the movie was a pivital moment where a god-king was made mortal by a man who for a moment seemed to be everything but mortal. As has been noted by the Greek historian, Herodotus, the Spartans had lost most of their battle lancers and were fighting with swords, battle-axes, daggers, bare hands, and teeth. Despite the enormous imbalence in competitve edge and in numbers, the Persians suffered heavy losses four separate times in this long battle. Nonetheless, the Spartans were finally slain by the overwheliming amount of arrows that blackened the sky above. Xerxes never stepped foot on the battlefield until the final Spartan fell. Discovering Leonidas’ lifeless body, Xerxes then had the king beheaded and crucified on a wooden cross, which merely infuriated a future Greek alliance. Indeed, Leonidas’ sacrifice allowed the Greeks to assemble an army of more than 30,000 led by an additional 10,000 inspired Spartans. The final scene in the film depicts Delios leading the huge Spartan army into war against Persia. It was there, at the Battle of Plataea where the Greeks drove the Persian army outside of Hellenic soil forever. …show more content…
No man’s actions can possibly be compared to the life of Jesus Christ, the Savior of creation. Nevertheless, like Jesus, Leonidas layed down his life for his friends and was willing to forfeit everthing he had for the benefit of his people. By way of constrast though, Jesus possessed the properly ordered model of selflessness because He did not simply die for those He loved, but also died for those who sinned against Him. Unlike Christ, Leonidas probably could never bring himself to sacrifice his life for his
Hercules is one of the most well-known mythical heroes in history; his associations with adventure and violence exemplify as to why audiences are so interested in him. Virgil briefly writes about Hercules within The Aeneid, showcasing his heroic qualities within a climactic event with the monster, Cacus. Through the characterization of Hercules and Cacus, demonstrations of Hercules’ anger, and exemplifications of vividness, Virgil’s account of the battle between Hercules and Cacus in Book 8 of The Aeneid exemplifies an element of impact, heightening the conflict between the two characters for entertainment purposes.
The Greeks, who were made up of only 300 Spartans under the rule of Leonidas and about 7000, allied Greeks these included; Arcadia, Mantineans, Arcadian Orchomenus, Orchomenians, Corinth, Phlius, Mycenae, Boeotia, Thespians and Thebans, noted by Herodotus. Persians waited 3 days to march up to the Greeks to start the battle; they opened the battle by shooting arrows. The Greeks took it in turn to be in the front line of their phalanx and fought off wave
In 480 BC the Persian Empire was once again trying to invade ancient Greece. Under the reign of King Xerxes, an invincible army of a recorded 2 million was marching downwards to enslave all Greeks. An elite force of three hundred Spartans tackled the suicide mission of stalling the Persian wave of doom.
In J.D. Miller's article “Thermopylae” the entire pre-history as well as post-history can be seen. In 525 B.C. The Persian empire had grown from a small kingdom to an immense empire stretching from Troy to modern day Russia. King Darius was their leader at the time, strangely enough Darius was an imposter to the throne. When the previous king had passed into the next life Darius had pretended to be his brother and they all believed him. By 490 B.C. the new leader was Xerxes the famed god king. Xerxes had just come a victory at marathon and his troops were eager for another, the sight of the narrow pass between two mountains being defended by over seven thousand Greeks and three hundred Spartans. Over the course of two days the Persian army through everything they had at the Greeks defence. Xerxes knew that he needed a swift victory or his army of over two hundred thousand men and fifty thousand cavalry would run out of supplies very quickly. It was not until a Greek traitor went to Xerxes, telling him of a secret goat path that would lead his army behind the Greeks position. On the third day the battle was ended quickly as the Persian army surrounded the three hundred Spartans and four hundred free Greeks that stayed to ensure the retreat of the other Greeks.
The Battle of Thermopylae began in 480 BC and was a product of the Greeks attempt help defend the Ionians from the Persians. This irritated the Persian Emperor, Xerxes, because he thought of Greece as a small kingdom that had no place revolting against the Persian Empire. The Athenians sympathized with the Ionians because the Persians had also tried to invade Greece on multiple occasions. The Athenians provided feeble help to the Ionians and in retaliation the Persians struck at athens (23B). Xerxes was known to be irrational with his temper, and may have thought of his invasion as retaliation for the fact that his father, Darius the Great, was defeated at the Battle of Marathon against the Greeks. His temper was so great that at Hellas Point he had the water whipped because it would not obey him (E49). One of several Greek war leaders in the Battle of Thermopylae was Leonidas, the second born son of King Anaxandridas. It was not until his half brother was killed under controversial circumstances that Leonidas rose to power (G72). Apart from misconceptions spread by the popular film “300,” the three hundred Spartans did not go into battle alone, and were accompanied by over eight hundred allies. Nevertheless, the Persians still outnumbered the Greeks ten to one, which is why it is incredible that the Greeks were able to hold them for three days before eventually losing that specific battle. Despite losing the battle in terms of soldiers and defending greece, the battle of thermopylae was somewhat successful in that it was a demonstration of the courage of greek soldiers, impressive battle tactics,
The dominant factor in an epic is the heroic main character. This character often is the son of a god or goddess and is favored by the gods. Heroic characters are also always hounded by constant tragedy which drives them to fulfill their fates. Most heroic characters are high in social status and share close contacts with the gods. All of these qualities of heroic characters show up in the characters of Aeneas from The Aeneid and Gilgamesh from the Epic of Gilgamesh.
A Greek epic hero has many characteristics that makes them admirable to others. Characteristics of an epic hero includes, being of noble birth, being a warrior and performing extraordinary feats, being loyal and fighting for a noble cause, and having intelligence and flaws, and facing supernatural beings or receiving help from supernatural beings. Both Achilles and Odysseus were born of noble birth. Achilles was the son of Peleus the king of Myrmidons, while Odysseus was the king of Ithaca. In addition, Achilles was a demi god, whose mother Thetis had dipped him in the river Styx to receive invulnerability, while Odysseus grandfather is Hermes, the messenger god. Both men were a great warrior and had performed extraordinary feats. Both men
However, during the Battle of Thermopylae, they set aside their differences and fought together against their common Persian enemy (Video 7:00.) Leading the attack against the Persians was Leonidas, the Spartan King. He chose who got to go into battle and was the one who stood and fought until death (Video 7:47.) The 300 Spartans as Thermopylae were not the only ones who fought till death. The king of Persia, Xerxes, was preparing a naval attack on Thermopylae that would “pinch” the spartans into submission by attacking them on both sides of the pass. However, 200 Greek warships were sent to dispel of the Persian sneak attack (Video 9:20.) The warships were lead by Themistocles who was a Athenian politician and a military commander. If Leonidas or Themistocles were to fail in protecting the pass, Thousands of Athenians would become enslaved or killed along with many other Greek city states (Video
On the Mediterranean Sea, Aeneas and his fellow Trojans flee from their home city of Troy, which has been destroyed by the Greeks. They sail for Italy, where Aeneas is destined to found Rome. As they near their destination, a fierce storm throws them off course and lands them in Carthage. Dido, Carthage’s founder and queen, welcomes them. Aeneas relates to Dido the long and painfuAeneas tells of the sack of Troy that ended the Trojan War after ten years of Greek siege. In the final campaign, the Trojans were tricked when they accepted into their city walls a wooden horse that, unbeknownst to them, harbored several Greek soldiers in its hollow belly. He tells how he escaped the burning city with his father, Anchises, his son, Ascanius, and the hearth gods that represent their fallen city. Assured by the gods that a glorious future awaited him in Italy, he set sail with a fleet containing the surviving citizens of Troy. Aeneas relates the ordeals they faced on their journey. Twice they attempted to build a new city, only to be driven away by bad omens and plagues. Harpies, creatures that are part woman and part bird, cursed them, but they also encountered friendly countrymen unexpectedly. Finally, after the loss of Anchises and a bout of terrible weather, they made their way to Carthage.
Homer's two central heroes, Odysseus and Achilles, are in many ways differing manifestations of the same themes. While Achilles' character is almost utterly consistent in his rage, pride, and near divinity, Odysseus' character is difficult to pin down to a single moral; though perhaps more human than Achilles, he remains more difficult to understand. Nevertheless, both heroes are defined not by their appearances, nor by the impressions they leave upon the minds of those around them, nor even so much by the words they speak, but almost entirely by their actions. Action is what drives the plot of both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and action is what holds the characters together. In this respect, the theme of humanity is revealed in both Odysseus and Achilles: man is a combination of his will, his actions, and his relationship to the divine. This blend allows Homer to divulge all that is human in his characters, and all that is a vehicle for the idyllic aspects of ancient Greek society. Accordingly, the apparent inconsistencies in the characterization of Odysseus can be accounted for by his spiritual distance from the god-like Achilles; Achilles is more coherent because he is the son of a god. This is not to say that Achilles is not at times petty or unimaginative, but that his standards of action are merely more continuous through time. Nevertheless, both of Homer's heroes embody important and admirable facets of ancient Greek culture, though they fracture in the ways they are represented.
After the Spartan-Army defeated the waves of Persians Xerxes ordered to attack them, Xerxes realizes the mistake he made by not anticipating the tactical advantage Leonidas and his army had, no matter the number of the army he amassed the past four years prior to the attack. As he comes to this realization, a Greek by the name of Ephialtes, informs Xerxes of the hidden path that leads behind the position of the Spartan-Greek army. Xerxes takes this knowledge and sends a portion of what is left of his “Immortal” army down the hidden path at night to flank Leonidas and his army. No one knows today what exact path the “immortal” soldiers took to flank Leonidas, but when the Persians finally reached their position they defeated the soldiers Leonidas earlier ordered to guard the
The Government: the system that benefits the complacent and submissive, yet strikes down the insurgents; those who dare question or challenge its, sometimes, unjust policies. A government is defined as a group of people that governs a community or unit. Nonetheless, any government depends on a leader to guide them to the seemingly correct path, whether it is a president, king, queen, prime minister, among others. Indeed, some people may see this leader as a sort figurehead, someone who has no real authority or power in the government. Despite this, most people trust this leader, believing that he or she will make the right decisions and lead them to greatness. Even though, in some occasions, this is accurate, it is not always true. Many leaders
In Sparta, Xeones became a helot and he was given to a Spartan soldier named Dienekes. Xeones was trained to fight like a Spartan and later became Dienekes’s battle squire. When Xeones was about twenty, the Spartan king, Leonidas, announced that three hundred Spartan men would be sent on a suicide mission to Thermopylae to hold off the invading Persian army. Dienekes was chosen to go. On the first and second day of battle, many Persians were killed, but only a few Greeks. At the end of the second day, Xerxes found a secret path where part of his army could go through and completely surround the Greeks on the next day. Leonidas was informed of this and sent a group of Spartans, including Xeones and Dienekes, on an unsuccessful mission to kill Xerxes. On the third day, the Persians surrounded the Spartans and they all were killed.
Erotic love as a physical attraction to another person offers a plethora of different scenarios in how people handle sexual love and attraction. Each Eros experience results in either a positive or negative portrayal of the female lover depending on whether the love exists as forced or natural. Virgil’s Aeneid negatively represents Dido because of her forced erotic love as a result of the interference of the Roman goddess Venus. In the Roman time period, society expects Dido to devote her love towards mourning her dead husband for a year. However, Dido’s love for Aeneas conflicts with her time of mourning for the sole purpose of furthering the destiny of Aeneas in travelling to Rome. Ghismonda, however, in 14th Century Italy, experiences different expectations as a widow because of her ability to remarry right away but her father forbids the action out of his own love for Ghismonda. As a result of her loneliness, Ghismonda actively pursues a hidden lover against her father’s will. Due to the societal expectations of the time periods both Dido and Ghismonda live in, the standards of the time period represent women in both positive and negative connotations. Dido’s erotic love negatively represents Dido because of her
The Odyssey, Oedipus the King, and The Aeneid are all great literary works with a universal theme that is still being used to teach today. The author of these individual works, just like any author, uses their stories to convey their views on their beliefs, religion, culture and many other things. With each story, the readers are given lessons and get some sort of insight into the lives of the people and their religious beliefs. Each individual work portrays the views of its religious beliefs based on its time period and culture. These portrayal views in The Odyssey, Oedipus the King, and Aeneid sheds light on the differences that culture and time period brings into religious beliefs.