The Mystery of Thermopylae

1289 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Battle of thermopylae significance

The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between alliances of Greek city states, which were led by King Leonidas of Sparta, against the Persian Empire led by Xerxes over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece. The battle took place simultaneously with the naval battle at Artemisium, in August or September 480 BC, at the pass of Thermopylae ('The Hot Gates'). The event was later recorded by Herodotus, who interviewed the surviving soldiers. When it comes to history it is important to be able to differentiate between historical fact, fiction, and over aggrandizement. One must be careful when looking at an event such as the battle of Thermopylae, because of all of the myths surrounding it. Do the Spartans really deserve all of the credit that they have been given for what they did at The Hot Gates or has the tale become an aggrandizement of their accomplishment? A recent film that goes by the name “300” may be responsible for reigniting the mythos that seems to be weaved into the threads of Spartan history.

Many attributes have made the Spartans stand out from other Greek civilizations; their military, their society, and the battles they waged. Spartans were a militaristic state in Greece, their motto was “Ether with it, or on it” (meaning ether you won the battle or died trying). Sparta was also rivals to Athens at the time and would often compete in sports or fight in skirmishes much like two rival high schools. Out of everything that Sparta was the one thing most people think of when they hear the word Sparta is the battle of Thermopylae. No other Spartan conflict has been exploited as much as the battle of Thermopylae. Contrary to what you may or may not believe the Spartans were not the o...

... middle of paper ...

...
Miller, Frank, and Lynn, Varley. “300”. Milwaukie, Or. Dark Horse, 2006. Print.

Last Stand of the 300. Dir. David Padrusch and Alexander Emmert. By David Padrusch and Matt

Koed. Perf. Jeffery A. Baker, Orion Barnes and Erin Bennett. History Channel, 2007.

Topdocumentaryfilms.com. Topdocumentaryfilms. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.

300. Dir. Zack Snyder. By Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, and Michael B. Gordon. Prod. Gianni

Nunnari, Mark Canton, Bernie Goldmann, and Jeffrey Silver. Perf. Gerard Butler and Lena Headey. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2007. DVD.

Lendering, Jona. "Themistocles." Livius. Articles on Ancient History. Ancient Warfare

Magazine. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. .

Herodotus. "The Histories of Herodotus " Google Books. Trans. Henry Cary.

Google Books. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.

"Herodotus." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia. Web. 13 Nov. 2011

Show More
Related

  • Battle Of Thermopylae Essay

    2584 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Battle of Thermopylae was the first between the Greeks and Persians during the Persian invasion of 480 – 479BC. The Greek force was very small compared to the Persians but was determined to make a stand against the huge army of 300,000 Persians suggested by modern historians compared to Herodotus account of the army consisting of 1700 000 men. The Greeks chose to defend a narrow pass, or gap, between the mountains of central Greece and the sea, called Thermopylae.

    Read More

  • Dbq Compare And Contrast Sparta And Athens

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine two countries, so different from each other, that conflicts were inevitable. Athens and Sparta were not countries, however, they were city-states of Greece with many contrasting values. Athens was the city of the arts, reading, and writing. Meanwhile, military was the only thing the on the Spartans’ minds. Athens and Sparta differ in many ways due to their governments, economies, and cultures.

    Read More

  • Sparta Dbq Analysis

    554 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sparta was known for being strong, but was it really? In case you don’t know, Sparta was a Greek city-state. Sparta only focused on war. Spartans were only taught the basics of other topics. Spartans were trained for 13 years just to fight. Reading and writing were only taught in Sparta for practical reasons. The strengths didn’t outweigh the weaknesses. There were more weaknesses to Sparta than there were strengths. The strengths of Sparta didn’t outweigh the weaknesses for three reasons. The first reason is that the babies were killed just if they looked weak. The second reason is that the Spartans barely new anything about other topics (math, reading, writing, etc). The third and final reason is that the helots outnumbered the Spartans 50 to 1.

    Read More

  • America, the Great Depression, and The Cinderella Man

    1787 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cinderella Man. Prod. Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. Perf. Paul Giamatti, RENEE - ACTRESS ZELLWEGER, and Russell Crowe. Universal Pictures, 2005. DVD.

    Read More

  • Social Independence and Prejudice in Harrison Bergeron and V for Vendetta

    1417 Words  | 3 Pages

    V for Vendetta Dir. James McTeigue. Perf. Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea and John Hurt. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2006. Film

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Battle of Thermopylae

    1519 Words  | 4 Pages

    The battle of Thermopylae was the Greek’s first stand against the massive army of King Xerxes, and was the most influential battle of the entire war. Up to this point, the Persian army was seen as too massive and powerful to be stopped. The once warring city-states of Greece knew they couldn’t stand against the Persians alone, and knew in order to defend their homeland they would have to unite. A unity of command was agreed upon; King Leonidas of Sparta was chosen to lead the Greek forces. He was chosen to lead because of the unsurpassed warring abilities the Spartans were so well known for made him perfect for the objective of stopping the Persians.

    Read More

  • Why the Greeks Won the Greco-Persian War

    1577 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Greeks were able to repel the overwhelming and seemly unstoppable Persian Empire. They were able to do so because of the victories won thanks to the Athenian navy in the Aegean Sea, the hard fought and strategically important battles that the Spartans just would not give up during and they were able to put aside their differences in order to face the greater threat for the good or their culture. Each major city/state contributed what it was good at. It was a nice display of teamwork.

    Read More

  • Psychology Applied to John Q. Archibald

    866 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Q. Dir. Nick Cassavetes. By James Kearns. Perf. Denzel Washington. New Line Cinema, 2002. DVD.

    Read More

  • Whence, Comest Romantic Comedies: The History of Romantic Comedies

    1435 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Notebook. Dir. Nick Cassavetes. Pert. Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, Gena Rowlands. New Line Cinema, 2004. DVD.

    Read More

  • Sparta vs. Athens

    2029 Words  | 5 Pages

    The cultures of two of the most prominent Greek poleis, Athens and Sparta, were demonstrated first in the Athenian battle at Marathon against the Persian Empire in 490 BC, in which the Athenians commanded the battle through a democratic command, separated from the enemy by the freedom of the people, and then by the Spartans in 480 BC at the battle at Thermopylae (in the second Persian invasion), in which the Spartans showed their will to never retreat from the enemy in their fight to their deaths. In Sparta, while all citizens were socially equal, no man having more than another, the amount of political power ranged greatly from man to man. In Athens, while all men had equal political power and opportunities, the wealth ranged greatly from the rich plantation owners to the poor farmers. This contrast of political power in comparison to social equality had a presence in both battles, greatly dictating how each polis fought in the battle.

    Read More

  • Frank Miller's 300 the Movie: From The Pages of a Comic Book to the Silver Screen

    1036 Words  | 3 Pages

    Frank Miller’s 300 the movie is probably the few adaptations of comic books to films that has managed to stay true to the original source and the success the movie 300 made globally is a testament of such, however in every successful film there is always the downsides of it especially if the original source is a comic book and therefore there is the expectations between the comic reader audience and the cinema audience.

    Read More

  • The Flood Literary Analysis: Noah And The Flood

    2520 Words  | 6 Pages

    Noah. Dir. Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel, Niko Henrichon, and Nicolas Sénégas. Paramount Pictures, Regency Enterprises, 2014. Film.

    Read More

  • War Of Thermopylae Analysis

    535 Words  | 2 Pages

    This video was about the Greeks and the Persian and the war of Thermopylae. This video shows how big the Persian Empire was and how massive their army was and also how good the army was. This video also shows how rough it was to be a male in Sparta. It also talks about how Grease was not a unified country during this time period, and how they where constantly fighting each other. It shows how this fight against the Persians made grease come together and fight to save the city-state of Athens. I like this video because it goes in to detail about went on during these battles. I really like this because in the history classes that I have been in they kind of just breeze though it. They never really have time to go into detail like this video. Another reason I like this is because its not like sitting in a classroom where you listen to you teacher tell you about what happened, and he or she may show paintings of what it may

    Read More

  • Essay On The Hunger Games Movie

    641 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Hunger Games. Dir. Gary Ross. Perf. Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. Lionsgate, 2012. DVD.

    Read More

  • This Is Sparta

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    Zack Snyder’s “300” has often been criticized a lot. For most part, it had been claimed that the movie can hardly be labelled credible, and that it only focused on entertainment and visual effects. We should consider the fact that the movie warns the audience that it had solely been based on a graphic novel. I started

    Read More

More about The Mystery of Thermopylae

Open Document