Battle of Thermopylae - Research Paper Example

? Battle of Thermopylae Introduction The battle of Thermopylae was fought between the Persian Empire and Greek s. The alliance of Greek States was expertly led by the Sparta’s King Leonidas. This battle continued for 3 days. Ultimately Persian Empire won the battle of Thermopylae in spite of heroics and courage of 300 Spartans who fought till death with the mighty trained Persian soldiers. This report will cover each and every aspect that is associated with the battle. Finally, the report will provide a conclusion by determine the significance and legacy of this particular battle. Background In the late summer of 480, at Thermopylae the Spartan king Leonidas was held out for around three days. King Leonidas was held out with mere 300 hoplites and was against thousands of best Great King’s troops. The battle of Thermopylae was during the invasion of Persian between 480-479 BC. The battle was first and between the Greeks and Persians. The force of Greek was very minute and was very much determined to fight and stand against thousands of Persian army. In central Greece, association of Greek-states at the pass of Thermopylae fought with the invading Persians. Greeks were outnumbered but they fought and held back Persians for three days and is known as history’s one of the most famous last stands. King of Sparta Leonidas blocked the road which was the only road to pass by the massive force of Xerxes I of Persia. The 300 Spartans fought till the end but were all killed and they would have known in advance that they would be killed. The courage shown by the Sparta provided a sense of belief and inspiration to the Greeks1. Spartans were never afraid of enemies and their numbers. Opposing forces According to Herodotus, Greek city-states consisted of around more than 6,200 men who fought with Persian army and were totally outnumbered. Persian army was about 2,242,000+. Greek army included 300 Spartans, 1000 Phocians, 500 Tegeans, other Arcadians 1000 and others. But comparing with the Persian army it is very minimal and very small army force. Persian army included 500,000 fleet crew, 1,500,000 infantry, 320,000 Greek allied troops, etc. numbers are very large indeed. 300 Spartans who fought for Greek city were an elite group of Spartan hoplites2. Each man of 300 Spartans had a living son. And it is said that each of the 300 Spartans had someone to fight for. 300 elite Spartans were led by the king Leonidas. Strategic and tactical considerations of the Opposing forces The Spartans didn’t have many options. But the king of Sparta Leonidas decided to place scorched earth policy. Policy was placed so that Greeks went out and destroy all buildings, livestock and grain and polluted the main water supply. And all the work was done before the arrival of Persians. When Persians arrived with their huge force at Thermopylae they had to rely on food which is being sent to them. They also found that they could not leave the land and that is not the situation to be in. The Greeks decided that they would make a stand at Thermopylae which is a narrow pass where northwest of Athens met at the sea. From the strategic point, Greeks have used best possible way to stop huge army of patricians. The Greek style of warfare was tactically suited in the pass at Thermopylae3. Leonidas used forces in a narrow pass so that Persians could not attack from flanks. The Greeks deployed in a phalanx. And this basically means Greeks stood in firm lines and used large shields to protect them. They stood firmly in lines and locked their shields together. They locked their shields so tight and close that there isn’t any gap between the shields for enemy to attack. Battle of Thermopylae First day The Phocians built a large ancient wall to stop raids from Thessaly. But it was destroyed and fallen apart. Leonidas went on to rebuild the wall and also send some local Greeks to protect the people who are rebuilding the wall. The Persians saw that rebuilding of the wall but were not concerned by the small force of Greeks. Persians were busy rebuilding their group of army but it was so he that it took five days to catch with the front army. Mid of august 480 BC was the first day of the battle of Thermopylae. On the fifth day the Persians arrived at the Thermopylae which was the first day of the battle. Xerxes was finally determined to attack on the Greeks. Firstly, Xerxes ordered around five thousand archers to fire arrows at the phalanx formation of the Greeks. But the shields used by the Greeks deflected all the arrows and damage was quite minimal. Then Xerxes opted to send thousands of Medes to attack the Greeks in the pass. But Greeks were strong enough to defect thousands of Medes. Greeks pushed many Medes off the cliff to the sea. The phalanx formation used by the Greeks was the reason to defeat thousands of Medes. The phalanx formation was mainly formation of wall created by men with overlapping shields. The Greeks were not affected by the weaker shields and arrows of the Persians. Commanders of the Persian force were shouting on their on their men to storm forward. Xerxes sent their second army. Second army was the cessions but they did not affect the Greeks. As the first day of the battle ended on the Greeks favor as Greeks were still in the pass and many of the Persians army were dead. Second day On the start of the second day, Persians followed the pattern of the first day but the pass was still held by the strong Greek forces. Xerxes sent messenger to interact with the Spartans. The envoy or messenger told to the Spartans that king Xerxes has huge respect for them and would put them at the head of the Persian army. Envoy also said that Xerxes promised the Spartans to become head of the first unit of Persian. But the king of Sparta Leonidas replied that they will fight till the end. Best troops commanded by Xerxes brother Hydarnes was named as immortals. Xerxes sent 10,000 of immortals4. Like Spartans they were professionally trained fighters. But the result was same immortals were defeated by the Spartans as they doesn’t have the armor and weapons that Spartans have. The Greeks were still successful to hold the pass but Xerxes lost brother and thousands of immortals. The entire army of the Persian was totally distressed due to the fact that immortals were defeated. A traitor, Ephialtes informed Xerxes about the mountain path which is around Thermopylae. Ephialtes offered Xerxes to guide Persian army to the path. Ephialtes was happy and motivated by the desire of reward. Since that day the name of Ephialtes has become the nightmare and traitor in the Greek language and in Greek culture. Xerxes send the group of immortals and commander Hydarnes. Hydarnes and immortals followed the path which is shown by the traitor. By that time many of the Spartans were injured and dead. Hydarnes was given the power to command enhanced force which includes immortals. It is believed that according to Diodorus, Hydarnes had around 20,000 forces to defeat the Spartans. Third day On the third day, the Phocians ho were guarding the path which was above Thermopylae. Phocians noticed the outflanking Persian column. Hydarnes feared that they were Spartans. But later Ephialtes informed that they were not Spartans. Tyrrhastiadas has warned Spartans about the Persian attack. Some of the Greeks were also aware of the situation and argued for the withdrawal. But Leonidas ignored everything and decided to stay at the pass with the Spartans. Leonidas ordered many of the Greek contingents to leaved and withdraw. Many of the Greek contingents do leave and choose to withdraw. There were also some Greeks who stayed with Leonidas. But the decision which was taken by Leonidas was subject of much discussion. It is believed that Spartans were obeying the rule and laws of Sparta. In the words of Oracle, it was believed that Leonidas sacrificed life to save Sparta5. But it is really bad idea to commit 1,500 men to sacrifice their life6. But the theory of Leonidas was to choose to form rearguard. By choosing to form rearguard would help other contingents of Greek to get away. If all the forces and Greeks retreated then that would open the pass and run down the Greek. If they all have stayed at the pass then eventually they would have been killed. Continuing to block the pass and covering the retreat, eventually Leonidas should have save thousands of men. At dawn, Xerxes allowed immortals to push forward. A Persian force includes thousands of men, cavalry and light infantry. Persian force charged to the Greek formation. Two brothers of Xerxes, Hypertanthes and Abrocomes died in the war. Eventually Leonidas also died who was shot down by the Persian archers. Finally tearing down the wall, Xerxes orders Persians to surround the hill and rain down arrows to the Greeks. Arrows were rained down until every single Greek force was dead. Aftermath The battle of Thermopylae soon acquired the mythical status among the Greeks. The Persians recovered the body of Leonidas. Xerxes ordered there men to cut off the head of Leonidas and the body was crucified. The way body of Leonidas was crucified was very uncommon for the Persians. Persians always treat valiant warriors with great honor and dignity. After forty long years, Leonidas bones were sent to the Sparta. Leonidas body was again buried but with full of honors and in the memory of Leonidas funeral games were done every year. Thermopylae was opened and used by the Persian army. The Persian army started to destroy and sack the cities if Boeotia which has not been given to the Persians and Thespiae. And in the meantime, Greeks were prepared to defend and save the Isthmus. The Isthmus of Corinth was defended by Greeks by demolishing the every single road linked with Isthmus and builds a wall across it. Strategy which was used at Thermopylae was created at the isthmus. The passage of Persian navy to land directly on the Peloponnese was blocked. Due to the use of strategy Greek fleet were able to destroy many of the Persian fleet. In the battle of Salamis, Greek fleet helped and ended threat of the Peloponnese by destroying Persian fleet. Significance of the Battle In western culture, Greeks were praised and lauded for their self-belief and performance in the battle. The battle at Thermopylae was referred as arguable one of the most famous battle in history of Europe. The strategy used by the Spartan king Leonidas was to hold off the Persians at Artemisium and Thermopylae by the help of phalanx formation. The strategy was to block the narrowest part of the pass. Greeks doesn’t want to surrender Boeotia and Attica to the Persian army. The way Spartans fought and hold of the Thermopylae till the end was the highlight of the fight. If the Greek army had stayed for some time, then Persians might have to retreat due to the lack of food and water. Despite the heavy loss, Persians was victorious to clear the pass both strategically and tactically. The way battle was fought at Thermopylae derived principally, not due to the result of the battle but for the inspirational example set by both Greeks and Persians7. Thermopylae is famous for the self-belief and heroics shown by the Spartans to hold the pass until their death. It can be said that the battle at Thermopylae was not pivotal for the Persian invasion. But it was an important part of Persian invasion and has some significance. The performance and heroics shown by the Greek force to defend the pass is used as an example in training and equipment. Legacy of the Battle Around the battlefield of Thermopylae, quite a few epitaphs and monuments has been commemorate for the battle of Thermopylae8. In the honor of the Spartan king, there is a monument named as Leonidas monument. There are also two statues on the right and left of monument which describes Mount Taygetos and the river Eurotas. These two are the famous landmarks of the Sparta. In the year 1997, the government of Greek officially opened the second monument which is dedicated to 700 Thespians. Thespians are the citizen of ancient Greek city, Thespiae who fought with Spartans. The monument is of marble. The monument of thespian is beside one of the Spartans. The culture of Spartan has become as an object of emulation and inspiration all over the world. An epitaph with a renowned epigram inscribed which was composed by the Simonides. It was placed on commemorative stone. Ever since battle of Thermopylae was fought in 480 BC it stayed an icon of western civilization. Conclusion The battle of Thermopylae is known as the most important battle in history. It is clear from the above discussion that motivated 300 Spartans fought with large number of Persian Battalion for three long days in order to save their empire from the attack of outside enemies. In spite of heroics and courage, the Greeks lose the battle due to lack of significant number of soldiers. It is true that several kingdoms got inspired from the heroics that are shown by the Spartans. Several monuments and architectures are developed in the memory of King Leonidas other Greek heroes who lost their lives in the battle. Work Cited Cawthorne, Nigel. The Immortals: History’s Fighting Elites. New York: MBI, 2009. Print. Charles, Victoria, and Sun Tzu. Art of War. New York: Parkstone International, 2012. Print. Lahanas, Michael. Ancient Greece Quotes. Web. 07 Nov. 2013. . Primary Source Quotation (Original quotes used to describe the courage of Spartans, 427 B.C.). Read More