Just this time last year, Xerxes’ mass armed forces of 150,000 men and a 600 ship navy stormed the pass at Thermopylae to avenge his father 's defeat at Marathon. Here marked the beginning of Sparta’s quest to victory.
The invasion that began following the Greek revolt of 499- 94 BC ,as a punitive attack by Persia against a collection of disunited city states, ended this past week in one of the most critical battles of our time. North of Athens, on the far side of a mountain range that separated Attica from Boeotia, the contest would be decided.
Darius I, then commander of the Persian forces, arranged for messengers to circulate the Greek city-states demanding land and seas. In fear, most complied excluding Athens.
In Sparta, they retorted in true Spartan style ; blasphemously exiling the messengers down a well to their deaths. This signaled a cry— rather cheer of war from the Spartans to the Persians.
Darius I shifted his forces to the bay at Marathon. Highly outnumbered, the Athenians boldly confronted and defeated the Persians and forced them to renounce further invasion plans.
Xerxes, son of Darius now sought the blood of his enemies.
In 480 BC, Xerxes overpassed the Hellespont via the twin bridges he ordered to be constructed. The Greeks had insufficiently
…show more content…
They stationed themselves for battle in a location suited for their horsemen— the plain. Under the Spartan leader Pausanias, the Greeks stationed themselves advantageously in the foothills of Mt. Cithaeron. In time, Mardonius tried to draw the Greeks out, using his cavalry. He failed, so the Persians retreated. Eventually, Pausanias took his troops down into the ally, Pausanias took his troops down into the plains where they were still separated from the Persians, but only by a row of hills. He divided the army, creating a diversion. The Persians attacked but were met the united army of Greeks, led to victory by the
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.
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.
This shows that there is still a need for Sparta and that the Athenians will need their land battle experience in order to completely remove the Persians from the Greek territory. Therefore, the Athenians would need the Spartans, and they should be given credit for their land
Pausanias (d.c.470-465) was a controversial Spartan who commanded the victorious Greek army at Plataea, but who was later accused of treason and executed in Sparta. Pausanias son of Cleombrotus was a member of the Agiad royal family. He was a son of King Cleombrotus I and nephew of the famous King Leonidas. After Leonidas was killed at Thermopylae in 480, Pausanias became regent for his young son. In 479 Pausanias commanded the Greek army that defeated the Persians at Plataea, effectively ending the Persian threat to mainland Greece (Greco-Persian Wars).
Xerxes knows the ability of the Greek army before he even begins fighting with them (p.153). After he decides that he will fight Greece, he prepares his army for almost five years to make sure everything is right (p.154). Also, he ensures that he has many more men than the Greeks do (p.157). Arrogant: Before the battle begins Xerxes says that he “...knows how weak their power is” and that “they are foolish enough to meet us at open fight.
By showing that both the Greeks and Persians were obsessed with revenge, which often lead to further conflict, Herodotus suggests that the Greco-Persian Wars would continue for decades after the Greeks won the invasion. The Siege of Sestos shows the Greek’s desire to be as powerful and dominant as the Persians once were through striving to conquer all territory that had previously been owned by the Persians. Herodotus includes this digression at the end of his narrative to connote that because the Athenians were now as powerful as the Persians were in the beginning of Histories, they would eventually fall, similar to the way the Persians did in the narrative. Therefore, Herodotus can end his narrative with the first book because he implies the outcome and continuation of the next thirty years of Greco-Persian
The Second War began when the Spartan King Archimedes II laid siege to the city of Plataea. The Athenians were able to hold their position until 427 B.C.E., when the city fell. During that time, a revolt by the Spartans as taking place at Mytilene, which put additional pressure on Athens. While they defended and successfully extinguished that revolt, the Athenians made additional progress into Peloponnese, by sea, as well as Italy, by land. Athens’ success eventually ended when they were defeated in an attempt to recover Amphipolis in 422 B.C.E.
Leonidas's choice to stay also stopped the Persians from
The historian Thucydides described himself as a wealthy Athenian general whose exile to the Peloponnese allowed him to personally observe, from both the sides of the conflict, a comprehensive account of the Peloponnesian War. Book 1 in Thucydides’ “History of the Peloponnesian War” is dedicated to explaining over fifty years of the events and proceedings that led to the abandonment of the Thirty Year’s Peace and subsequent war. In Book 1 he identifies four main incidents, which I shall refer to as ‘grievances’, regarding the conduct of Athens towards both their Delian members and the Peloponnesian allies. Yet he also mentions what he deems to be a more ‘real’ truth than these four grievances that led to Sparta and the Peloponnese going to
However, the Greeks returned to their incessant warfare once their common enemy was defeated. Greek soldiers were the leading warriors of their time, often defeating enemies even when they were outnumbered . Rome had a heavy army but they lost a lot of soldiers in
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.
However, his royal advisor Croesus tried to convince him otherwise, saying to instead make allies out of their two peoples, not more war. But Cyrus ignored his advisor’s wise council and led his army against Queen Tomyris and her forces, and lost his life in the battle. This is where Clio ends, and where Book II, Euterpe begins, and where the Persian War starts to fully form as a massive conflict between the Greeks and
Webb’s “Depth of Knowledge” Levels Homework #18: DOK Level 1 – Question: Who were the Spartans? The Spartans were basically the soldiers of the Ancient Greek city-state, Sparta. The Spartans devoted all their time to the military, partaking in military training, hunting and war battles. They lived a frugal lifestyle and without any luxuries. They were taught to be brave and courageous at a very young age, soon evolving into soldiers for the military.
(R 23-35). The Greeks hearing Achilles return, gain strength, will and perseverance to carry on the war. The responsibility that Achilles takes plays massive role, affecting the men 's actions throughout the