Leonidas at Thermopylae

Persia was a small kingdom until 539 B.C. when King Cyrus decided to expand its borders. After conquering about 8 million square kilometers over the span of Asia, Europe and Africa, the Persian Empire became the largest empire in the world. During this time of Persia’s large reign, the city of Ionia revolted against Persian rule and the cities of Athens and Eretria supported them in this revolt. In response, Persia, now led by King Darius, decided to punish Athens and Eretria for their support in

response to this raid, Darius swore to burn down Athens and Eretria. 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

Just as the men of Sparta had a predetermined job to fulfill for the city-state, the women also had obligations and demands that they had to succeed in. The woman of Sparta were highly educated and athletic. They were given the opportunity to go to school and receive an education in what historians believe subjects such history, music, drama, ready, writing, among other subjects. This gave the women of Sparta an advantage over other women in Greece, because at that the time they are believed to be

Battle of the Last 300 Spartans (Battle of Thermopylae thər-mop-i-lee[->0]) The battle was fought around August 7th or September 8th, in the year of 490 B.C. It was fought by the alliance of the Greek city-states under the power of King Leonidas of the Spartans and the Persian Empire Xerxes. A force of 7,300 Greek men marched to guard the passage of Thermopylae. King Leonidas heard that a force of Persian troops were marching to take the passage, which was vital to the Greeks. The passage

age that surrendering was a sign of weakness and cowardice and was shamed upon. Even when the Spartans were greatly outnumbered in the battle of Thermopylae, with only 300 Spartans they fought to the death, not going to surrender. Britannica.com says that, "A Spartan-led Greek army led by Leonidas tried to block the Persian advance at the pass of Thermopylae but was defeated despite brave resistance against overwhelming odds." They fought even though they knew they were going to lose, they didn't want

were Kings and Queens, and taught them from birth how to run their country well. One famous monarch was Hammurabi, a Babylonian king who is credited for having the first written laws. Sparta also had kings, who led them through battle, such as King Leonidas, who died fighting in the battle

The Roles of Greek Heroism and the Gods in the Persian Wars The Persian Wars (499-479 BC) put the Greeks in the difficult position of having to defend their country against a vast empire with an army that greatly outnumbered their own. Many city-states united in battle, although others found ways to avoid participation in the wars. The Greeks also relied on the words of Apollo to guide them, but the oracle did not always act encouragingly. The Greeks defeated the Persians in the Persian

He shows the heroic qualities of sacrifice, strength, leadership, comedy,loyalty, and insight. He shows sacrifice through his going to Thermopylae to buy time for his people to prepare for war. He shows strength by not turning back, and instead fighting the Persians to save his people. He shows leadership through leading 300 sires (Men with sons) to fight for time, and inspiring them to stay

terracing which helped them save water and soil in mountainous environments. The battle of Thermopylae was between Aug 480 and 479 BC. The battle was a war between Persia and Sparta. The Persian war was led by king Xerxes and the Spartan war was led by King Leonidas. The “Persians had around 70,000 or more men and the Greeks had around 5,200-11,200 men.”(http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/leonidas) The battle was started by the invasion of a Persian army. They fought using a phalanx which

Published in 1998, Gates of Fire, by Steven Pressfield uses vivid and authentic imagery to tell the intense story of The Battle of Thermopylae. Pressfield is a fictional and nonfictional historical writer and usually writes novels on the perspectives of warriors of ancient Greece, so he would be a reliable and qualified writer on this subject. The story is seen in the view of a warrior who was present through the battle and it is written differently from other historical novels. The insight of Xeones