In the historical era of this film, the Persians began to expand west towards Greece (“Making Europe” 80). Once the Persians had reached the Greeks, a series of conflicts between the two had arisen (“Making Europe” 80). It is told in Making Europe, “The first conflict between the Greeks and Persia began… when the Ionian Greek cities…revolted against the Persian King Darius” (80). After this, Darius decided to build up an army to attack the mainland Greeks (“Making Europe” 80). This attack on Greece, known as the Battle of Marathon, was the first Persian invasion of Greece (“Making Europe” 81). Without any help from the Spartans, the Athenians had defeated the Persians with minimal Athenian casualties, as mentioned in Making Europe, “The final toll was 6,400 Persian dead to 192 Athenians.” (81). This film is based in the Greece 480 B.C.E., after the death of King Darius, with King Xerxes as the new ruler of Persia (“Making Europe” 81). As Xerxes prepared forces for a second invasion of Greece, the Greek cities discussed the war ahead, as mentioned in Making Europe, “Greek cities met at Corinth to plan their defense” (81). For this war, it says in Making Europe, “A force of 7,000 Greeks led by 300 Spartans under King Leonidas was sent to delay the Persian advance” (82). In this second invasion, the Spartans hold off the Persians until they are eventually surrounded and killed, and as the Persians continue to invade Athens, they are eventually defeated by the Athenian Navy. The 300 Spartans opens with Xerxes army marching into Greece, and the Persian discovery of Agathon the Spartan spy. While Xerxes’ army is marching, the representatives of Greek cities have all met at Corinth to discuss their plans for defense against the Persian... ... middle of paper ... ...the use of Spartan war tactics. An example of this is when the Spartans are faced with the challenge of dealing with Xerxes cavalry. When the cavalry approaches the front line, all of the Spartans dropped to the ground, letting the cavalry hop over them, then they arose from the ground, trapping the cavalry in between lines of Spartan soldiers attacking from both sides. The 300 Spartans was filmed in 1962 (IMDb) and directed by Rudolph Maté. Movies had only started being created a few decades before this film was made, sometimes for recruitment of young men to be American soldiers. The main message of the film is to portray the story of the Spartan men who laid down their lives to protect Greece. During the year 1962, the Vietnam War was occurring, so the portrayal of the bravery of the Spartan men may have been used to sway American men to join the war on Vietnam.
The Role of Themistocles in the Greek Defeat of the Persians in 480 - 479 BC.
In early fifth century BC Greece, the Greeks consistently suffered from the threat of being conquered by the Persian Empire. Between the years 500-479 BC, the Greeks and the Persians fought two wars. Although the Persian power vastly surpassed the Greeks, the Greeks unexpectedly triumphed. In this Goliath versus David scenario, the Greeks as the underdog, defeated the Persians due to their heroic action, divine support, and Greek unity. The threat of the Persian Empire's expansion into Greece and the imminent possibility that they would lose their freedom and become subservient to the Persians, so horrified the Greeks that they united together and risked their lives in order to preserve the one thing they all shared in common, their "Greekness".
“No man ever proves himself a good man in war unless he can endure to face the blood and the slaughter, go against the enemy and fight with his hands.” The preceding was quoted from “The Spartan creed” by the poet Tyrtaeus. There are two authors in this primary resource reading which include Tyrtaeus as well as Xenophon, whom authored “The laws and customs of the Spartans”. These two works give great detail to the Spartan society. As history has presented it, Sparta was a smaller polis and yet was one of the most, if not most, influential societies in history. What we know of this culture comes to us from excavation of its heritage as well as literary works such as these. But are these “eyes” into history factual and creditable enough to base our own interpretations of such a masterful race? These writings are great resources for Spartan’s war enhanced values and societal customs, but lack in evidence of governmental affairs and religion. This lacking may have been due to both writer’s motives for their work.
Although the Spartans and Athenians fought for almost 20 years, there was a time when they lived in harmony. Almost 15 years before any disturbances the Athenians and Spartans fought together in the Persian war. During the Persian war, the Spartans were thriving in their fight against the Persians, however over time the Persians began to grow stronger. After being to lose their fighting streak, the Athenians came in to help the Spartans and bring an end to Persian dominance once and for all (The Delian League, 1). After defeating the Persians in 449 B.C., the...
Good afternoon, I’ve been asked to speak with you about the historical accuracy of recent popular culture incarnations of both Spartan and Persian ideology and in particular I’ve chosen to evaluate Zack Snyder’s 2007, movie 300 in order to demonstrate to you it’s compatibility between ancient sourced depictions of both Spartan and Persian philosophy.
Xerxes and his army landed on the Greek shores of Thermopylae sometime in the summer of 480 BC. The Persian army numbered somewhere around 100,000 to 150,000 soldiers from across the Persian Empire, most of which were slaves forced to join after they had been conquered (Robinson). Their plan was to march into the heart of Greece through the Thermopylae pass, the only path through the mountains. It was here that King Leonidas thought he had the best chance to stop the Persian advance into Greece. The pass was a narrow path between the mountains, which the massive Persian force would be funneled into and have to face the Greeks one-on-one. The Greek army consisted of 300 Spartans and about 5,000 to 6,000 soldiers from across Greece. Leonidas planned to use his soldiers’ better fighting skills to defeat, or at least hold off, Xerxes’ forces until the remainder of the Greek Army could arrive.
Thucydides sets down the development of the relationship between the power of Athens and Sparta in the Archeology. Athens emerges from the Persian Wars as the undisputed commercial superpower in Greece. Where Sparta is located in the fertile Peloponnesus, and is thus able to sustain itself on agriculture alone, making trade unnecessary and allowing it to maintain its own laws and customs for “more than four hundred years” (I.18.1), Athens’ infertile land forces it to turn to olive oil for revenue, and it consequently develops a flourishing trade economy even before the Darius set his sights on Greece. The Persian invasion itself makes a sea power out of Athens, allowing it to establish a Mediterranean empire, and export its culture and government to the rest of Greece (I.18.2, I.6.3). This serves to unify the scattered Ionian and Doric cities under the umbrella of the Hellenes culturally where the Spartan campaign to remove tyrants unifies it politically by giving Greeks relative freedom and subordinating it uniformly to the law, and the joint coalition against the Persians ultimately secured it militarily (I.
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.
One of the most significant battles in antiquity was fought on the narrow, tree strewn plain of Marathon, in September, 490 BC. There, the Athenian army defeated a Persian force more than twice its size, because of superior leadership, training and equipment. The battle of Marathon has provided inspiration to the underdogs throughout history. In 490 BC, the Athenians proved that superior strategy, and technology can claim victory over massive numbers.
If a random person was asked to recite a line from any ancient Greek movie they could think of, there is a fairly good chance that they will proclaim “This is Sparta!” 300 directed by Zack Snyder was one of the most prolific films of 2007, retelling the epic tale of bravery and patriotism during the Battle of Thermopylae. The battle of the Hot Gates was one of Greece’s most memorable skirmishes against the invading Persians, with an army of 300 Spartans and roughly 6000 Greeks led by King Leonidas. The film manages to reproduce the famous battle in all of its bloody glory. However, like many action films, the movie lacks a deeper plot and is filled to the brim with stomach-wrenching visuals. The culture of both the Greeks and the Persians has been turned into a travesty, and the historical details were left behind for a more exciting form of entertainment. The film “300” was relatively accurate in portraying the Battle of Thermopylae and the culture of the ancient Spartans, by Hollywood standards. By historical standards, director Zack Snyder’s blockbuster was nothing more than a slander and a horrific misrepresentation of ancient Greek and Persian warfare, the true nature of historical figures such as Xerxes of Persia and the Greek Ephors, along with the Greek and Persian way of life and culture.
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,
Farris, Dale. "Shutt, Timothy B.: A History of Ancient Sparta." Library Journal 15 May 2009: 45.
Herodotus. “Greece Saved from Persian Conquest.” Readings in Ancient History. Eds. Nels M. Bailkey and Richard Lim. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002.
In the years following the Persian Wars in 479 B.C., Athens had come out on top being the most dominantly powerful of any Greek city with a navy that had superior strength that increased day by day. The Athenians “ruled with heavy-handed, even brutal force as well as with reason” (Kagan 2). This was due largely to the fact that Athens had a stable and effective government, which only increased their advantage in proving themselv...
In the year approximately 500 B.C., the Greek civilization came upon a time of peace. Because of the tranquil times, the civilization’s society had more time to focus on writing, math, astronomy, and artistic fields, as well as trade and metallurgy. Out of all the city-states of Greece, two excelled over all the rest, Sparta and Athens. Even though they were the most advanced and strong civilizations, they were bitter enemies. While Athens focused mainly on the people’s democracy and citizen rights, Sparta were ferocious and enslaved its original inhabitants, making them unable to leave