Leonidas of Sparta - Research Paper Example

Bryan Etzler 02 Jan AMU Bryan Thanks for the of your short biographical paper. You earned 24/30 points on this assignment. Looks like a great start to your final paper due Week 7. Please see this websites for examples on how to cite essays in the Turabian citation system using footnotes or endnotes (do not use parenthetical citation). Also see sample Turabian essay under Course Materials. http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/instruct/guides/chicago-turabianstyle.

pdf Please make these adjustments for your final paper. Leonidas of Sparta Ancient Greece was divided into several city-states. These city-states were different in terms of cultural belongings and priorities. Some of the city states opted for a constant thrive for naval supremacy and some of them considered land supremacy as their desired goal. This incorporated quite a competition among the city-states and at times invoked groupism among them. It is believed that these occasional conflicts among the city states of ancient Greece was one of the main reasons that before the up rise of Macedonia under the leadership of Phillip and Alexander; the Greek peninsula remained fragmented in nature.

This fragmentation was both in terms of power and administration and that ultimately invited several foreign invasions to the Greek peninsula; mainly from the Persians. Among the Greek city states Athens and Sparta were most powerful and prominent. If Athens was considered as the cultural soul of ancient Greek civilization; then Sparta was its military heart. Owing to this military nature of Sparta all the private and public life was disciplined and well organized. A Spartan child if born with any physical deformities was thrown from the hill to die.

It was believed that being physically inferior he can never strengthen the military base of his motherland and would be nothing but a burden in future. Spartan boys were kept naked till twelve years of age so that their skin become tough and they can handle hot and cold temperature alike. This way each and every citizen of Sparta was fit for battle and could move to battlefield in response to a call. To encourage togetherness among the citizens and soldiers; most of them lived permanently in barracks and they also fed together.

Spartans also had family duties and affections towards their family members, which they also fulfilled dutifully. A culmination of these qualities made Spartans very well recognized among all other Greek nation states in that time. The rigorous work and practice that the Spartans of that time were subject to can be well guessed considering the fact that daily laborious drills happened everyday even for the middle-aged men. No doubt that such practice had turned them into the most aggressive and successful nation state among all other Greek nation states of that time in terms of military power. 1. Where and when was _________________________ born?

Were there any persons or events in his/her early life, which you believe helped, shape this individual’s legacy? Leonidas was born in 540BC; he belonged to the 17th Agiad line. He was one of the sons of the brave king Anaxandridas II 1. In mythology Anaxandridas II was believed to be the direct descendent of Hercules, possessing almost the same strength and bravery. Leonidas was the third son of his parents and since he was not an heir to the throne; like all common Spartan child he also attended the rigorous “agoge” or public school of Sparta.

Attending this school was mandatory for all Spartan children to gain the citizenship of Sparta. The way to the Spartan throne for Leonidas was not filled with flowers. Cleomenes the half brother of Leonidas followed his father to the throne. The elder brother of Leonidas, Dorieus fled to Africa and then to Sicily as a mark of disgust over the choice of Cleomenes instead of him for the throne. Leonidas showed patience and married the daughter of Cleomenes, Gorgo to claim the throne of Sparta.2 This event illustrates the presence of a thoughtful mind in Leonidas that later supported his military skills to turn him almost invincible.

The meaning of Leonidas is “lion like” and truly in reality he was a fearless king who adorned the throne of Sparta between 488BC and 480BC.3 NUMBER ALWAYS AFTER PUNCTUATION In history Leonidas has a great name; he is one of the most famous commanders in the history. He is known best as the commander of Spartan army at the legendary battle of Thermopylae during the Persian Wars. The command and confidence that Leonidas enjoyed over his fellow members gets well illustrated when someone among his fellow members told him “except being a king, he was no better than they” he replied with a smile “If I had not been better than you, I had not been a king”4. 2. Describe his/her educational background and religious/political learning and affiliations.

Did this belief system evolve or change during his/her lifetime? If so, how and why? As mentioned earlier that unlike most of the other Spartan Kings; Leonidas not being the direct heir of the Spartan throne was sent to agoge the Spartan public school. The rigorous physical training and psychological toughening that he received there made him strong both in terms of physical and mental strength. This teaching later in his life had reflected through his actions and decisions. Again these early teachings were also responsible for his credibility and leadership.

His credibility among the fellow Spartans and other Greeks gets well illustrated through the following events. Leonidas was elected to lead the Greek forces to face the Persian invasion in 481BC. He was a fearless king a well-trained commander, he was loved by his people and was a humble man. His leadership and commanding skills were so well that it is said in the History that he was one of the best Kings and military leaders Sparta ever had. All these were a result of not only his royal blood but his lessons in the Spartan public school.

5 FACTS HERE NEED CITATION -1 3. Did this person have a “cause”? If so, what was it and how successful was he/she in pursuing it. What obstacles were overcome? Who were this person’s allies and enemies in pursuit of this cause? Give historical examples. Leonidas had one supreme goal for which he even died, his goal was to never bow to anyone, always protect Sparta even if one dies doing it. The prosperity and progress of the Spartan was his aim. When Xerxes threatened the Spartans, Leonidas was the king and he was filled with anger he consulted his advisers for an attack at the Persians but the advisers opposed his decision and didn’t allowed him to announce battle against them.

So he gathers a group of 300 best fighters in his army and heads on towards the Persians. This act of Leonidas explains his qualities as a king and as a fearless commander, his acts explains his character and the devotion he had for his nation. In his own words “I pretend to defend the straights of Thermopylae; but, in truth, I go to die for my country”6. Furthermore Leonidas was not a gambler regarding his risk loving nature or a man only with brutal force; he also possessed a thoughtful brain that indulged in relentless thought processing at battlefield.

None of his decisions in battlefield were hasty and were always calculated risk. Once he was asked that why he is choosing such a small number of men to Thermopylae to battle the mighty Persians? He replied without taking a pause “There are enough, considering the design we go upon”7CITE FACTS HERE -1 The outcome of the Thermopylae war was very much clear to Leonidas even before the war was started. He knew that this is going to be a battle with no return yet he moved forward with his action.

Before he left for the battlefield he said to his wife “Marry some brave man… and bring him brave children.8” 4. What was his/her impact or place in regional or world history? It is somewhat ironic that the one episode of the struggle which was peculiarly his own, and where he won imperishable glory, was a defeat. The enormous force of Xerxes met with no opposition till it reached the narrow pass of Thermopylae. There it found its way blocked by the confederate Greeks commanded by Leonidas, King of Sparta9.

For two days the better-disciplined and better-armed Greeks hurled the assaults of the Persians back with heavy slaughter; but on the third the betrayal of a path over the mountains exposed the defenders to be taken in the rear. Finding that he was about to be surrounded, Leonidas dismissed all his army, except his own contingent of three hundred Spartans, whose national discipline required them to die at their post. However briefly this story be told, it would be wrong not to record that the Thespian contingent remained with them and shared their fate.

When the last battle began the devoted band charged into the thick of the enemy inflicting prodigious slaughter, Leonidas fell, and round his body the combat long raged. There the two brothers of Xerxes fell fighting gallantly. While their arms lasted the Greeks kept their swarming enemies at bay. At last, their spears being broken, they retired to a hillock and sat down round the body of their king, exposed to a shower of missiles. There they perished to a man, defending themselves to the last against all who approached, with daggers, hands, and teeth.

Six centuries later the names of the three hundred could still be read on a column at Sparta. Leonidas the bravest of them all was commemorated in different centuries through statues and inscriptions. In modern times a statue of Leonidas was erected in Thermopylae (1955) and Sparta (1968) with a small but touchy inscription that means “Come and get them”10 these were the words that the Spartans said when Persians called them to lay their weapons down. References NOT IN PROPER FORMAT -1 1.

Forrest, William George Grieve. 1968. A History of Sparta 950 - 192 B.C., New York, W.W. Norton & Company 2. Fischer, George Park. 2004. Outlines of Universal History designed as a text-book and private reading, Montana: Kessinger Publishing 3. Herodotus, Rawlinson, Henry and George Rawlinson.1885. The History of Herodotus. New York: D. Appleman and Company. 4. Kennell, Nigel M.1995.The Gymnasium of Virtue, Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press. 5. Osborne, T. 1747. An Universal history, Harvard University Press.