The spartan and thespian last stand has been immortalized in the works of herodotus and glorified in the 1962 movie the 300 spartans starring richard egan, along with many other mediums consisting of. The battle of thermopylae was fought in central greece at the mountain pass of thermopylae in 480 bce during the persian wars. Battle of thermopylae simple english wikipedia, the free. Strategically speaking, the width of the pass was of paramount importance since it negated the strength of the persian army which has been conservatively numbered on average at 200,000 warriors while herodotus wrote that the persian army consisted of. Theres an alternate version of what happened at the. It took place in a narrow gorge, called thermopylae, where a group of 300 spartan hoplites died heroically, blocking a way to the persian army of the tsar xerxes i. King leonidas of sparta and a force of 300 men fight the persians at thermopylae in 480 b. It just so happens that history seems to have decided that what happened in 300 is basically exactly how things went down. Any account of the battle of thermopylae must make mention of the pass which according to herodotus was approximately 50 feet wide in 480 b. Xena and gabrielle have to defend the pass of thermopylae from the invading persian army. The greeks spartans and allies knew they were outnumbered and hadnt a prayer, so it was no surprise that the persians won the battle of thermopylae. A highly stylized trailer for 1776 film that parodies the trailer for 300. The best modern estimate is perret, who bases his total on the size he believes the persian army to have been, the style of combat of the spartans, and the narrow frontage available for hand to hand fighting during the 3 days of battle. Strategically speaking, the width of the pass was of paramount importance since it negated the strength of the persian army which has been conservatively numbered on average at 200,000 warriors.
Battle of thermopylae, august 480 bc military history. The battle of plataea in 479 bce is one of world historys unjustly. Battle of thermopylae against the persian army in 480 b. Battle of thermopylae date, location, and facts britannica. Many are familiar with the story of the battle of thermopylae in 480 bc, when spartas king leonidas and his 300 spartans, along with 700 thespians, 400 thebans, and perhaps a few hundred others, fought to the death against the millionman army of persian emperor xerxes. Spartans, the real 480bc story battle of thermopylae youtube. Battle of thermopylae in popular culture wikipedia. King leonidas and 300 spartans against million persian army. A captivating guide to one of the greatest battles in ancient history between the spartans and persians kindle edition. It was fought between an alliance of greek citystates, led by sparta, and the persian empire of xerxes i. The moral victory may go to the greeks, and everyone loves a good last stand, but ultimately the persians won the battle, and were able to continue thei. Battle of thermopylae facts, myths, legends, map, pictures and statistics.
Thermopylae hist 332 spring 2012 leonidas at thermopylae jacques louis david 1814 formation of the hellenic league 31 greek citystates meet to decide what to do about the coming threat from persia they mustered 40,000 hoplites 400 triremes one of the few times in. Persian strategies and movements of battle of thermopylae cross hellespont by forming a bridge of ships. In 480 bc a vast persian army under king xerxes crossed into greece. Even so, the charge of the greek hoplites through the hail of persian arrows on the plain of marathon over a decade earlier, the glorious last stand of the 300 spartans and the 700 thespians at thermopylae, and the crushing defeat of the persian armada at salamis in 480 bce have all eclipsed plataea in distinction. As of may 2020, it has 722,641 articles, 917,401 registered users and 62,881 files and it is.
Regarding the total number of forces xerxes assembed to invade greece land army, fleet crew etc, this number needs to be nearly doubled in order to account for support troops and thus herodotus reports that the total persian force numbered 5,283,220 men, a figure which is regarded erroneous by modern estimations. The 300 spartans led by king leonidas i was allied with the athenians and a few other citystates to make a stand against persia. The battle for the west is one of those greatly accessible, pleasantly reading, and yet academically meaty history books. Youve been sent back in time to the battle of thermopylae. Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 first edition with your subscription. If the 300 spartans had stayed home and if persians had won the grecopersian wars, the western concept of freedom most likely would not exist. The battle of thermopylae is believed to have been fought in august 480 bc, during the persian wars 499 bc449 bc.
That means the persians lost 1020% of their men at the battle, which certainly matches if not exceeds what pyrrhus lost. The persians won the battle of thermompylae, and not only won, but won an astonishing victory. As a onetime classics teacher, i can attest that a reference to the battle of marathon will cause an immediate ripple of interest amongst a class of year olds not just because they know the story of philippides the runner, and a glancing mention of thermopylae will. This printable contains everything you need to introduce the fascinating persian wars to your student, including the battle of marathon and the battle of thermopylae. A few big differences, however, made this persian stand slide into obscurity. It has also been the site of several battles in antiquity besides this most famous one. However, in this version of the story, xena herself is up against 300 persian soldiers, and not 300 spartans against thousands of persians. This was probably the most famous battle of the grecopersian war.
After thermopylae is about the oath of plataea and what it tells us about the greek world around the time of the battle of plataea, which was a battle between the persian army and the greeks. The battle of thermopylae is a battle in september 480 bc during the greekpersian war 480 479 bc. Battle of thermopylae ancient history encyclopedia. Well, ill do my best to get a victory, but im more likely just going to aid them with getting a few thousand more kills.
Battle of thermopylae is a symbol of courage and patriotism. After three days resisting the much larger persian army of xerxes i, greek forces were betrayed by ephialtes and sent into retreat by their leader, leonidas, who died during a final stand. Learn how a relatively small group of greek warriors held off the persian army for days, during the grecopersian wars, before making one of the greatest last stands and demonstrations of bravery in history. The persians penetrated greece three times and fought three battles the battle of marathon, the battle of thermopylae, and the battle of salamis. Dec 12, 2012 the 300 spartans led by king leonidas i was allied with the athenians and a few other citystates to make a stand against persia. The battle of thermopylae was fought between an alliance of greek citystates, led by king. Battle of thermopylae facts about one of the most famous battles in world history. During the battle of thermopylae, how many persians were. In the winter of 330, the battle of the persian gates was the last stand for achaemenid persia against the glorious conquest of alexander. The passage between them was narrow for many miles along the shore, being narrowest at the ingress and egress. The spartans went ahead of their allies and took on the large persian army at a narrow pass in the thermopylae mountains.
In 490 the persian emperor darius had sent an invasion force across the aegean to punish eretria and athens for their support of the ionian revolt. The battle of thermopylae august 480 bc is one of the most famous military defeats in history, and is best known for the fate of the 300 spartans, killed alongside 700 thespians on the final day of the battle grecopersian wars. The battle of thermopylaes political origins can be traced back to xerxes predecessor, darius i the great, who sent heralds to greek cities in 491 bce in the hopes of persuading them to accept persian authority. Although the persian messengers did go around to all the other greek citystates asking for submission, they purposefully avoided athens and sparta. Having been turned back at marathon in 490 bc, persian forces returned to greece ten years later to avenge their defeat and conquer the peninsula. How, if at all, could the persians have won at the battle of.
Each time the persians came in confidently and sure and each and every time the greeks managed to drive them away. The collision between the fractious political world of the greeks and the enormous empire of the persians began when cyrus the great conquered the greekinhabited region of ionia in 547 bc. With gerard butler, lena headey, david wenham, dominic west. Xerxes, the persian king was furious with the outcomes of the first two battles. Xerxes i makes extensive preparations to invade mainland greece by building depots, canals and a boat bridge across the hellespont. According to the consensus of modern historians, the persian force at thermopylae was probably between 100,000 and 200,000. The spartan and thespian last stand has been immortalized in the works of herodotus and glorified in the 1962 movie the 300 spartans starring richard egan. The battle of thermopylae was fought in central greece at the mountain pass of. The greek force was very small but was determined to make a stand against the huge persian army.
Mar 09, 2010 battle of thermopylae facts, myths, legends, map, pictures and statistics. The battle of thermopylae was the first between the persians and greeks during the persian invasion of 480479 bc. The grecopersian wars also often called the persian wars were a series of conflicts between the achaemenid empire and greek citystates that started in 499 bc and lasted until 449 bc. In after thermopylae, historian paul cartledge cambridge univ. The students can independently or in small groups read the informative text and answer the comprehension questions.
Although leonidas lost the battle, his death at thermopylae was seen as a heroic. The persian version of wikipedia was started in december 2003. This is the account for the land armies present at thermopylae. He well uses both modern and ancient sources to tell the story not just of the battle of thermopylae, but also of the whole war in which it took place. The battle of thermopylae, 480 bc, was a battle in the second persian invasion of greece. In response a contingent of 300 spartans and several thousand allies were sent to occupy the narrow mountain pass of thermopylae, not far from the greek fleet that was anchored off the nearby.
In 279 bc the greeks faced brennus and his gauls there. Review written 01252019 this book is a history of the battle of thermopylae and the second greek and persian war. The mountains landward were steep and inaccessible. The battle was fought for over three days, at the same time as the naval battle of artemisium. He thus gives an overall total of 10,000 dead for the persians.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute andor modify this article under the terms of the gnu free documentation license, version 1. Prevent reinforcements to the persian army from asia minor. Apr 27, 2008 battle of thermopylae 480 bc part 1 of 3. The thing to keep in mind though is that when it comes to the battle of thermopylae, a smattering of facts is all we have supporting either version of events. This was probably the most famous battle of the greco persian war. The book describes the circumstances in which the oath was written. It is based on material from the wikipedia articles battle of thermopylae and ephialtes. Furthermore, to prevent the persians from bypassing thermopylae by sea, the athenian and. It is based on material from the wikipedia articles.
In the 5th century bc, the persian empire fought the citystates of greece in one of the most profoundly symbolic struggles in history. Persian commander ariobarzan attacks the alexander troops at persian gate as they say, history tends to repeat itself. Greek and persian wars amazing bible timeline with world. The oath of plataea and the end of the graecopersian wars the oath of plataea and the end of the graecopersian wars by paul cartledge available from rakuten kobo. How, if at all, could the persians have won at the battle. Id advise some soldiers search the local villages for a man named ephialtes. Battle of thermopylae in the persian wars thoughtco. Jan 19, 2016 the battle of thermopylae, 480 bc part 2. The pass of thermopylae was not a ravine among mountains, but a narrow space between mountains and the sea. Battle in northern greece 480 bc in the persian wars. After three days resisting the much larger persian army of xerxes i, greek. In the movie 300, they added this scene of leonidas kicking the messenger, and i thought that would be a great addition to the story. Jan 01, 20 2,500 years after they took place, the battles of the graeco persian wars still have the capacity to fire the imagination.
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