Leonidas And The 300 Analysis

Leonidas and the 300 fought the Persians at Thermopylae even though they knew they would lose because they were born and trained to fight and wanted to protect their city state. Leonidas and the 300 chose to confront the Persian army at Thermopylae because they thought their Hoplite Phalanx was superior, Sparta was focused on being the most powerful military, And the persians were trying to take their land.

Leonidas and the 300 chose to fight the Persian army at Thermopylae because they thought their hoplite phalanx was superior. “The hoplite, went into battle in a tight-knit block, eight or more ranks deep, with men close on his left and right. Together the warrior and his comrades constituted the phalanx… Fighting men acted as a body, not

as individuals or temporary bands.” (Victor Davis Hanson, Green book, pg. 46). The hoplite phalanx was a new revolutionary war tactic that the Spartan 300 and Leonidas decided to use because they were very strong individually, but they were trained so well, they could work together as one great massive force. The Spartan 300 used this formation because they knew they had the best chance to kill the most Persians they could because the hoplite phalanx was the best war tactic at the time. The Spartans also used the Phalanx because they were trained so well, that they could coordinate and make one unit that could kill thousands of persians. The hoplite phalanx worked so well because the spartans were so well militarily trained, they could push back countless Persians and kill them.
The unique character of spartans that separates them from other Greek City-states is they had the most powerful military because they started training at a young age, and they were trained to be the toughest people. “At the age of seven, a Spartan boy came directly under control of the city” (Amos and Lang, Green book, pg.67). There was a very rigorous training that the kids had to go through starting at a young age. The spartan kids were taken from their families at a very young age and they had to go to a military school, where they would have to steal food to be fed, and if they were caught the punishments might kill the weak kids. The spartans were trained to be the strongest soldiers on the battlefield and they were taught how to fight in many ways. “They learned reading and writing for basic needs, but all the rest of their education was to make them well-disciplined and steadfast in hardship and victorious in battle. (Amos and Lang, Green book, pg.67). In conclusion, the Spartans took their stand against Persia because they were so powerful and trained, they knew they were able to take out a good portion of the Persians.
Leonidas and the Spartans were so determined to oppose their invasion of Greece because the Greeks were very competitive, and the Persians were trying to take their land.

“Some of whom claimed to be descendants of those very heroes, fought in the phalanx. The answer begins with the need to reconcile the...competitiveness of the Greeks, so powerful a force in [the Iliad], to the practicalities of fighting in the real world.” (Victor Davis Hanson, Green book, pg. 49). Greeks were very competitive natured, so they tried to win all the battles they could and especially wanted to beat Persia because they were trying to take over Greece. They also wanted to defeat Persia because Persia was the biggest fighting force at the time. “[At Thermopylae] the Persians moved against the Greeks, and the Greeks, fighting city by city in relays, for two days threw them back.”(Victor Davis Hanson, Green book, pg. 53). The Greeks wanted to beat the persians because the Persians were destroying all of the cities that did not accept Persian rule. “It is also said, however, that Leonidas himself sent most of [the other Greeks] away as he was worried that all of them might otherwise be killed.”(Victor Davis Hanson, Green book, pg. 32). The Spartans hated the Persians so much because the Persians were almost the opposite of the Spartans. The Spartans took a stand by themselves and sent the other Greeks home because they knew they would die, but they wanted to die in glory protecting their

Polis.
In conclusion, Leonidas and the 300 confronted the Persians at thermopylae because they thought they could kill lots of Persians with a few Spartans using the Hoplite Phalanx. They also battled the Persians at Thermopylae because they were focused on having the best military. Finally, the Spartans fought the 180,000 Persians because the Persians were taking their land and trying to destroy their polis, so Spartans had to protect it.