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Battle of marathon example
Persian empire during ancient Rome
Battle of marathon example
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In the historical era of this film, the Persians began to expand west towards Greece (“Making Europe” 80). Once the Persians had reached the Greeks, a series of conflicts between the two had arisen (“Making Europe” 80). It is told in Making Europe, “The first conflict between the Greeks and Persia began… when the Ionian Greek cities…revolted against the Persian King Darius” (80). After this, Darius decided to build up an army to attack the mainland Greeks (“Making Europe” 80). This attack on Greece, known as the Battle of Marathon, was the first Persian invasion of Greece (“Making Europe” 81). Without any help from the Spartans, the Athenians had defeated the Persians with minimal Athenian casualties, as mentioned in Making Europe, “The final toll was 6,400 Persian dead to 192 Athenians.” (81). This film is based in the Greece 480 B.C.E., after the death of King Darius, with King Xerxes as the new ruler of Persia (“Making Europe” 81). As Xerxes prepared forces for a second invasion of Greece, the Greek cities discussed the war ahead, as mentioned in Making Europe, “Greek cities met at Corinth to plan their defense” (81). For this war, it says in Making Europe, “A force of 7,000 Greeks led by 300 Spartans under King Leonidas was sent to delay the Persian advance” (82). In this second invasion, the Spartans hold off the Persians until they are eventually surrounded and killed, and as the Persians continue to invade Athens, they are eventually defeated by the Athenian Navy. The 300 Spartans opens with Xerxes army marching into Greece, and the Persian discovery of Agathon the Spartan spy. While Xerxes’ army is marching, the representatives of Greek cities have all met at Corinth to discuss their plans for defense against the Persian... ... middle of paper ... ...the use of Spartan war tactics. An example of this is when the Spartans are faced with the challenge of dealing with Xerxes cavalry. When the cavalry approaches the front line, all of the Spartans dropped to the ground, letting the cavalry hop over them, then they arose from the ground, trapping the cavalry in between lines of Spartan soldiers attacking from both sides. The 300 Spartans was filmed in 1962 (IMDb) and directed by Rudolph Maté. Movies had only started being created a few decades before this film was made, sometimes for recruitment of young men to be American soldiers. The main message of the film is to portray the story of the Spartan men who laid down their lives to protect Greece. During the year 1962, the Vietnam War was occurring, so the portrayal of the bravery of the Spartan men may have been used to sway American men to join the war on Vietnam.
The Greeks, who were made up of only 300 Spartans under the rule of Leonidas and about 7000, allied Greeks these included; Arcadia, Mantineans, Arcadian Orchomenus, Orchomenians, Corinth, Phlius, Mycenae, Boeotia, Thespians and Thebans, noted by Herodotus. Persians waited 3 days to march up to the Greeks to start the battle; they opened the battle by shooting arrows. The Greeks took it in turn to be in the front line of their phalanx and fought off wave
The Role of Themistocles in the Greek Defeat of the Persians in 480 - 479 BC.
The Persian War stemmed from the Ionian Revolt which began in 499 BC. The Ionians became a part of the Persian Empire in 546 BC, but after many years desired to break away from this forced bond. Therefore, the Ionians sought help from the mainland Greeks. The Athenians and Eretrians responded by sending ships, but eventually became more involved. "What began as a relatively minor involvement in the revolt became more serious when the Athenian and Eretrian forces aided in a surprise attack on Sardis, during which the city was set afire" (Demand 1996, 184). Although the Ionian revolt was ultimately unsuccessful, it sparked the anger of Darius, the King of Persia, that the Athenians dared to interfere with his vast empire. Herodotus writes he was so angry that he "ordered one of his servants to say to him three times every day before dinner, 'Sire, remember the Athenians" (Hdt. 5.105.2). Whether Darius really said this is questionable, but it is clear that either to exact venge...
“No man ever proves himself a good man in war unless he can endure to face the blood and the slaughter, go against the enemy and fight with his hands.” The preceding was quoted from “The Spartan creed” by the poet Tyrtaeus. There are two authors in this primary resource reading which include Tyrtaeus as well as Xenophon, whom authored “The laws and customs of the Spartans”. These two works give great detail to the Spartan society. As history has presented it, Sparta was a smaller polis and yet was one of the most, if not most, influential societies in history. What we know of this culture comes to us from excavation of its heritage as well as literary works such as these. But are these “eyes” into history factual and creditable enough to base our own interpretations of such a masterful race? These writings are great resources for Spartan’s war enhanced values and societal customs, but lack in evidence of governmental affairs and religion. This lacking may have been due to both writer’s motives for their work.
The Greek army consisted of 300 Spartans and about 5,000 to 6,000 soldiers from across Greece. Leonidas planned to use his soldiers’ better fighting skills to defeat, or at least hold off, Xerxes’ forces until the remainder of the Greek Army could arrive. Before the Persian army advanced to meet the Spartans on the battlefield they sent scouts to find their position. They found the Spartans had built a small wall of stone, nothing that could st... ... middle of paper ... ...
In 480 BC the Persian Empire was once again trying to invade ancient Greece. Under the reign of King Xerxes, an invincible army of a recorded 2 million was marching downwards to enslave all Greeks. An elite force of three hundred Spartans tackled the suicide mission of stalling the Persian wave of doom.
“A New Historicist article… teases out the many contributing causes that brought about disparate social elements in that way” (Mays, 2352). The movie shows the build-up to the battle of 300 Spartan soldiers against the armies of Persia, albeit in artistic and stylized manner. It covers the tensions and political drama that led to the clashing of men, as well as showing the historical context in which it took place. “..New Historicism doubts the accessibility of the past, insisting that all we have is discourse” (Mays, 2351). 300 doesn’t concern itself with trying to trying to access the past, but puts on an artistic representation of what happened that can be discussed in a modern
The Persian war brought massive change to the people of both Sparta and Athens. The Persians were great conquerors who crushed rebel cities with ease. King Darius sent a large force to punish Athens with its interference. The Persian army landed at Marathon where Athenian forces attacked. Though they were outnumbered 2 to 1 they emerged victorious. Athens had convinced Sparta and other city-states to join them in their battles.
The Battle of Thermopylae began in 480 BC and was a product of the Greeks attempt help defend the Ionians from the Persians. This irritated the Persian Emperor, Xerxes, because he thought of Greece as a small kingdom that had no place revolting against the Persian Empire. The Athenians sympathized with the Ionians because the Persians had also tried to invade Greece on multiple occasions. The Athenians provided feeble help to the Ionians and in retaliation the Persians struck at athens (23B). Xerxes was known to be irrational with his temper, and may have thought of his invasion as retaliation for the fact that his father, Darius the Great, was defeated at the Battle of Marathon against the Greeks. His temper was so great that at Hellas Point he had the water whipped because it would not obey him (E49). One of several Greek war leaders in the Battle of Thermopylae was Leonidas, the second born son of King Anaxandridas. It was not until his half brother was killed under controversial circumstances that Leonidas rose to power (G72). Apart from misconceptions spread by the popular film “300,” the three hundred Spartans did not go into battle alone, and were accompanied by over eight hundred allies. Nevertheless, the Persians still outnumbered the Greeks ten to one, which is why it is incredible that the Greeks were able to hold them for three days before eventually losing that specific battle. Despite losing the battle in terms of soldiers and defending greece, the battle of thermopylae was somewhat successful in that it was a demonstration of the courage of greek soldiers, impressive battle tactics,
When examining the causes for the Peloponnesian War, which was between 431-404 B.C., there are a number of causes that factored into the cause of this war. However, one of the most important causes to this war was largely due to the fact that the Spartans feared the growing power and success of Athens. The Spartans were “particularly alarmed at the growing power of Athens” (Cartwright, “Peloponnesian War”). During the Persian war in 479 BC, Athens grew fiercely strong with power with help of its many allies and continued with their no mercy attacks on Persian territories. When the Persians left Greece, Athens further enraged Sparta when they built large and tall walls around its empire in the event of an attack, which was mostly thought to be from Sparta if it happened.
Although the Spartans and Athenians fought for almost 20 years, there was a time when they lived in harmony. Almost 15 years before any disturbances the Athenians and Spartans fought together in the Persian war. During the Persian war, the Spartans were thriving in their fight against the Persians, however over time the Persians began to grow stronger. After being to lose their fighting streak, the Athenians came in to help the Spartans and bring an end to Persian dominance once and for all (The Delian League, 1). After defeating the Persians in 449 B.C., the...
The Persian War was a war between the Greeks and the Persians. Even though the Greeks were still not united they fought to defend each territory that was theirs. The Peloponnesian war was a war among the Greek city states. That is the difference among the two; one was fought against an enemy who attacked the Greece land and the other was fought among the Greeks themselves. The Persian War begun because the Greeks made a military rebellion in Asia Minor which caused the Persians to face more conflicts themselves. This was known as the Ionian Revolt. After the Ionian Revolt, the Persians more than ever wanted to take over Greece Eventually leading to the Persian War. This was the reason why the Persian war began, basically of revenge. The major parties involved in the conflict of this war were the Persians and the Greek city states.
There are times in history that something will happen and it will defy all logic. It was one of those times when a few Greek city/states joined together and defeated the invasion force of the massive Persian Empire. The Greeks were able to win the Greco-Persian War because of their naval victories over the Persians, a few key strategic victories on land, as well as the cause for which they were fighting. The naval victories were the most important contribution to the overall success against the Persians. The Persian fleet was protecting the land forces from being outflanked and after they were defeated the longer had that protection. While the Greeks had very few overall victories in battle they did have some strategic victories. The Battle of Thermopylae is an example of a strategic success for the Greeks. The morale of the Persian army was extremely affected by the stout resistance put up by King Leonidas and his fellow Spartans. The Greeks fought so hard against overwhelming odds because of what they were fighting for. They were fighting for their country and their freedom. They fought so hard because they did not want to let down the man next to them in the formation. Several things contributed to the Greeks success against the Persian invasion that happened during the Second Greco-Persian War.
...rated the superiority of the Greek long spear and armor over the weapons of the Persians, as well as the superior tactics of Miltiades and the military training of the Greek hoplites. The choice of weapons, training of warriors, selection of battle site, and timing had all worked together to help the Athenians prove that size doesn’t always matter.
Because of the tranquil times, the civilization’s society had more time to focus on writing, math, astronomy, and artistic fields, as well as trade and metallurgy. Out of all the city-states of Greece, two excelled over all the rest, Sparta and Athens. Even though they were the most advanced and strong civilizations, they were bitter enemies. While Athens focused mainly on the people’s democracy and citizen rights, Sparta were ferocious and enslaved its original inhabitants, making them unable to leave and kept under a close eye to prevent insurgence (History of Greece:The Golden Age of Greece). Additionally, Sparta had strict and trained soldiers that underwent intense physical exercising and instruction.