Thermopylae Research Paper

The first battle of the Persian War, the Battle of Marathon, took place in 490 BC. King Darius sent troops to Greece which stopped at each Greek island along the way demanding "earth and water," which both literally and symbolically represented submission to the Persian empire. The Battle of Marathon exemplifies the heroic action of the Greeks. The Athenians, led by one of their ten generals, Miltiades, unflinchingly faced the Persians, an army over twice the size of theirs, and triumphed. The Athenians won the Battle of Marathon because they employed superior military strategy. There are some discrepancies, however, between different literary sources about how the Greeks fought the Battle of Marathon. For instance, Herodotus claims that the ten Athenian generals could not decide whether to go into battle. He writes that Miltiades talked the other generals into fighting. Herodotus writes that they waited for days for Miltiades to lead the army, and then they went into battle (Hdt. 6.110-111.2). According to Nancy Demand, however, Herodotus, unaware of the right of the polemarch to make all final decisions, wrote that Miltiades decided when to lead the men into battle, because the longer they delayed the battle, the better chance the Athenians had that the Spartans would make it in time to help. Regardless of any conflict between sources, the heroism of the Athenians cannot be denied. Marathon represents "the victory of a small contingent of men fighting

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

Themistocles was aware that the only way to defeat the Persians was to cut of their naval power, so he devised a plan. He sent a slave to the Persians with a message that they were escaping, and the Persians sent ships to meet there escapees. The Athenian ships were prepared to face them. Their specialty in sea battles, along with the narrowness and swirls of the sea gave the Athenians an advantage. This strategy is what ultimately brought victory to the Greeks, as it left the Persians without a supply line and weakened their forces. The two events, the battle at Marathon and the battle at Salamis, showed that Athens was a great contributor to the war, both land and sea.

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 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.

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.

Fitzgerald, Peter. "The Battle of Thermopylae Facts." The Battle of Thermopylae Facts | Ancient Wars. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.

“In 480, at last, the Persian horde and armada by sea set off west.” (pg117) Though one of the most heroic moments of the Persian war is when the unsuccessful defense of the pass of Thermopylae that which had 7,000 or more men and Leonidas a mere 300 Spartans for two days.

Throughout history the most renowned stories about war are those about small armies defeating much larger and powerful armies through the use of intelligent tactics and strategies. Such as in the battle of Salamis, Thermopylae and Marathon, where the much larger Persian armies threatened to overrun the Greek city states, but they were repelled by the smaller armies of Greek soldiers who use terrain and combat tactics to their advantage, repelling the attacks and securing the future of the birthplace of democracy for many years.

The Battle of Thermopylae, it is a story that has been told throughout the centuries. Many have heard of this battle for democracy whether to may be through media or just reading books, which contain information on the battle. This was a battle that took place in 480 BCE, when the mighty Persian Empire invades the free city states of Greece. Therefore in contradiction to this 300 Spartans, and a few other Greeks, assembled to defend the pass at Thermopylae, they did this knowing that death was imminent. This story has brought courage to many and has showed how the 300 Spartans sacrificed everything they had in order to preserve democracy. On that day, if Persia managed to conquer the city-states of Greece, then much of Greek culture would

The battle of Thermopylae was the Persian and Greek war of 480 BC. Due to all of Greece knowing of Xerxes invasion, they needed to put aside their rivalries toward one another, and so the cities all agreed to let the Spartans lead their army in battle. Greece giving 6,000 of their best, and with 300 Spartans lead by their king Leonidas. So they set to guard a gap between two large mountains of central Greece which was known as Thermopylae. Xerxes army soon arrived one of his tactics was have his archer fire multiple arrows at the Greeks as it was said that the arrows would be so dense it darken the sun but this strategy would prove to be ineffective against them would love to be fighting in the shade.

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

Around 480 BC, Spartan King Leonida, 300 Spartans and their allies, made a sacrificial last stand at Thermopylae against King Xerxes and the Persians. King Xerxes demanded the surrender of the Greek weapons, to which King Leonida replied, "Molon Labe" or "Come and take them." General Themistocles lead the Athenian Navy to victory over the Persian Navy at battle of Salamis. General Themistocles used many tricks to the Persians into battle in the narrow straits of Salamis where the Athenians can take advantage. Another Persian War, the Athenians retreat and the Persians are lead by Xerxes to destroy Athens; but the Greek forces won a major naval battle in

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

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