The Battle of Thermopylae, Essay Example

Introduction Organization Slides: The title of my presentation in entitled the Battle of Thermopylae.  I will focus on the history of the Persian and Greek Conflict, the Persian and Spartan Leaders, the differing cultures of the Persians and Spartans, the actual battle and the weaponry for each side, and finally, the History Implications and Aftermath.  As you will see here, my thesis states that “Although the Spartan and Greek forces suffered defeat at Thermopylae, the military stand provided motivation and historical political importance for Western Civilization and the World.”

First Main Point and Supporting Evidence (slides 4-6): The Persian conflict with the Greek nation began with the Ionian Revolt.  Cyrus the Great worked to expand the Persian Empire in 560 BC and faced off against the Ionians.  The Athenians decided to offer military support to the Ionians and ended up defeating the Persian forces.  This brought about a lot of shame and dishonor for Cyrus and the Persian Empire.  In 490 BC, at the Battle of Marathon the son of Cyrus, King Darius, attacked the Athenian and Ionian armies.  The Persians were again defeated, and just before Darius could devise a new attack strategy against Athens, he passed away.  His son, Xerxes, vowed to avenge the defeat at Marathon and spent the next 10 years developing a battle strategy to invade Athens.  His intentions were very clear and provided the Greeks several years to plan a proper military response to protect Greece.  Unfortunately, the Greek states had a large history of competing against one another through political and military combat.  Less than 1 in 20 Greek states rose up to fight together against the impending Persian invasion.  The Greeks chose the pass at Thermopylae to face the much larger Persian enemy.

The Persians’ only road to Athens went through the narrow pass at Thermopylae.  Thermopylae translates to literally mean the “Hot Gates” and it was so narrow of a landscape that it would reduce the strength of any army’s numbers.  This land mass was directly between a large mountain and the Aegean Sea, so there was no way around except to go directly through the pass.

Second Main Point and Supporting Evidence (slides 7-10): There were three highly important military leaders throughout this conflict.  First of all, King Xerxes led the forces for the Persian Empire.  He was the son of Darius and devised a 10-year plan to avenge the defeat against Athens at Marathon.  King Leonidas was the leader of the Spartan and united Greek forces during the Battle of Thermopylae.  He was chosen by the Greek states to lead the military into battle.  One interesting fact is that he likely killed his step-brother to gain the throne in Sparta.  Finally, Themistocles is the unspoken hero of the entire conflict.  He was the likely mastermind between the land and naval strategies of this war and the ultimate defeat of the Persian Empire at Salamis.  Themistocles was an Athenian commander and democratic politician.  He was born as a merchant’s son and train as a seaman to hone his Naval skills.  His main philosophy was that land forces can only be supplied by the Navy, so if the Greeks could cut off the Persian Navy it would cripple the army, regardless of their numbers.  Themistocles convinced the Athenian government to increase the Navy by using money that was retrieved from silver mining.  He lied to the Athenian politicians to imply that there was a pending attack from a nearby enemy.  Without his participating in this conflict, the Greek nation would never have been nearly as successful at Thermopylae and would not have defeated the Persian Empire at Salamis.

Third Main Point and Supporting Evidence (slides 11-16): The culture and society of these two opponents was a major factor in the military combat strategies and the decisions made at Thermopylae.  Cyrus the Great expanded the Persian Empire from modern day Iran.  The Persians believed in allowing conquered nations to govern themselves and maintain their own culture and religion.  They believed in the ultimate goal of spreading peace throughout the world.  The Persians groomed their warrior king by sending them away to school.  These schools would help teach children to be tough and make difficult decisions.  For example, they would literally put kids in the courtyard and set lions loose on them to help teach the lesson that they must kill or be killed in battle.  The Persian Empire was the largest Empire ever built at that time in history.  The Persian army at Thermopylae was the largest single military force that the Greeks had ever seen.  It is estimated that this army was made of 300,000 soldiers and some historians believe it may have been upwards of 2 million soldiers.  This map shows the geographical layout of the Persian Empire, so you can see its size is quite extensive.

The Spartan culture was quite different in that they focused their entire social structure on military training and preparation.  At birth, the children were carefully inspected for any flaws that would make the child unworthy of living.  At the age of seven, the boys were taken from their families and thrust into an educational program to teach military and survival training.   Through this training the children were punished for showing any signs of weakness or pain.  Their ultimate rite of passage was to strangle a slave to death, and this must have been accomplished without anyone catching them.  This helped teach elusiveness and effectiveness in battle.  At the age of 18, their education was complete and the children because inducted into the army.  Upon leaving for battle, their mothers would say “With your shield, or on it” to imply the importance of victory or death upon defeat.  The Spartans and fellow Greeks believed in following the prophecies of the Oracle at Delphi before going into battle.  The Oracle claimed that the Greeks must not go to battle, or if they did, the sacrifice of a King that was a descendent of Herocles must be given to avoid Spartan and Greek destruction.  The Oracle’s words made Leonidas believe that he was the descendent in the prophecy and that 300 of the finest soldiers should be chosen that must have had children to carry on their family’s name.  It is clear that Leonidas likely knew that he was going to Thermopylae to die, but that he would ultimately save Greece and Sparta by doing so.

Fourth Main Point and Supporting Evidence (slides 17-27): The Persians were well-known for their excellent engineering skills.  In order to go to Thermopylae, the Empire’s army must have crossed the large water mass at Hellespont that was one mile long.  They created a pontoon bridge made of old naval ships that were bound by papyrus rope, which was a technique they learned from the Egyptians.  Unfortunately, the Persians had very poor weaponry and armor.  Their soldiers wore little or no armor, and the great Immortals’ armor was made of overlapping metal scales that were as thick as playing cards, which was easily penetrated by a spear or sword.  If the soldiers carried shields, they were flimsy and made of wood or wicker materials.  The Greeks used many advanced weaponry in the battle of Thermopylae. The Spartan shield, called the Hoplon was 3 feet in diameter and had an argive grip where the arm was put through a leather strap to provide more control and power of the shield.  The Corinthian Helmet was a 10lb bronze helmet that protected the entire head, but could make hearing very difficult in battle.  The Lamellar Armor that the Spartans wore was made of leather, linen and bronze materials all fused together that would protect the soldier from an arrow.  The Dory and Xiphos were the main weapons used in combat by the Spartans.  The Dory was a 2-4lb spear with a metal knob on the base to make the sword into a club if it needed to be.  The Xiphos was a 2-3 foot double-edged sword that was only used in close combat or when the spear was lost or destroyed.  Finally, the Greek Navy used the Trireme ship.  This was an Athenian warship that was 90 feet long and 18 feet wide.  It was specifically built to ram into other ships and sink them.  Up to 220 oarsmen were needed to row the ships and it move as fast as 15 knots.

The first day of the conflict provided much success for the Greeks on land and sea.  Xerxes offered a peaceful negotiation before the conflict began, but the Spartans were not interested in submitting to the Persian Empire.  This is a famous scene told by Herodotus where the Persian representative told the Spartans that their arrows would blot out the sun.  This is when the Spartans replied that they would have their battle in the shade.  The Persians struck first by arrows.  There were 300 Spartans and 7,000 other Greeks at Thermopylae again the hundreds of thousand of soldiers in the Persian army.  The Spartan Phalanx created a wall of shields that helped fend off the attacks of 10,000 Persians.  At sea, there were 200 Greek warships that defended the Artemesius Straight against 1,000 Persian naval ships.  The Greeks were led by Themistocles at sea and decided to directly attack the much larger Persian navy in the afternoon to help limit the possible damages as it was customary for a naval battle to end at nightfall.  On the first day, the Greeks captured over 30 warships and took thousands of prisoners, although they were still highly outnumbered.

The second day of the conflict had similar results for the Greeks and Persians.  The Persian army sent the Immortals to combat the Greeks.  The Immortals were the best warriors in the Persian army and were made of 10,000 silent soldiers.  The Spartans ultimately held off the Immortals, and it was clear that they had likely never faced an opponent that was militarily advanced in strategy or technique as the Spartans.  Over 200 Persian warships were destroyed in a storm the night before.  The Greeks were still outnumbered at sea by a ratio of at least 5 to 1.  The Triremes still destroyed many Persian warships on the second day.  The day ended as a complete success for the Greeks.  At nightfall, everything changed for the battle.  It is believed that a Greek spy informed Xerxes of a pass to outflank the Greek forces from behind.  The Greeks were surrounded by 20,000 Persian soldiers from the front and back.  Leonidas ordered a retreat of 4,000 men except for the Spartan soldiers and 1,000 Thespians.  The Greeks likely stayed because it upheld the prophecy that was foretold by the Oracle at Delphi.

Persian scouts saw the Spartans exercising in the nude, bathing in oils, and combing their long hair.  This was a customary process for preparation for death in the Spartan culture.  The Spartan Phalanx fell apart when the Greeks were attacked from both sides.  Herodotus told in his retelling of Thermopylae that all Greek spears were broken, so they fought with anything they could.  Leonidas was struck down by Persian arrows and eventually died on the battlefield.  The Persians and Greeks fought over his body, and finally the conflict ended when the Persian archers slaughtered the remaining Greeks.  Themistocles continued to fight at sea, but ordered a naval retreat when the land forces were defeated.  This map shows the geography and movements of the Persian armies at Thermopylae.

Fifth Main Point and Supporting Evidence (slides 28-32): Leonidas’ body was eventually mutilated by the Persians and his head was put on a stake to show that the Greeks had been defeated at Thermopylae.  It was not until 40 years later that Leonidas’ remains were returned to Sparta for proper burial in Greece.  The remains may have not been body parts, but just a clay work of art to honor the life of the Spartan King.  Nevertheless, these remains were buried at the Tomb of Leonidas that still stands to this day.  It serves as an historic symbol of the Greek pride and resistance against the tyranny of an Empire.

The Battle at Thermopylae has had large historical importance for Western Civilization and the entire World.  Hitler was known for having appreciated the efforts of the Spartans for their training, military supremacy, and courage to fight against a much larger enemy.  The legend of the 300 Spartans had been adapted into a graphic novel and movie, as shown here with the pictures.  Ultimately, this battle showed the Greeks that arch rivals could combine efforts to become one united Greek nation instead of competing states.  The battle at Thermopylae is historic and had a large impact on Western Civilization and the history of the world.

Bibliography

Cartledge, Paul. “The Persian Wars: 490-479 BC.” The Spartans: The World of the Warrior-Heroes of Ancient Greece. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 2004. 111-40. Print.

Cartledge, Paul. Thermopylae: The Battle that Changed the World. New York, NY: The Overlook, 2006. Print.

Dupre, Ben and Robin Waterfield. “Leonidas” and “Themistocles.” The Art of War: Great Commanders of the Ancient and Medieval World 1500 BC – AD 1600. Ed. Andrew Roberts. Vol. 1. London, Great Britain: Quercus, 2008. 76-91. Print.

Hall, Jonathan M. A History of the Archaic Greek World: ca. 1200-479 BCE. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2007. Print.

The Last Stand of the 300. Dir. David Padrusch. By Matt Koed. Limulus Productions and History Channel, 2007. DVD.

Vivante, Bella. “The Persian Wars.” Events that Changed Ancient Greece. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2002. 79-95. Print.

Waters, Kenneth H. “Xerxes.” Herodotus on Tyrants and Despots: A Study in Objectivity. Wiesbaden, Germany: Franz Steiner, 1971. 65-85. Print.