiliation to his nation’s traditions and customs during his life. He never gave up in his defense for freedom because he knew it was his responsibility to stay and fight bravely for his nation. As Demaratus told Xerxes, “there is no way they will ever accept any terms of slavery” (Herodotus 176) and Leonidas never did. Demaratus also said that Spartans would oppose Xerxes “in battle even if all the other Greeks come around to your way of thinking” (Herodotus 176) and, although this was not the case, Leonidas always acted as a man of values who would never give up. In fact, he never thought about the possibility of giving up. Leonidas was a fighter, a man who would fight until his last drop of blood was spilled, a Spartan. We see, therefore, a big difference between Xerxes and Leonidas. While Xerxes is a powerful king who does not care about his culture’s trait, Leonidas was a brave king who always follows his culture’s traditions. Consequently, according to Herodotus’ point of view, Leonidas’ is the truly heroic king because he follows his culture’s traits under any circumstances.

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

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.