Two important individuals that had a large impact on the results of the Persian War, were Leonidas and Themistocles. Leonidas was an important individual in the battle of Thermopylae, as his decision to stay behind delayed the Persian army. Themistocles played a crucial role in the naval battles of Artemisium and Salamis, as his stratagems helped defeat the Persian navy. The outcomes of these battles, which were determined by the leaders preparation and strategic decisions, had both short term and long term effects. Better lead in needed Leonidas determined the outcome of the battle of Thermopylae with his decision to stay behind while the others retreated, by doing this he saved many lives. Before Thermopylae, Leonidas and the Spartans were prepared for …show more content…
He considered it the best place for defence, as he expected that the narrow pass would funnel the Persian army toward his force. Leonidas specifically chose his Spartan army so no bloodlines would be lost, "The [...] men whom he brought [...] to Thermopylae were chosen by himself, all fathers of living sons." (Herodotus.page.487) This shows his forward-thinking and strategic mind. On arrival at Thermopylae, Leonidas heard about a mountain pass and subsequently sent 1000 Phocian troops there. At the beginning of the battle, the Greeks fought in a phalanx formation at the narrowest part of the pass. Persian forces were unable to defeat the Greeks for two days, but Ephialtes alerted Xerxes to the mountain path which led behind the Greek army. When Leonidas heard, he sent most of the allies to retreat, in order to save as many lives as possible for the continuation of the war. Leonidas and the remaining army inflicted further heavy losses on the Persians, but eventually they all perished. Due to Leonidas, the Persians were delayed, which therefore allowed sufficient time for the Athenians to flee Athens. Leonidas's choice to stay also stopped the Persians from
This made it so they could control what they knew and who they looked up to. They were also not allowed to participate in government until they were 30. In document D it says that they weren't allowed to travel so they wouldn’t learn foreign and uncivil ways. This shows that the strengths do not outweigh the weaknesses because they were controlled and only taught the “Spartan” way.
Michelle Lai 5402 Global Studies Period 1 10/26/15 Rise to Success The Spartans’ brutal authority over the Messenian helots made them revolt around 650 B.C. Being outnumbered and unprepared, their vulnerability in that situation caused them to focus on strengthening themselves for the rest of their lives. The Spartans became known for their powerful military in Greece from around 600 to 371 B.C. The necessity for strength and stability helped to develop Spartan society.
Being alive to witness the events that occurred in and around fifth century B. C. E. Greece meant that Thucydides could not help but write down his experiences. The Athenians of Greece and the people of the Persian Empire were constantly at odds with each other, and these differences eventually led to the Peloponnesian war. This war lasted from 431-404 B.C.E. and began an era of conflict between the two peoples (Bulliet). This power struggle not only inflated the ego of the Athenians, but created many negative viewpoints of the Persians. Thucydides, being an Athenian, was therefore extremely biased against the Persians.
★ 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.
After this, the Persian navy continued to the isle of Euboea, where the expeditionary force attacked Eretria, one of the Greek cities that had supported Greek rebels in Asia Minor. Fighting continued for six days, but the town was betrayed on the seventh day. Its inhabitants were carried off as prisoners. The part of Athenian territory opposite Euboea -and also the best ground for cavalry to maneuver upon- was at Marathon, and it was to this village that Hippias directed Datis, Artaphernes, and the 25,000 Persians.
He commanded the largest Greek contingent at the battle, but his control of his fellow Spartans wasn 't complete. A key moment of the battle came when the Greek army decided to move from an exposed position without easy access to water to a new position near Plataea. When the move began Amompharetus, 'lochagos of the Pitanata lochos ', one of the Spartan officers, refused to take part in the movement, on the grounds that Spartans didn 't retreat. Pausanias was unable to
Cyrus, Julius Caeser, and Ramesses II were all powerful leaders from 1300 BC to 60 BC. They all had certain benefits and added many opportunities to the empire they lead. Each one lead their empires in many battles through both success and failure. The military and political careers of Cyrus, Julius Caeser, Ramesses II, are best compared by their military techniques, leadership, and how they affected their empires. Persia had many leaders from Darius the Great to Xerxes.
As we had read in the assignment titled ‘Boundless World History’, “Democracy in Athens was overthrown in 411 BCE because of its poor handling of the Peloponnesian War.” Athens and Sparta had engaged in the Peloponnesian War that was between 404 and 431 BCE. In ancient Greece, Athens and Sparta were two of the most important city-states. According to most historians, the Peloponnesian War battle, which was supposed to have almost consumed the entire Greek world, was the most important battle of its time. Since Sparta won and Athens ultimately lost the Peloponnesian War, it can be stated that Athens was unable to accomplish the Peloponnesian War successfully.
The total strength of the Persian army consisted of about 20,000-50,000 men. The Persians favored long range assaults using archers then following up with a cavalry charge. The Persian infantry carried a rectangular, lightweight shield, many times forming a defensive barrier, and were armed with long dagger or curved swords, a short spear, and a composite bow. The Persian forces also included a vast number of spear- bearers who wore a tunic, colorfully patterned trousers, boots, and a soft hood. The Greek army was led by Miltiades, who fought under Darius in the latter’s campaign in Scythia and also had military intelligence of Persian tactics.
I was interested to learn more about the Spartans. Plus, I have seen the movie “300” many times. When I saw the book cover it said “the true story of the 300 Spartans who defended Greece”. This is why I decided to read THERMOPLYLAE. I found that Paul Cartledge’s writing style was very interesting to read.
Similarly to most Spartan boys, as a child Leonidas had been trained to become a hoplite warrior, which were armed with a shield that was round, an iron short sword and a spear. The importance of Kings in Sparta and King Leonidas himself and his role as King in the Spartan
The Greco-Persian Wars, often referred to as the Persian Wars, were a series of conflicts involving the Persian empire and Greek city states or poleis between 499 and 449 BCE. Beginning when the Persian controlled Greek city states rebelled, the wars continued after Athens, and other poleis gave aid to the Ionian Greeks. Throughout the decades, both sides suffered many losses and soldiers but ultimately, the Persian Empire lost at the hand of the Greeks, led by the Athens. The Greco-Persian wars resulted in a shift of power in Greece’s city states as Athens’ rose to supremacy. Athenian generals Miltiades the Younger and Themistocles helped Athens’ rise to power by supporting and leading them to victory at the battles of Marathon and Salamis.
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.
Throughout history, there has been many battles in which two large and powerful empires fought to maintain land, fought over religion, or to gain an abundance of resources. These empires, the Greek and the Persian, were hostile towards each other at the time. Although these empires were quite similar, they were near direct opposites at the time.
Upon finishing the acticle I was reading I thought to myself “I want to be like Leonidas,I want to have the same characteristics as him”-creative lead The historical figure I admire and respect the most is King Leonidas because of his bravery,loyalty,and dedication Leonidas was brave on the battlefield. “Leonidas and the 300 Spartans with him were all killed.” Leonidas was brave because Spartan code said that if a soldier,or especially a king died on the battlefield he was to be remembered as brave and honorable. “Also his death at Thermopylae was seen as a heroic sacrifice because he sent most of his army away when he realized that the Persians had outmaneuvered him.”