Persian Wars Battle at Thermopylae - 480 B.C.

Ancient History ^ | 3/12/07 | Ancient History

[freedom44]

What Was the Battle at Thermopylae?:

Thermopylae was a pass that the Greeks tried unsuccessfully to defend in battle against the Persians led by Xerxes in 480 B.C.Although the Spartans who led the defense were all killed (and may have known in advance that they would be), their courage provided inspiration to the Greeks, many of whom otherwise might have willingly become part of the Persian Empire (the relevant verb is "medize" from the word Mede). The following year the Greeks did win battles agains the Persians.

Persians Attack the Greeks at Thermopylae:

Xerxes' fleet of Persian ships had sailed along the coastline from northern Greece into the Gulf of Malia on the eastern Aegean Sea towards the mountains at Thermopylae. The Greeks faced the Persian army at a narrow pass there that controlled the only road between Thessaly and Central Greece. The Spartan general and king Leonidas was in charge of the Greek forces that tried to restrain the vast Persian army and keep them from attacking the rear of the Greek navy (under Athenian control). Leonidas may have hoped to block them long enough that Xerxes would have to sail away for food and water. Ephialtes and Anopaia:

Unfortunately for Leonidas, after a couple of days, a medizing traitor named Ephialtes led the Persians around the pass behind the Greek army. The name of Ephialtes' path behind the pass at Thermopylae (which means "hot gates") is Anopaea (or Anopaia); its exact location is debated.

Leonidas sent away most of the amassed troops.

THIS IS 300 the 'movie'

Greeks Fight the Immortals:

On the third day, Leonidas led his 300 Spartan hoplites (elite troops selected because they had living sons back home) plus the allied Thespians and Thebans against Xerxes and his army of "10,000 Immortals." (Not ONE MILLION) The Spartan-led forces fought this unstoppable Persian force to their deaths in order to block the pass long enough to keep Xerxes and his army occupied while the rest of the Greek

[PatriotCJC]

DITTO... Great Movie!

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Is this a live thread?

[MittFan08]

Honestly, ancient history relies upon the accuracy of a very limited number of historians. Is Herodotos the only historian who wrote about this battle? I take all ancient history with a grain of salt- it may or may not be true.

[CyberAnt]

Well .. I'm sorry to destroy your "fantasy" .. but the Greeks losing is not the moral of the story. The movie is not a fantasy .. it actually happened. Victor Davis Hansen was a consultant on the movie.

In case you have never read anything about Greek history - then watch the History Channel - they have done an excellent job explaining the story .. and as far as I can tell, they have done a good job. I got to watch most of it last night .. and I'm hoping they will run the story again.

The REAL MORAL OF THE STORY IS: Is it worth sacrificing 300 of your best and brightest in order to SAVE YOUR NATION ..??

Greece ultimately DEFEATED THE PERSIANS .. and saved Greece as a nation; and saved that part of the region from becomming Muslim territory.

The liberals are whining because they see a correlation between this war and the current battle in Iraq. Has it been worth sacrificing over 3000 of our best and brightest to SAVE OUR NATION ..?? The answer is .. absolutely YES!

[discostu]

you've got a real stick up your butt about this movie. And the funniest part is your complaints are based on your imagination not the movie. In the movie the Greeks lose that battle, because they're betrayed by Ephialtes who leads the Persians to a pass they can use to suround the Greeks. Hmmm not so much fantasy now.

Obviously there's plenty of dramatic license taken, it's not trying to be a historical recreation after all. But there's more truth to it than you're admitting.

[freedom44]

Persians were Zoroastrian not Muslim. Thanks for your genius analysis.

[CyberAnt]

It's rated "R" - and producers and others have said - DO NOT TAKE YOUR CHILDREN - THIS IS NOT A CHILDREN'S MOVIE.

Geeeeeeeze .. where do you people get your info ..??

As for Persian or Greek history .. I believe this type of movie will make students (high schoolers) curious about Greece and Persia (now Iran).

[rfp1234]

--Even though the traitor was Greek, would the traitor's name happen to be Pelosi or Murtha?--

Nancy Peloponnesi and Jack Murthanus.

[mrmargaritaville]

yes, but he was misunderstood, he was just trying to get the Greeks to "redeploy" from Thermopylae.

[thefactor]

this reminds me of that old Gary Shandling stand-up skit:

"I went on a date with a girl. We went to see the movie "E.T."

When the kids were riding their bikes and flew into the air, she said, 'Pfft! Yeah, right!'

I turned to her and said, 'It's not a documentary, honey.'"

this is fantasy based on fact. sit back and enjoy it.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

That's one of the wurst puns ever. (LOL)

[Mr. Jazzy]

"Moral of story - Greeks lost.. Movie was a total fantasy"

Moral of the story is that there are some things, like freedom, that are WORTH defending to the death. Greeks lost the battle, but western society and the ideas of democratic republics survived and are the same principals the United States were founded upon.

What would you say about the battle for the Alamo? "Moral of the story -Texicans lost."

In case you didn't know, the film is entertainment, not a documentary.

[Who is John Galt?]

When Xerxes told the Spartans to lay down their weapons, he was told "Molon Labe" (come and take them).

I prefer the Texas version:

COME AND TAKE IT

Battle of Gonzales, October 2, 1835

[VOA]

"In case you have never read anything about Greek history - then watch
the History Channel - they have done an excellent job explaining
the story .. and as far as I can tell, they have done a good job."

That is my general estimation. That documentary recreation did a good
job of giving the "back story" of why the Greeks and Persians found
themselves in that battle.
And it had good coverage of the naval battle going on at about the
same time.
It was interesting to hear the story of the future admiral that badgered
the Greeks into investing in more ships (like Churchill pleading for
more airplanes in the 1930s).

The show gets two re-airings on March 30.

http://www.history.com/shows.do?action=detail&episodeId=214233

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

Sorry if I implied otherwise -- I was just trying to point out that they did manage to achieve their objective -- even though it cost them their lives.

[amchugh]

The irony is that the Spartans were heroes for preserving the seeds of democracy even though they had nothing but contempt for Athenian democracy.

[inkling]

No problem... I just was taking issue with the poster's claims that the movie didn't tell what really happened. The Spartans' sacrifice was one of the foundations of Western Civilization.

[attackcartoons]

i've forgotten how to post images...


http://www.attackcartoons.com

[discostu]

I did enjoy it. Good movie, lots of fun, and it's really more heroically proportioned than it's outright fantasy.

[mbraynard]

Then you should see the movie, and you will realize there were more than 300 Spartans at the battle in the film, too, and that the Spartans were portrayed very much as elite special forces.

Regardless, it is a dramatization and a very enjoyable movie. The first thing I did when I saw it was coming out was go and review the actual history behind the battle because it made me curious.

Are you one of those people who likes to brag about never going to see a movie since the 1980s?