Thermopylae: A Short Story

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 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

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.

Scholars, artists, authors, and filmmakers in recent years have been interested in Herodotus’s depiction of the Battle of Thermopylae, creating several different versions and interpretations of the story across multiple forms of media. The legendary battle of Thermopylae, in 480 B.C.E, demonstrated the strength, courage and bravery of the Spartan Army that went up against the Persians. The Spartans held off the Persian army of Xerxes for two days until their position was flanked by a secret trail. However, in the face of unbeatable odds and with the knowledge of a victory being almost impossible, they fought with the utmost confidence in themselves and proved that the Spartan army was one of the strongest armies in Greece, even though they were eventually defeated. Although, some of the representations of the battle in today’s media do not accurately tell the same story that Herodotus did. Frank Miller and Zack Snyder depict the Battle of Thermopylae with more action and entertainment in their versions to appeal to a larger audience. Thus, by analyzing Herodotus’ description of The Battle of Thermopylae, as well as Miller’s and Snyder’s versions, today’s media have portrayed the original story differently in order to captivate a larger audience.

The legendary Spartan King, Leonidas and 300 of his formidable royal body guards, led a coalition of Greek warriors against a much larger opponent, the Persian King Xerxes. Against the odds, the Greeks stood their ground and deterred Xerxes’ Army for three days at the Thermopylae Pass, known as the Hot Gates. Xerxes might have won the tactical battle, yet, the Spartans proved superior training, equipment, and intimate familiarity with the terrain were critical force multipliers. The Spartan power, willpower, and determination came from an undying sense of patriotism and duty. 300 Spartans and countless Greeks may have lost their lives at the Thermopylae Pass, nonetheless their courage rallied the Greek states to fight and prevail against a tyrant. The in-depth preparation, tactical expertise, loyalty, and courage these warriors displayed are the defining factors that made this battle a strategic win for the Greeks and would ultimately lead to the Persian Kings defeat.

Awakened from hellish reverie, from the sounds and the feelings of blood and of fury, blanketed in the shadow of a forgotten struggle - the warriors on the battlefield stop.

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).

I believe there was 325,000 Persian soldiers at the battle of Thermopylae, because in Document D Matthews states, “ Even so, it is unlikely that the increase could have been more than around 50%, say a total of 300,000 to 350,000.” This quote is saying Matthews thinks that the original estimate by General Maurice was too low and Herodotus’ estimate was too high. In Document D, Matthew’s states, “ If streams were dammed to create reservoirs of water, Xerxes would have been able to move an army considerably larger than the 210,000 men that General Maurice thought the land could support.” This quote is saying that if Herodotus was correct and he was alive during the Persian war, then all of the water that the soldiers would need would all run

Though Herodotus is a known Athenophile, he clearly admires the Spartans and their noble cause. (Cartledge Sparta p.111) He took this loss and through his narrative, transformed it into a win for the Greeks, and thus painting it as a major contribution to the war effort, even though it was not so. Herodotus knew of the valiance of the hopeless Spartans, and used that to depict a grand duel between the Spartans, representing all of the Hellenes, and arguably the rest of the known world, against the Persians.

They then fought with their swords. In the struggle, Leonidas king of sparta fulfilled his prophecy and died for his people and all of greece. Four times the Greeks drove the enemy away from his body trying to protect their king before the Persians finally dragged it away. It was about then that the second Persian force arrived from the mountain pass.

“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.

Pericles was known for being a powerful speaker and in the end, the Athenians took his advice and war soon followed. A year after war broke out, Pericles was once again invited to speak, this time at the customary public funeral for those who had fallen in combat. What follows is arguably the best eulogy in history. For the families of the fallen soldiers he states that they did not truly die, for “famous men have the whole earth as their memorial…not in any visible form but in people’s hearts, [where] their memory abides and grows.” Of Athens he says, “Future ages will wonder at us, as the present age wonders at us now.” Pericles is able to remain optimistic of Athens’ victory and

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

Not what Xerxes expected from a small force about to face his hundreds of thousands of troops. What Xerxes didn’t know was that to a Spartan, fighting was almost like a game to them and that death on the battle field was the most honorable way to die. The Spartans were not afraid of King Xerxes or his army so they sat and waited behind their small stone wall for the Persian horde.

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