Lack of Influence
Simply imagine 20,000 men aged 20-60, armed with nothing but a short sword, 10-foot spear, and shield. Those men will soon either kill or be killed. They fight for their honor alone; Military was important in Ancient Greece, and continues to be today. While Ancient Greeks had the best military of the time, it had no influence on the military of today in strategy, weapons or the legends.
The ancient Greeks had an incredibly strong military strategy; the phalanx is still talked about today. The legendary Phalanx would consist of Greek infantry, called hoplites, carrying spears, all protecting each other and present a wall of shields and spear points towards their enemies (Greek Warriors, 2011). This made the Phalanx virtually indestructible, and started the notion of fighting for your brother and the man next to you. It was one of the major players in the role of Greek expansion and military strategy. The first three rows of the Phalanx were able to stab at opponents with their spears the protruded from behind the shields, while the back braced the front and prevented
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The US military is incredibly complex, with 24 ranks in the infantry alone, and are very well known for discipline and organization (Dolan; Clarke 2012). Obviously the US military is much more complex and advanced than the Greeks. Modern Military works as one, as a well-organized, effective, and disciplined team. Working as a team means that they can get more done in a shorter amount of time with less resources. It is taking the best of everyone, and combining it to form a majorly effective strategy. Today killing ISIS is normal and in ancient Greece, the status quo was against Persians, and the tools are incredibly
Sparta was not going to let itself being conquered or their freedom being taken away. Some battles that Spartans were known for were Thermopylae and Plataea in the 5th century BC. The battle of Thermopylae was the first battle between the Persians and the Greeks; the Persian army was vast compared to the small Greek and Spartan armies. Persian King Xerxes had already the Thessalains in the Persian side but the rest of the Greek city-states banded together and put Sparta in charge of the Greek army. The Greeks had to defend a narrow pass that could lead the Persians into Greece from the North, this pass was called Thermopylae.
Herodotus explains how the Spartans carried on defending Greece even though they were in distress from the continuous shooting of arrows form the Persians. This was not a situation the Spartans were used to as they were more skilled in close combat, whereas the Median soldiers were highly skilled archmen. Therefore, the Spartans should be given more credit than the Athenians for holding the line even in conditions they were not used to, under severe distress. However, the passage later goes on to reveal that the Spartans needed the Athenians help as they were only holding the line. They had no way to penetrate the Persians barricade that they built with their wicker shields and without the Athenians there was not much they could do.
Sparta was one of the most powerful Greek poleis of its time. Their polis was incredibly developed in multiple categories such as their military, government, and economy. Over the course of the polis' existence, their military was always known as a staple in their power and superiority. Their military made them as feared as they were and essentially as powerful as they were, and separated them from other Greek poleis such as Athens. The question is, how were the Spartans able to maintain such a strong military?
There have been countless battles and wars in the ancient world that have astonished historians. Thousands of bloody, inhuman battles that were fought by opposing sides. None of which have astonished historians like the battle of Marathon between the Greeks and Persians. “The battle of Marathon is one of history's most famous military engagements”(Stern, 11) according to William Stearns based off of Herodotus account. The war between the Persians and the Greeks was an extremely unique war for its time period.
Ancient Greece has impacted many civilizations through philosophy, government, art and architecture. Their ideas and concepts are still widely used today and have benefited many people's lives. The Ancient Greek civilization made many contributions to the Western World. Ancient Greek philosophers have influenced areas of modern thought. Philosophy is the study of ideas, nature and the meaning of life.
The Greek Warriors had long spears called doru. They had a shield that they carried in their left hand. They held their shields up so they couldn’t get hit with incoming arrows. They also used specific military tactics to organize their military. They had to wear helmets so they didn’t get hurt.
Their shield played a big part also because it was made out of brass and reinforced with 3 inches of wood. The main idea of the phalanx formation was to be an impenetrable wall as a unit and it played a huge part in the Battle of Thermopylae, but in the end the Spartan Army lost because they were simply outnumbered by the Persian which is what the movie 300 with Gerard Butler is based on. During the training process they would have them constantly making the phalanx and having other soldiers trying to break
Athens and Sparta, located between the Aegean and the Ionian Sea, allied with each other in the Greco-Persian war. Due to the advanced and powerful navy of Athens incorporation with the well-built army of Sparta, they gained victory over the Persian Empire. After the victory, Athens gained wealth and dominance over the other Greek societies causing tensions between Sparta. They both share similarities towards their cultural background but had different views in creating an ideal society in addition to their state’s place in the world. Moreover, they differ from the concepts of a well trained or educated society and a well built military, but share similarities in their government format.
What are two Greek city-states that you know? I know two popular city-states of Ancient Greece: Sparta and Athens. Sparta and Athens are known as city-state with many contrasting beliefs. Sparta was a strict military society while Athens was a free democracy. Sparta prohibited any new ideas while Athens accepted it.
The Persian soldiers could easily overpower the Greeks with almost an eighteen to one soldier ratio. The Persian soldiers and Greek soldiers are all from different states and allies that want to get rid of an enemy. A big army is useless if they do not have the skills and training to fight off other soldiers who have trained their whole lives to fight. A big army includes a lot of soldiers that will have to feed every day. In order to feed all of the soldiers brought by Xerxes, they would need 110,340 medimni or roughly 160,000 bushels a day.
In ancient Greece religion was an important facet of everyday life as well as an essential aspect of warfare and battle. Soldiers in ancient Greece frequently sought support from the deities to ensure a safe and conclusive victory through ritual sacrifice. Sometimes warriors even had to sacrifice multiple times to ensure support, even if this meant postponing battle. Religion did not only dictate the time in which one could begin a battle, but times in which battles could not be fought at all, that is during festivals and religious games. Religion also dictated spaces in which battles could not be fought, in holy sites such as temples, and spaces in which battles should be fought, something that could be decided through the interpretation of religious prophecies.
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
The Spartans had elite military force and Ancient Rome generals trained their armies to be like Spartans. The selection for the strongest amongst the population was a common trait in Sparta that was passed down to Ancient Rome. Ancient Greek’s military trainings influenced Ancient Rome in their powerful army. However, a strong army would be ineffective without a strong leader. Alexander the Great significantly influenced the leadership style of Julius Caesar.
In comparison to other states of ancient Greece, Spartans were less cultured, due to their nominal interest in material possession. The Spartans while civilized and educated were less intrigued within the buildings of large monuments , than some of their Greek counterparts. Moreover, education was vital to the Spartans. Although their priority relied on military and combat over anything else, in many ways intelligence and knowledge were also important to succeed in war. Spartans’ would teach young children more than just the perplexing theories of war and strength.
A factor that made it so powerful was the roman soldiers were disciplined, disciplined to the point that if commanded to hold a position, the soldiers would do so or give their lives before disobeying a command. This factor earned the respect and trust between ranks, giving the soldiers the feeling of being