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Battle of Thermopylae (480 BCE)

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Author Topic: Battle of Thermopylae (480 BCE)  (Read 11398 times)
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Alexander
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« Reply #30 on: July 30, 2007, 11:17:04 pm »

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« Reply #31 on: July 30, 2007, 11:17:58 pm »

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« Reply #32 on: July 30, 2007, 11:19:05 pm »

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« Reply #33 on: July 30, 2007, 11:20:01 pm »

At the time, the pass of Thermopylae consisted of a track along the shore of the Gulf of Malis so narrow that only one chariot could pass through. On the southern side of the track stood the cliffs, while on the north side was the gulf. Along the path was a series of three constrictions, or "gates" (pylai), and at the center gate a short wall that had been erected by the Phocians in the previous century to aid in their defense against Thessalian invasions. The name "hot gates" comes from the hot springs that were located there.

Today, the pass is not near the sea but is inland due to infilling of the Gulf of Malis. The old track appears at the foot of hills around the plain, flanked by a modern road. It still is a natural defensive position to modern armies
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« Reply #34 on: July 30, 2007, 11:20:44 pm »

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« Reply #35 on: July 30, 2007, 11:21:37 pm »

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« Reply #36 on: July 30, 2007, 11:22:36 pm »

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« Reply #37 on: July 30, 2007, 11:23:28 pm »

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« Reply #38 on: July 30, 2007, 11:24:47 pm »

Date of the battle

Based on information from Herodotus' The Histories Book VII, the date of Ephialtes' betrayal and use of the mountain path by the Immortals can be narrowed to a few days in September of 480 BC, as follows. Not knowing the terrain, they would have needed some form of light, but torches would have given away their intent. They therefore traversed the path when light from the moon would be the greatest - the full moon. In Book VII Herodotus mentions the solar eclipse that occurred at the crossing of the Hellespont by the Persians. By estimating the distance the Persian army could move each day, it can be established that the battle took place around September of 480 BC. Tracing back via a lunar calendar, the date of the betrayal can be narrowed to September 18, 19, or 20, 480 BC
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« Reply #39 on: July 30, 2007, 11:27:23 pm »



Epitaph with Simonides' epigram

Simonides composed a well-known epigram, which was engraved as an epitaph on a commemorative stone placed on top of the burial mound of the Spartans at Thermopylae. It is also the hill on which the last of them died. Spyridon Marinatos discovered large numbers of Persian arrowheads there. The original stone has not been preserved. Instead the epitaph was engraved on a new stone erected in 1955. The text is

o ξεoν', γγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις oτι τoδε
κείμεθα, τοoς κείνων oήμασι πειθόμενοι.
Ō xein', angellein Lakedaimoniois hoti tēide
keimetha tois keinōn rhēmasi peithomenoi.
An ancient alternative rendering substitutes πειθόμενοι νομίμοις for oήμασι πειθόμενοι

The form of this ancient Greek poetry is an elegiac couplet. Some English translations are given in the table below.
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Alexander
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« Reply #40 on: July 30, 2007, 11:50:13 pm »


Thermopylae 480 B.C



Xerxes assembled a vast army for the invasion of Greece. Faced with this threat, the Athenians and Spartans forgot their differences and united under a Spartan command. The original plan was to stop the Persians at the Tempe Gorge, a narrow pass at the south end of Mount Olympus. Fearing being bypassed the Greeks withdrew. The nothern towns feared they were to be abandoned , submitted to the Persians. To stop any further defections, the Greeks decided to make a stand at Thermopylae. Named after the hot thermal springs near the village of Thermopylae.

Here the narrow coastal pass is flanked on oneside by steep mountains, on the other by the sea. The pass narrows in several places, it is at the middle gate, where previously a defence wall was built, that the Greeks made there stand.

The Greek force consisted of the Spartan King, Leonidas and his body guard of 300, 2,800 Peloponnesians and approximately 900 helots. they were joined by 700 Thespians, 400 Thebans, 1,000 Phocians and the complete army of Locrians. The soldiers being told that they were the advance guard and the rest of the army would join them.

The Persians launched a series of assaults on the Greeks. First the Medes, commanded by Tigranes, assaulted with some enthusiasm but very driven back with considerable losses. Then Xerxes sent in the men from Susa, these were heavily armoured with large shields, but even so, they too were no match for the Spartans. They even tried work their way around the coastal flank but with no success, their bodies falling into the sea. Xerxes frustration was evident, as a last resort then ordered the Immortals forward. As the Immortals advanced, the Spartans moved from their defensive position behind the wall and advanced to meet them. The Immortals fought in good order no were not equal to the well drilled hoplites with their long spears. The Spartans, confident in their ability to handle the best of the Persian army, feinted a retreat, The Immortals followed up quickly only to be caught in disorder as they collided with a Spartan line as it turned to face. The Immortals were also forced to withdraw, ending the first day of fighting.


 
The second day of fighting was no better for the Persians, the troops were now disheartened by their losses and lack of progress. The narrow front limited the number of troops that could be engaged but allowed the persians to withdraw and rest while a fresh wave of troops attacked. However the Greek line also organised a regular changeover of hoplites which allowed them to rest and tend their wounds.
By the end of the second day, Leonidas still held the pass but it seemed that no reinforcements were coming.

The Persians now had some luck. Ephialtes, a local Greek peasant, informed the Persians of a route that would allow them to outflank the Greeks. Hydarnes led his Immortals out of camp as soon as it was dark. Marching all night along the winding mountain path, the Immortals came across the guard of 1,000 Phocians in the early morning. Showered with arrows, the Phocians withdrew to the hill top but this allowed the Immortals a clear passage.


 
The Greeks received news of the Immortals movements and Leonidas allows those Greek who wish to withdraw to do so. The 700 Thespians and 400 Thebans remained. Xerxes held back his attack until mid morning, giving the Immortals time to get into position. As the Persians advanced on the Greek position, again the Greeks advanced to where the pass widened. here they deployed in normal phalanx formation with the lightly armed helots covering the flanks. The struggle was bloody with Persians having to scamble over the bodies of the fallen to reach the Spartans. It is here that Leonidas was killed, the battle raged over his corpse. Four times the Persians captured it, four times it was dragged back. The struggle continued until news came that the Immortals arrival. The Greeks withdrew back over the defence wall and to a small hillock. There they formed a circle, armed now only with their swords, their spears having been broken on the enemy. They fought on, sometimes only with their hands. Eventually being overwhelmed by missile fire. By midday of the third day, all was quiet.

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~ancientpersia/thermopylae.html
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« Reply #41 on: July 31, 2007, 12:01:28 am »

The 300 Spartans is a 1962 film depicting the Battle of Thermopylae. Made with the cooperation of the Greek government, it was shot in the village of Perachora in the Peloponnese. It starred Richard Egan as the Spartan king Leonidas, Ralph Richardson as Themistocles of Athens and David Farrar as Persian king Xerxes, with Diane Baker as Ellas and Barry Coe as Phylon providing the requisite romantic element in the film. In the film, a force of 300 Greek Spartans fights against a Persian army of almost limitless size. Despite the odds, they will not flee or surrender, even if it means their deaths.

The picture was noted for its Cold War overtones, repeatedly referring to the independent Greek states as "the only stronghold of freedom remaining in the then known world", holding out against the Persians 'slave empire'. Historically, ancient Greece also had slavery, although the makeup of the army included freed slaves.

Frank Miller saw this movie as a boy and said it "changed the course of my creative life". His graphic novel 300 is about the Battle of Thermopylae, and was the basis for the 2007 film 300.

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