ipl-logo

Battle Of Thermopylae Essay

1084 Words5 Pages

The battle of Thermopylae was between the Greeks and the Persian armies. With superior strategy the Greeks try to hold the ground of Thermopylae with only seven thousand men up against over three hundred thousand of the Persian army. This battle shows using terrain, discipline and armor can play a huge part of a battle. Xerxes the leader of Persia wanted to take over Athens either to expand his rule more western of the fact that Athens backed out of their alliance more than 25 years ago. Either way Xerxes was determined to conquer Athens. The Greek army of seven thousand soldiers followed by three hundred Spartans marched to Thermopylae. Spartans were the main fighting force since they grew up and they knew were to be soldiers. Since the …show more content…

It was a narrow pass that would lead to Athens and this would be vital ground because it would be a straight shot to Athens after that. By holding this part of Thermopylae would take the numbers out of the fight because only a certain amount of people could fight at one time. This would play huge for the Spartans because of their fighting style by using phalanx. The Persians would rush forward only to be pushed back by the Greeks. At the very beginning Xerxes orders nearly five thousand soldiers to fire arrows at the Greeks. This did little to no damage at all, and arrows were bouncing off shields and helmets. When the Persian army crash it didn’t move because of the strong phalanx and when it’s linked together it can take a lot of force without taking any damage. Once they stop the Persian charge the Spartans disciplined army goes on the offensive. The Spartans counterattack offers spear attacks from below and above the phalanx. The Persian army is not made for this kind of battle they are built for speed and this is an advantage for the Spartans who are built for this exact kind of battle. So using the terrain to the advantage they have the upper hand in the beginning. Stuck in the narrow pass the Persians can’t maneuver or utilize their cavalry. So think of the phalanx as a big rock and the Persians as waves, so they

Show More
Related
251 Words | 2 Pages

★ The slaves made everything and did everything that was a normal chore or job. They made the food and made the gear and weapons. Prior to Thermopylae they believed in polytheistic that means they believed in many different gods. Orical was presented to the Spartans that a king must die before greece won against Persia. They carried a shield with a symbol of their home town.

Read More
1047 Words | 5 Pages

Athens had the means to support the war due to the immense wealth and the resources remitted from Athenian colonies and allies. He figured that they would outlast the Spartans do to their limited wealth and resource base available to them. To ensure that the means of Athens were maintained, she was required “to keep a tight rein on their allies” since without their allies the support being provided and remittance of resources would dry up. During the Spartan raids into Attica in attempts to draw out the Athenian army, the ever present risk that was present to answer the raids due to the honor which called the people to defending their homes and lands. Pericles minimized the risk by not calling an assembly or meeting the people, which could reverse the strategy that he outlined.

Read More
139 Words | 1 Pages

The Persian army was after Athens. Thermopylae was the gate way to Greece. Sparta lived for war the was lasted for ten days. 6 days waiting and 4 days. Fighting in a line of a rectangle formation over 300 Spartans.

Read More
864 Words | 4 Pages

There were 300 Spartans commanded by their king, Leonidas and 6,000 soldiers from other city-states against the Persian army of 100,000 men. The small Greek force held their position for two days till a Greek traitor told Xerxes of another path that was used by local people. Using this pass, the Persians passed through the mountains in secret and trapped the Greeks from the front and behind. On the third day, King Leonidas chose to stay to fight to the end and told the rest of the city-states to run while they still could but the Spartan army would die till the end. Although the Battle of Thermopylae was lost it showed that the Spartans were not afraid of the Persians and brought hope to the rest of the Greek city-states.

Read More
1110 Words | 5 Pages

The Greeks were fighting on their own land. Fighting for their home. This made the war mean a tremendous amount more to the Greeks than it did to the Persians. Many of the Persian soldiers had been forced to fight at Marathons while the Greeks were ready to die to defend their homeland. On the other hand, One of the major disadvantages for the Greeks during the Battle of Marathon was that the Spartans were not around to fight the battle.

Read More
418 Words | 2 Pages

and the location was chosen by the Persians because they believed it gave them the upper hand. Themistocles fought in this battle and eventually “the work he did saved Athens during the Persian Wars,” (Green, pg. 26), and he was elected the “Chief Archon of Athens,” which means he was the chief of the nine magistrates in Athens. During the battle, neither the Athenians or Persians moved for several days. The Athenians were hoping the Spartans would show up to assist them in the battle and that is why they were waiting. Then Miltiades heard that the Persian cavalry was away and this is when the Athenians decided it was time to engage because it was possible that they stood a chance.

Read More
820 Words | 4 Pages

They knew that they must make an attempt to try and stop the Persian army from proceeding to invade the rest of Greece. So they Greek cities decided to come together and put their rivalries off to the side to stop the enemy. Their army consisted of 300 spartans, and 6000-7000 soldiers from other greek cities, all led by the mighty King Leonidas. Leonidas and his men settled in Central Greece on a narrow pass known as the Thermopylae Pass. Their plan was to stay in the tight area so that they would be able to avoid confronting the entire army, and squeze toward them causing the persians to run into the Greek army.

Read More
286 Words | 2 Pages

John Steinbeck was a famous American writer where he wrote many nonfiction stories that attract people from all ages. Based on Warren French, Steinbeck was a shy and personal person who he became a journalist and later an author during and after the Great Depression. As a journalist, he travelled to many places and was described in the book; Steinbeck talked to a few migrants whom they escaped to the Dust Bowl to nearby states to find jobs. This piece of information uncovers the truth behind why Steinbeck wrote the The Grapes of Wrath due to the true emotional and experiences that he heard as a journalist from the true victims.

Read More
1477 Words | 6 Pages

Through the evidence and primary sources that are available it can be shown why the Athenian won this battle. The Athenians won because they used superior military tactics, were better outfitted and had information about the military tactics of the persian. In this essay the primary source of

Read More
676 Words | 3 Pages

It proudly portrays their bravery, defiance when overwhelmed, and an immense amount of sacrifice. The Battle of Thermopylae had countless reasons to be of importance to Greece and Western civilization. For one the battle stood as a symbol of resistance, the stand of the Spartans symbolizes the Greek spirit of resistance against totalitarianism. Not only did their sacrifice mean wonders to them, it also was a grave inspiration for other Greek city-states to unite against the Persians. This battle also played a strategic role in delaying the Persian invasion.

Read More
703 Words | 3 Pages

DOK Level 2 – Question: Summarize how Spartans laid the groundwork for military principles used in the modern world. One of the ways the Spartans laid the groundwork for military values used in the modern world is when the 300 Spartans stood up against the Persians at the Battle of Thermopylae, which symbolized selflessness, which is used in the military today to show bravery, honor and responsibility. The second way that Spartans

Read More
557 Words | 3 Pages

The Persians have a vastly bigger army than the Greeks do. According to Herodotus’ estimation, there were three hundred thousand Greeks fighting the 5,283,220 soldiers brought by Xerxes. (7.184&186) An army of that size can seize almost any land they want.

Read More
348 Words | 2 Pages

Sparta thought that attacking the productive land of Attica, it would pressurize Athens to come forward to the battle in a formal manner. Athens 's army was definitely inferior to Sparta and allies. But this attack did not have much effect of Athens 's because; their food supply

Read More
500 Words | 2 Pages

Suffocating them as they could not breathe. We continue on with our battle, killing every Persians in sight. After 15 minutes of mayhem, we heard a loud voice exclaiming ‘shoot!’. We then looked at the sky, we couldn’t see the sun as thousands of arrows were falling right towards us. Leonidas immediately shouts ’Phalanx position’.

Read More
645 Words | 3 Pages

The Persians had the advantage with numbers and land, so Parmenion pushed Alexander to attack at night; however, Alexander refused because it would be stealing the victory. Darius feared the night attack, and kept his troops up all night, adding to their fatigue. [In the tale of the battle, it is said that Alexander was so overconfident, that he nearly overslept.] The next day, Macedonian troops attacked with the first mercenaries used by Alexander. Just like in the battle of Gaugamela, Parmenion defended the left, while Alexander attacked in a diamond shape from the right.

Read More

More about Battle Of Thermopylae Essay

Related Topics

Open Document