Battle of Thermopylae: Difference between revisions
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C'mon guys, let's leave Ctesias out of the box, we already have him in the content and modern consensus is already in the warbox. Besides Ctesias never said 75,000 he claimed an impossible 800,000! |
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|commander2=[[Xerxes I of Persia|Xerxes the Great]] |
|commander2=[[Xerxes I of Persia|Xerxes the Great]] |
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|strength1=300 [[Sparta]]ns<br>1,000 [[Lacedaemonians]]<br>500 [[Mantinea]]ns<br>500 [[Tegea]]ns<br>120 [[Arcadian Orchomenos]]<br>1,000 Other [[Arcadians]]<br>400 [[Corinthians]]<br>200 [[Phlius|Phlians]]<br>80 [[Mycenaeans]]<br>700 [[Thespiae|Thespians]]<ref name=Green>{{ cite book | first=Peter | last=Green | authorlink=Peter Green (historian) | date=1996 | title=The Greco-Persian Wars | pages=page 140 | publisher=[[University of California Press]] | id=ISBN 0520203135}}</ref><br>1,000 [[Melians]]<br> 400 [[Thebans]]<br>1,000 [[Phocians]]<br> 6,000 [[Opuntian Locris|Opuntian Locrians]]<br>900 [[Helots]]<br>800 to 900 Other Greek auxilaries=<br>15,000 Total Greeks possible<ref>Pausanias [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160&layout=&loc=10.20.1 Book X, Ch. xx, Sect. 2]</ref> |
|strength1=300 [[Sparta]]ns<br>1,000 [[Lacedaemonians]]<br>500 [[Mantinea]]ns<br>500 [[Tegea]]ns<br>120 [[Arcadian Orchomenos]]<br>1,000 Other [[Arcadians]]<br>400 [[Corinthians]]<br>200 [[Phlius|Phlians]]<br>80 [[Mycenaeans]]<br>700 [[Thespiae|Thespians]]<ref name=Green>{{ cite book | first=Peter | last=Green | authorlink=Peter Green (historian) | date=1996 | title=The Greco-Persian Wars | pages=page 140 | publisher=[[University of California Press]] | id=ISBN 0520203135}}</ref><br>1,000 [[Melians]]<br> 400 [[Thebans]]<br>1,000 [[Phocians]]<br> 6,000 [[Opuntian Locris|Opuntian Locrians]]<br>900 [[Helots]]<br>800 to 900 Other Greek auxilaries=<br>15,000 Total Greeks possible<ref>Pausanias [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160&layout=&loc=10.20.1 Book X, Ch. xx, Sect. 2]</ref> |
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|strength2= |
|strength2=150,000 to 250,000<br>(Modern consensus)<br>(See [[#Size of the Persian army|below]])<br> |
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|casualties1= 300 Spartans<br>900 Helots<br>700 Thespians<ref name=Green/><br>400 Thebans<br>Unknown others<ref>Some Greeks must have been fatally wounded on the first few days of battle, as one cannot suppose pitched battles without casualties. Also Herodotus does not say how many Thebans died before their surrender was accepted. Although the numbers in Herodotus are not precise by today's standards, he presents them without his typical apologia that he heard them from someone, which may indicate that he had faith in them.</ref> |
|casualties1= 300 Spartans<br>900 Helots<br>700 Thespians<ref name=Green/><br>400 Thebans<br>Unknown others<ref>Some Greeks must have been fatally wounded on the first few days of battle, as one cannot suppose pitched battles without casualties. Also Herodotus does not say how many Thebans died before their surrender was accepted. Although the numbers in Herodotus are not precise by today's standards, he presents them without his typical apologia that he heard them from someone, which may indicate that he had faith in them.</ref> |
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|casualties2=20,000 ([[Herodotus]])<ref>Herodotus [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin//ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126;query=chapter%3D%231327;layout=;loc=8.25.1 VIII, 24]</ref><br>|notes=<sup>*</sup> Out of the initial 7,000-strong Greek army, all but 2,300 were dismissed on the third day.<ref name=Green/> |
|casualties2=20,000 ([[Herodotus]])<ref>Herodotus [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin//ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126;query=chapter%3D%231327;layout=;loc=8.25.1 VIII, 24]</ref><br>|notes=<sup>*</sup> Out of the initial 7,000-strong Greek army, all but 2,300 were dismissed on the third day.<ref name=Green/> |
Revision as of 04:52, 6 March 2008
Battle of Thermopylae | |||||||||
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Part of the Greco-Persian Wars | |||||||||
![]() The site of the battle today. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Greek city-states | Achaemenid Persia | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Leonidas † | Xerxes the Great | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
300 Spartans 1,000 Lacedaemonians 500 Mantineans 500 Tegeans 120 Arcadian Orchomenos 1,000 Other Arcadians 400 Corinthians 200 Phlians 80 Mycenaeans 700 Thespians[1] 1,000 Melians 400 Thebans 1,000 Phocians 6,000 Opuntian Locrians 900 Helots 800 to 900 Other Greek auxilaries= 15,000 Total Greeks possible[2] |
150,000 to 250,000 (Modern consensus) (See below) | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
300 Spartans 900 Helots 700 Thespians[1] 400 Thebans Unknown others[3] |
20,000 (Herodotus)[4] | ||||||||
* Out of the initial 7,000-strong Greek army, all but 2,300 were dismissed on the third day.[1] |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Jacques-Louis_David_004_Thermopylae.jpg/305px-Jacques-Louis_David_004_Thermopylae.jpg)
In the Battle of Thermopylae (as detailed almost entirely by Herodotus), which occurred in 480 BC, an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian Empire at the pass of Thermopylae in central Greece. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the Persians for three days in one of history's most famous last stands. A small force led by King Leonidas of Sparta blocked the only road through which the massive army of Xerxes I of Persia could pass. After three days of battle, a local resident named Ephialtes is believed to have betrayed the Greeks by revealing a mountain path that led behind the Greek lines. Dismissing the rest of the army, King Leonidas stayed behind with 300 Spartans, 700 Thespian volunteers, 400 Thebans that had been pressed into service and 900 Helots.
The Persians succeeded in taking the pass but sustained heavy losses, extremely disproportionate to those of the Greeks. The fierce resistance of the Spartan-led army offered Athens the invaluable time to prepare for a decisive naval battle that would come to determine the outcome of the war.[5] The subsequent Greek victory at the Battle of Salamis left much of the Persian Empire's navy destroyed and Xerxes retreated to Asia, leaving a force in Greece under Mardonius, who was to meet the Greeks in battle one last time. The Spartans assembled at full strength and led a pan-Greek army that defeated the Persians decisively at the Battle of Plataea, ending the Greco-Persian War and with it the expansion of the Persian Empire into Europe.[6]
The performance of the defenders at the battle of Thermopylae is often used as an example of the advantages of training, equipment, and good use of terrain as force multipliers,[7] and has become a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds.[7]
Greek preparations
The Battle of Thermopylae was the first main event in what is generally termed the Second Persian War. Its political origin is to be found in the events of the First Persian War,[8] when Xerxes' father, King Darius I of Persia, or Darius the Great, invaded Greece for the first time and was defeated by Athens at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC.
Earth and water
Just prior to that battle Darius had sent heralds around to the Greek states offering the opportunity to submit,[9] which would avoid war and make them eligible for blandishments from the king.[10] As was customary, this was signaled by asking for "earth and water", betokening their submission, which was duly kept by the assiduous bureaucrats of the Persian Empire. The Athenians responded at that time by throwing the emissaries into a pit, and the Spartans by throwing others into a well, with a suggestion to dig it out for themselves.[11]
Congress of Corinth
Consequently, when Xerxes sent the envoys around again[12] just prior to the Battle of Thermopylae, he omitted Athens and Sparta. Support gathered around these two leading states. A congress met at Corinth in late autumn of 481 BC,[13] and a confederate alliance of Greek city-states was formed. It had the power to send envoys asking for assistance and to dispatch troops from the member states to defensive points after joint consultation. Herodotus does not formulate an abstract name for the polity, such as "congress" or "alliance", but calls them simply "οἱ Ἕλληνες" (the Greeks) and "the Greeks who had sworn alliance" (Godley translation) or "the Greeks who had banded themselves together" (Rawlinson translation).[14] Sparta and Athens had a leading role in the congress[15] but interests of all the states played a part in determining defensive strategy. Little is known about the internal workings of the congress or the discussion during its proceedings. Only 70 of the approximately 700 Greek cities sent representatives.
Vale of Tempe
The congress first sent a force of 10,000 Greeks including hoplites and cavalry to the vale of Tempe, through which they believed the Persian army would have to pass. There is no mention of any Spartans. The force did include Lacedaemonians led by Euanetus, not of the Spartan royal family, and Athenians under Themistocles. Warned by Alexander I of Macedon that the vale could be bypassed elsewhere and that the army of Xerxes was overwhelming, the Greeks decided not to try to hold there and vacated the vale.[16]
Greek strategy
The allied Greeks judged that the next strategic choke point where the Persian force could be stopped was Thermopylae.[17] They decided to defend it and send a fleet to Artemision, a naval choke point, as Xerxes' army was being supplied and supported by sea. Using the fleet, Xerxes' army might have crossed Maliacos bay and outflanked the Greek army; in the words of George Grote: "... the occupation of the northern part of the Euboean strait was indispensable to prevent the Persian fleet from landing troops in the rear of the defenders of Thermopylae."[18]
The Greek high strategy is confirmed by an oration later in the same century:[19]
But while Greece showed these inclinations [to join the Persians], the Athenians, for their part, embarked in their ships and hastened to the defence of Artemisium; while the Spartans and some of their allies went off to make a stand at Thermopylae, judging that the narrowness of the ground would enable them to secure the passage.
Carneia festival
Herodotus writes:[20]
The force with Leonidas was sent forward by the Spartans in advance of their main body, that the sight of them might encourage the allies to fight, and hinder them from going over to the Medes, as was likely they might have done had they seen that Sparta was backward. They intended presently, when they had celebrated the Carneian Festival, which was what now kept them at home, to leave a garrison in Sparta, and hasten in full force to join the army. The rest of the allies intended to act similarly; for it happened that the Olympic Festival fell exactly at this same period. None of them looked to see the contest at Thermopylae decided so speedily; wherefore they were content to send forward a mere advance guard. Such accordingly were the intentions of the allies.
During the Carneia, military activity was forbidden by Spartan law. At the Battle of Marathon, the Spartans had arrived too late because of this requirement. On this occasion, the ephors decided the urgency was sufficiently great to justify an advance expedition under one of its kings (Leonidas), which can be used to roughly determine the time of year. The Carneia took place in a late summer month (July, August or September) from the 7th to the 15th ending with a full moon.[21]
The oracle
The legend of Thermopylae as told by Herodotus has it that Sparta consulted the Oracle at Delphi before setting out to meet the Persian army. The Oracle is said to have made the following prophecy in hexameter verse:[22]
O ye men who dwell in the streets of broad Lacedaemon!
Either your glorious town shall be sacked by the children of Perseus,
Or, in exchange, must all through the whole Laconian country
Mourn for the loss of a king, descendant of great Heracles.
Marry a good man
The overall commander of Greek forces was now Leonidas, who was generally admired.[23] Herodotus writes that he was convinced he was going to certain death, as his forces were not adequate for a victory, and so selected only men with living sons.[24] Plutarch mentions in his Sayings of Spartan Women that, after encouraging him, Leonidas' wife Gorgo asked what she should do on his departure. He replied, "Marry a good man, and have good children."[25]
Arrival of the Persians
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Battle_of_Thermopylae_and_movements_to_Salamis%2C_480_BC.gif/220px-Battle_of_Thermopylae_and_movements_to_Salamis%2C_480_BC.gif)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Map_Greco-Persian_Wars-en.svg/220px-Map_Greco-Persian_Wars-en.svg.png)
Competing ideologies
Herodotus attests a conversation that took place early in the expedition between Xerxes and Demaratus, an exiled Spartan king under his employment. Xerxes asked Demaratus whether he thought that the Greeks would put up a fight, for in his opinion neither the Greeks nor even all peoples of Europe together would be able to stop him because they were disunited.[26] Demaratus replied:[27]
First, they will never accept conditions from you that bring slavery upon Hellas; and second, they will meet you in battle even if all the other Greeks are on your side. Do not ask me how many these men are who can do this; they will fight with you whether they have an army of a thousand men, or more than that, or less.
Xerxes laughed at this answer, claiming that "free men" of any number would never be able to stand against his army which was unified by a single ruler, and that obedience to one single master would make his troops extremely courageous, or they would be led into battle "by the whip" even against an army of any size. He added that "even if the Greeks have larger numbers than our highest estimate, we still would outnumber them 100 to 1". He asserted that his army contained men who would gladly fight with three Greeks at once and that Demaratus was talking nonsense.[28] To this Demaratus answered:[29]
I would most gladly fight with one of those men who claim to be each a match for three Greeks. So is it with the Lacedaemonians; fighting singly they are as brave as any man living, and together they are the best warriors on earth. They are free, yet not wholly free: law is their master, whom they fear much more than your men fear you. They do whatever it bids; and its bidding is always the same, that they must never flee from the battle before any multitude of men, but must abide at their post and there conquer or die.
The final decision
On the Persian army's arrival at Thermopylae, Greek troops instigated a council meeting. Some Peloponnesians suggested withdrawal to the Isthmus and blocking the passage to Peloponnesus. They were well aware that the Persians would have to go through Athens in order to reach them there. The Phocians and Locrians, whose states were located nearby, became indignant and advised defending Thermopylae and sending for more help. Leonidas and the Spartans agreed to defend Thermopylae.[30]
Combing their long hair
Meanwhile, the Persians entered the pass and sent a mounted scout to reconnoiter. The Greeks allowed him to come up to the camp, observe them, and depart. When the scout reported to Xerxes the size of the Greek force and that the Spartans were indulging in calisthenics and combing their long hair, Xerxes found the reports laughable. Seeking again the counsel of Demaratus, Xerxes was told that the Spartans were preparing for battle and that it was their custom to adorn their hair when they were about to risk their lives. Demaratus called them "the bravest men in Greece" and warned the Great King that they intended to dispute the pass. He emphasized that he had tried to warn Xerxes earlier in the campaign, but the king had refused to believe him. He added that if Xerxes ever managed to subdue the Spartans, "there is no other nation in all the world which will venture to lift a hand in their defence" (Rawlinson translation).[31]
Come and get them
Xerxes remained incredulous, finding it unbelievable for such a small army to contend with his own. Plutarch informs that he then sent emissaries to the Greek forces. At first, he asked Leonidas to join him by offering the kingship of all Greece. Leonidas answered: "If you had any knowledge of the noble things of life, you would refrain from coveting others' possessions; but for me to die for Greece is better than to be the sole ruler over the people of my race."[32] Then Xerxes asked him more forcefully to surrender their arms. To this Leonidas gave his noted answer: [[Molon labe|Μολὼν Λαβέ]], "Come and get them".[33]
We shall fight in the shade
Despite their extremely disproportionate numbers, Greek morale was high. Herodotus writes that when Dienekes, a Spartan soldier, was informed that Persian arrows would be so numerous as "to blot-out the sun", he responded with a characteristically laconic remark, "So much the better; we shall fight in the shade."[34]
Battle
Failure of the frontal assault
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Greek_Phalanx.jpg/220px-Greek_Phalanx.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Persian_warriors_from_Berlin_Museum.jpg/220px-Persian_warriors_from_Berlin_Museum.jpg)
Xerxes waited four days for the Greek force to disperse. On the fifth day he sent Medes and Cissians, along with relatives of those who had died ten years earlier in the battle of Marathon, to take the Greeks prisoner and bring them before him.[35][36] They soon found themselves in a frontal assault.[35] The Greeks had camped on either side of the rebuilt Phocian wall. The wall was guarded and the Greeks fought in front of it.[37]
Details of the tactics are scant. Diodorus says "the men stood shoulder to shoulder" and the Greeks were "superior in valor and in the great size of their shields."[38] The formation being described is the standard Greek phalanx, a wall of overlapping shields and layered spear points, which would only have been effective if it spanned the width of the pass. Herodotus says that the units for each state were kept together.[23] The small shields and shorter spears of the Persians were not a match for the superior armament of the Greek hoplites.[38][39] The Greeks killed so many Medes that Xerxes is said to have started up off the seat from which he was watching the battle three times.[40] According to Ctesias, the first wave was "cut to pieces" with only two or three Spartans dead.[41]
According to Herodotus and Diodorus, the king, having taken the measure of the enemy, threw his best troops into a second assault on the same day: the Immortals, an elite corps of 10,000 men.[38][39] Ctesias tells a totally different story, that Xerxes sent another 20,000 troops against the Greeks, after the first 10,000 under Artapanus were defeated. They also failed to open the pass even though they were flogged by their leaders to press on.[41] Although there might have been 10,000 Medes, the Immortals were only 10,000 and as elite troops it would not have been necessary to flog them. On the second day Xerxes sent, according to Ctesias, another 50,000 men to assault the pass, but again they failed. Xerxes at last stopped the assault and withdrew to his camp, totally perplexed.[41]
Encirclement of the Greeks
Late on the second day of battle, as the Persian king was pondering what to do next, he received a windfall: a Malian Greek traitor named Ephialtes informed him of a path around Thermopylae and offered to guide the Persian army. Ephialtes was motivated by the desire of a reward.[42] For this act, the name of Ephialtes received a lasting stigma, coming to mean "nightmare" and becoming the archetypal term for a "traitor" in Greek.[43]
In Herodotus, Xerxes sends his commander Hydarnes to flank the pass with the men under his command, but he does not say who those men are.[44] Hydarnes commanded the Immortals, but they had been cut to pieces the day before. Ctesias tells a different story, asserting that 40,000 troops were sent around the pass conducted by the leaders of the Trachinians.[41] The stories can be reconciled by presuming that Hydarnes was given overall command of an enhanced force including what was left of the Immortals, but it is only a presumption. The Immortals were given such a name because when a member fell in battle he was immediately replaced by another to maintain the 10,000, therefore it is also possible they had been replenished from the previous day's fighting. The path led from east of the Persian camp along the ridge of Mt. Anopaea behind the cliffs that flanked the pass. It branched with one path leading to Phocis and the other down to the Gulf of Malis at Alpenus, first town of Locris. Leonidas had stationed 1,000 Phocian volunteers on the heights to guard that path.[45]
Their first warning of the approach of the Persians at daybreak was the rustling of oak leaves. Herodotus says that they jumped up and were greatly amazed.[46] Hydarnes was perhaps as amazed to see them hastily arming themselves as they were to see him and the Persian forces. He feared that they were Spartans, but was enlightened by Ephialtes and proceeded by firing "showers of arrows" at them. The Phocians retreated to the crest of the mountain to make their stand and defend their city which was behind the mountain range, but the Persians took the left branch of the pass to Alpenus and hence circled behind the main Greek force.[46]
Last stand of the Greeks
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/62/Archers_frieze_Darius_palace_Louvre_AOD487.jpg/220px-Archers_frieze_Darius_palace_Louvre_AOD487.jpg)
Learning that the Phocians had not held, Leonidas called a council of war at dawn. Some Greeks argued for withdrawal, while others pledged to stay. After the council, many of the Greek forces did choose to withdraw.[47] Herodotus believed that Leonidas blessed their departure with an order, but he also offered the alternative point of view that those retreating forces departed without orders.[48] The Spartans had pledged themselves to fight to the death. However, a contingent of about 700 Thespians, led by general Demophilus, the son of Diadromes, refused to leave with the other Greeks, but cast their lot with the Spartans.[49]
The Greeks this time sallied forth from the wall to meet the Persians in the wider part of the pass in an attempt to slaughter as many Persians as they could. They fought with spears until every spear was shattered and then switched to xiphoi (short swords). In this struggle, Herodotus states that two brothers of Xerxes fell: Abrocomes and Hyperanthes. Leonidas also died in the assault and they fought over his body, the Greeks taking possession.[50]
Receiving intelligence that Ephialtes and the Immortals were advancing toward the rear, the Greeks withdrew and took a stand on a hill behind the wall. The Thebans "moved away from their companions, and with hands upraised, advanced toward the barbarians..." (Rawlinson translation), but a few were slain before their surrender was accepted. The king later had the Theban prisoners branded with the royal mark.[51] Of the remaining defenders Herodotus says: "Here they defended themselves to the last, those who still had swords using them, and the others resisting with their hands and teeth; ...."[52] Tearing down part of the wall, Xerxes ordered the hill surrounded and the Persians rained down arrows until the last Greek was dead.[52] In 1939 the archaeologist, Spyridon Marinatos, excavating at Thermopylae found large numbers of Persian bronze arrowheads on Kolonos Hill, changing the identification of the hill on which the Greeks died from a smaller one nearer the wall.[53]
Aftermath
When the body of Leonidas was recovered by the Persians, Xerxes, in a rage against Leonidas, ordered that the head be cut off and the body crucified. Herodotus observes that this was very uncommon for the Persians, as they had the habit of treating "valiant warriors" with great honor[54] (the example of Pytheas captured earlier off Skyros also suggests that).[55] However, Xerxes was known for his rage, as when he had the Hellespont whipped because it would not obey him.[56]
Xerxes was curious as to what the Greeks were trying to do (presumably because there were so few numbers) and had some Arcadian deserters interrogated in his presence. The answer was that all the other men were participating in the Olympic Games. When Xerxes asked what the prize for the winner was, "an olive-wreath" came the answer. Upon hearing this, Tigranes, a Persian general, said: "Good heavens, Mardonius, what kind of men are these that you have pitted against us? It is not for money that they contend but for glory of achievement!" (Godley translation).[57]
After the Persians' departure, the Greeks collected their dead and buried them on the hill. A stone lion was erected to commemorate Leonidas.[52] Forty years after the battle, Leonidas' bones were returned to Sparta where he was buried again with full honors and funeral games were held every year in his memory.[58]
The simultaneous naval Battle of Artemisium was a stalemate, whereupon the Athenian navy retreated. The Persians were now in control of the Aegean Sea and all of peninsular Greece as far south as Attica. The Spartans prepared to defend the Isthmus of Corinth and the Peloponnese, while Xerxes went on to sack Athens, whose inhabitants had already fled to the island of Salamis. In September, the Greeks defeated the Persians at the naval Battle of Salamis, which led to the rapid retreat of Xerxes. The remaining Persian army, left under the charge of Mardonius, was defeated in the Battle of Plataea by a combined Greek army again led by the Spartans, under the regent Pausanias.[59]
Topography of the battlefield
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Thermopylae_hot_springs.jpg/220px-Thermopylae_hot_springs.jpg)
At the time, the pass of Thermopylae consisted of a track along the shore of the Gulf of Malis so narrow that only one chariot could pass through at a time.[60] On the southern side of the track stood the cliffs, while on the north side was the gulf. Along the path was a series of three constrictions, or "gates" (pylai), and at the center gate a short wall that had been erected by the Phocians in the previous century to aid in their defense against Thessalian invasions.[60] The name "Hot Gates" comes from the hot springs that were located there.
Today, the pass is not near the sea but is several miles inland due to infilling of the Gulf of Malis. The old track appears at the foot of hills around the plain, flanked by a modern road. Recent core samples indicate that the pass was only 100 meters wide and the waters came up to the gates. Says Lyn Dore: "Little do the visitors realize that the battle took place across the road from the monument."[61] The pass still is a natural defensive position to modern armies and British Commonwealth forces in World War II made another defense against the Nazi invasion meters from the original battle field.
Detailed maps of the region are to be found at these sites:
Pictures showing the terrain are to be found at these sites:
- View from the east at livius.org. On the left are the cliffs to the south; on the right, the road and the edge of the agricultural region that once were the Gulf of Malis.
- Modern monument at siu.edu
- Spartan burial mound at coloradocollege.edu
- Artemisium at prigsbee.com
Size of the Persian army
Primary sources
In 480 BC, the Persian army and navy arrived at the Persian garrison of Doriscus in Thrace. A bridge of ships had been made at Abydos. This allowed the land forces to cross the Hellespont. At Doriscus, Xerxes conducted a review and a count of his army and navy, which was recorded by the Persian scribes. Herodotus must have had some sort of knowledge of this account, as he lists and describes the units and gives the size of Xerxes' combined forces as follows:
This number is doubled in order to account for support personnel and thus Herodotus reports that the total Persian force numbered 5,283,220 men.[94] The poet Simonides, who was a contemporary, talks of three million combatants.[95] One century later, Ctesias of Cnidus gives 800,000 as the total number of the army that met in Doriscus.[96]
Modern estimates
Modern scholars have given different estimates based on knowledge of the Persian military systems, their logistical capabilities, the Greek countryside, and supplies available along the army's route.
Grote
An early and very influential modern, George Grote, set the tone by expressing incredulity at the numbers given by Herodotus:[97] "To admit this overwhelming total, or anything near to it, is obviously impossible." Grote's main objection is the supply problem, but he nowhere states any measure of supply capability nor did he have available any scientific data on the topic. He does not reject Herodotus altogether, citing the latter's reporting of the Persians' careful methods of accounting and their stockpiling of supply caches for three years. He points to the contradictions in the ancient estimates and refrains from making one of his own or implying that such an estimate is possible. It was up to subsequent scholars to make them.
Maurice
A pivotal study of the early 20th century by Major-General Sir John Frederick Maurice focuses on the water supply.[98] A former British transport officer himself, he had access to the British Admiralty handbook containing data on the rivers of Greece. Calculating that a force of 200,000 men and 70,000 animals would strain the water resources, and noting that Herodotus reports those resources were strained,[99] he suggests that Herodotus may have confused the Persian terms for chiliarchy (1,000) and myriarchy (10,000), leading to an exaggeration by a factor of ten. He therefore modifies Herodotus' figure for land combatants only to about 210,000 men, 75,000 animals.[100] This does not include support personnel.
Hammond
Since Maurice the number of Persian troops has become a specialized topic. There are no standard estimates or ranges of estimates.[101] One of the most widely read and detailed summaries is the contribution of N.G.L. Hammond to the Cambridge Ancient History.[102] Working entirely from ancient sources, Hammond estimates the Persian fleet, based on its size at the Battle of Salamis, to have been 1,407 warships, 281,400 naval personnel, with another 3,000 vessels, 120,000 men, in support, for a total of about 400,000 men, to which must be added another 8,000 men operating 400 supply ships. The grand total of naval personnel is 408,000 men in about 4,800 ships.
For the land force under Xerxes, based on what was said about the land force under Mardonius at the Battle of Plataea, Hammond estimates 220,000 men plus 22,000 in the supply services for a total of 242,000 men. Note that Hammond's postulate of supply ships minimizes the resources of the Greek countryside as a limiting factor. Some have believed that Herodotus or his sources had access to official Persian Empire records of the forces involved in the expedition.[103] Whatever the real numbers were, it is clear that Xerxes was anxious to ensure a successful expedition by mustering an overwhelming numerical superiority by land and by sea.[103] Whether he was able to bring this superiority to bear or deploy it effectively are other questions.
Size of the Greek army
According to Herodotus,[104] and Diodorus Siculus,[105] the Greek army included the following forces:
Units | Numbers (Herodotus) | Numbers (Diodorus Siculus) |
---|---|---|
Spartans | 300 | 300 |
Lacedaemonians | - | 1,000 |
Mantineans | 500 | 3,000 (the rest of the Greeks sent with Leonidas) |
Tegeans | 500 | |
Arcadian Orchomenos | 120 | |
Other Arcadians | 1,000 | |
Corinthians | 400 | |
Phlians | 200 | |
Mycenaeans | 80 | |
Total Peloponnesians | 3,100 | 4,000 (4,300) |
Thespians | 700 | - |
Melians | - | 1,000 |
Thebans | 400 | 400 |
Phocians | 1,000 | 1,000 |
Opuntian Locrians | "All they had" | - |
Grand Total | More than 5,200 by the number of Opuntian Locrians | 6,400 (6,700) |
It is not known for certain whether the 1,000 Lacedemonians mentioned by Diodorus Siculus include the Spartans; the total of 4000 implies that it does. As the Spartans themselves generally meant "other Lacedaemonians" by the term, the 4000 probably does not include them. A possible further 900 Helots also fought. Herodotus reports that at Xerxes' public showing of the dead, "helots were also there for them to see",[106] but he does not say how many or in what capacity they served. There is no reason to doubt that they served in their traditional role as armed retainers to individual Spartans. In the passage summarized by the table, Herodotus tallies 3,100 Peloponnesians at Thermopylae before the battle[107] but in another passage he quotes an inscription by Simonides saying there were 4,000;[108] hence, it is possible to account for the difference (without proof) by hypothesizing that 900 helots fought, three per Spartan hoplite.[109]
Pausanias' account agrees with that of Herodotus (whom he probably read) except that he gives the number of Locrians, which Herodotus declined to estimate. Residing in the direct path of the Persian advance, they gave all the fighting men they had to the number of 6000 men, which, added to Herodotus' 5200, amounts to a force of 11,200.[110] Many modern historians, who usually consider Herodotus more reliable,[1] add the 1000 Lacedaemonians and the 900 Helots to Herodotus' 5200 to obtain 7100 or about 7000 men as a standard number,[111] neglecting Diodorus' Melians and Pausanias' Locrians. That is the approach taken in this article; it is, however, not at all clear that they can reasonably be neglected.
It is obviously not possible given the sources and known history of the battle to arrive at anything like precise numbers; moreover, the units were rotated in and out of the battle. It is unlikely even the Greeks knew the number of men that fought or were killed. The numbers changed later on in the battle as the entire army retreated and only 2,300 Spartans, Helots, Thespians and Thebans remained.[1]
Using the most likely overall estimates, a force of about 10,000 Greeks killed some 20,000 Persians at a cost of about 2000 men, a kill ratio of 10 to one. The 20,000 were less than 10% of the most conservative estimates of the Persian force and did not diminish in any way the Persian capacity to wage additional battles or lose the same number of men doing it. The king in fact found it necessary to send much of his force home. The victory was in every sense a Pyrrhic one. Proportions of Greek to Persian losses, even if the numbers of forces were the modern consensus, are undoubtedly in favor of the Greek hoplites. Even with a staggering 200,000 soldiers, roughly 20,000 were killed by the Greeks. Since most of the Greek allies retreated on the eve of the third day, only 2,299 hoplites were confirmed to be killed in battle. While there may have been soldiers from city-state forces who did retreat, those numbers cannot be confirmed; also, some forces fell back without having ever fought against the Persians. Thus, if proportions were taken in with only the confirmed dead, the total comes out at a staggering 9 (rounded from 8.7) Persians killed for every Greek killed.[112]
Monuments at the site
Epitaph of Simonides
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Thermopiles_memorial_epitaph.jpg/300px-Thermopiles_memorial_epitaph.jpg)
Simonides composed a well-known epigram, which was engraved as an epitaph on a commemorative stone placed on top of the burial mound of the Spartans at Thermopylae. It is also the hill on which the last of them died.[95] The original stone has not been preserved. Instead the epitaph was engraved on a new stone erected in 1955. The text from Herodotus is:[95]
- Ὦ ξεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε
- κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.
- Ō zein', angellein Lakedaimoniois hoti tēide
- keimetha tois keinōn rhēmasi peithomenoi.
An ancient alternative substitutes πειθόμενοι νομίμοις for ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι; i.e., substitutes "laws" for "sayings." The sayings are not personal but refer to official and binding phrases of some sort.[113]
The form of this ancient Greek poetry is an elegiac couplet. Some English translations are given in the table below.
Translation | Notes |
---|---|
Go tell the Spartans, thou who passest by, That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.[114] |
William Lisle Bowles |
Stranger, tell the Spartans that we behaved as they would wish us to, and are buried here.[115] | William Golding |
Stranger! To Sparta say, her faithful band Here lie in death, remembering her command.[116] |
Rev. Francis Hodgson |
Stranger, report this word, we pray, to the Spartans, that lying Here in this spot we remain, faithfully keeping their laws.[117] |
George Campbell Macaulay |
Stranger, bear this message to the Spartans, that we lie here obedient to their laws.[118] |
William Roger Paton |
Tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie.[119] |
Steven Pressfield |
Go, stranger, and to Lacedaemon tell That here, obeying her behests, we fell.[120] |
George Rawlinson |
Go, way-farer, bear news to Sparta's town that here, their bidding done, we laid us down.[121] |
Cyril E. Robinson |
Go tell the Spartans, you who read: We took their orders, and lie here dead.[122] |
Aubrey de Sélincourt |
John Ruskin expressed the importance of this ideal to Western civilization as follows:[123]
Also obedience in its highest form is not obedience to a constant and compulsory law, but a persuaded or voluntary yielded obedience to an issued command .... His name who leads the armies of Heaven is "Faithful and True"... and all deeds which are done in alliance with these armies ... are essentially deeds of faith, which therefore ... is at once the source and the substance of all known deed, rightly so called ... as set forth in the last word of the noblest group of words ever, so far as I know, uttered by simple man concerning his practice, being the final testimony of the leaders of a great practical nation ...: [the epitaph in Greek].
Leonidas monument
Additionally, there is a modern monument at the site, called the "Leonidas Monument", in honour of the Spartan king. It features a bronze statue of Leonidas. A sign, under the statue, reads simply: "Μολών λαβέ" ("Come and get them!"). The metope below depicts battle scenes. The two marble statues on the left and the right of the monument represent, respectively, the river Eurotas and Mount Taygetos, famous landmarks of Sparta.
Thespians monument
In 1997, a second monument was officially unveiled by the Greek government, dedicated to the 700 Thespians who fought with the Spartans. The monument is made of marble and features a bronze statue depicting the god Eros, who was worshiped in ancient Thespiae. Under the statue, a sign reads "In memory of the seven hundred Thespians".
A plate, below the statue, explains its symbolism :
- The headless male figure symbolizes the anonymous sacrifice of the 700 Thespians to their country.
- The outstretched chest symbolizes the struggle, the gallantry, the strength, the bravery and the courage.
- The open wing symbolizes the victory, the glory, the soul, the spirit and the freedom.
- The broken wing symbolizes the voluntary sacrifice and death.
- The naked body symbolizes Eros, the most important god of the ancient Thespians, the god of creation, beauty and life.
The monument to the Thespians is placed beside the one to the Spartans.
Thermopylae in popular culture
The Battle of Thermopylae has been an icon of western civilization since the day it ended. This icon expresses itself in countless instances of adages, poetry and song, literature, films, television and video games. A more serious aspect has been its didactic use. The battle appears in many books and articles on military topics.
Prior to the battle, the Hellenes remembered the Dorians, an ethnic distinction to which the Spartans belonged, as the conquerors and displacers of the Ionians in the Peloponnesus. After the battle, Spartan culture became an inspiration and object of emulation.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Green, Peter (1996). The Greco-Persian Wars. University of California Press. pp. page 140. ISBN 0520203135.
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:|pages=
has extra text (help) - ^ Pausanias Book X, Ch. xx, Sect. 2
- ^ Some Greeks must have been fatally wounded on the first few days of battle, as one cannot suppose pitched battles without casualties. Also Herodotus does not say how many Thebans died before their surrender was accepted. Although the numbers in Herodotus are not precise by today's standards, he presents them without his typical apologia that he heard them from someone, which may indicate that he had faith in them.
- ^ Herodotus VIII, 24
- ^ Bury, J. B. (2000). A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great (4th Revised Edition ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. pp. page 271.
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ignored (help) The 1913 edition (same page numbers) is downloadable, Google Books, at [1]. - ^ Bury (1913), page 295.
- ^ a b Eikenberry, Lt. Gen. Karl W. (Summer 1996). "Take No Casualties". Parameters: US Army War College Quarterly. XXVI (2): pages 109-118. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
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:|pages=
has extra text (help) - ^ A discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of these historial terms may be found in Sekunda, Nick (2002). Marathon 490 Bc: The First Persian Invasion of Greece. Osprey Publishing. pp. page 7. ISBN 1841760005.
{{cite book}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help) - ^ Herodotus VI, 48
- ^ As an example of a blandishment Hydarnes suggested to the heralds that were sent in compensation to the king that submission of the Spartans would be followed by governorships over the future Greek provinces. The heralds rejected the suggestion scornfully. Herodotus VII, 135.
- ^ Herodotus VII, 133. As the murder of heralds was against international law, the Spartans sent two of theirs to Xerxes for punishment, but he behaved "with true greatness of soul" and let them go, according to sections 134-137.
- ^ Herodotus VII, 32
- ^ Herodotus VII,145. He does not use the term "congress" or any ancient equivalent. He only says that they exchanged pledges and consulted together.
- ^ Herodotus, VII, 148
- ^ Herodotus VII, 161
- ^ Herodotus VII,173. An extensive presentation of the decisions that were made and Xerxes' passage through Thessaly can be found in Abbott, Jacob (1854). The history of Xerxes the great. Nathaniel Cooke. pp. pages 110-113.
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suggested) (help) Downloadable Google Books. - ^ Herodotus VII,175
- ^ Grote, George. A History of Greece: Part II: Chapter XL Battles of Thermopylae and Artemisium.. Throughout the decades many editions of Grote have been published. The page numbers depend on the edition. This quote is near the beginning of the chapter.
- ^ Lysias, Funeral oration II, Section 30, translated by W.R.M. Lamb. The orations of Lysias can also be found at Lysias. "II. Funeral Oration" (ascii text). The Orations of Lysias. Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
- ^ Herodotus VII, 206 entire. The translation is Rawlinson's. The Godley translation can be found at [2]
- ^ The days of the battle cannot be known precisely nor is there much scholarly agreement. A summary of what is known of Carneia can be found in Burkert, Walter (1985). Greek Religion: Archaic and Classical. Blackwell Publishing. pp. pages 234-236.
{{cite book}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help); Text "id-ISBN 0-631-15624-0" ignored (help) - ^ Herodotus (2005). "The History of Herodotus: Polymnia" (html). Greek Texts. Greek-Texts.com & Greece Http Ltd. pp. page 50. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
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:|pages=
has extra text (help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b Herodotus VII.204
- ^ Herodotus VII, 205
- ^ Plutarch. "Gorgo" (html). Moralia: Apophthegmata Lacaenarum: as published in Vol. III of the Loeb Classical Library Edition, 1931. Bill Thayer. Retrieved 2007-10-26. Paragraph 240E, Saying 6.
- ^ Herodotus VII, 101
- ^ Herodotus VII, 102
- ^ Herodotus VII, 103
- ^ Herodotus VII, 104
- ^ Herodotus VII, 207
- ^ Herodotus VII, 209
- ^ Plutarch. "Leonidas, Son of Anaxandridas" (html). Moralia: Apophthegmata Laconica: as published in Vol. III of the Loeb Classical Library Edition, 1931. Bill Thayer. Retrieved 2007-10-26. Paragraph 225C, Saying 10.
- ^ Plutarch, Apophthegmata Laconica, Saying 11. IPA: [moˈlɔːn laˈbe]), this saying was taken by the Greek First Army Corps as their emblem.
- ^ Herodotus, VII, 226. "In the shade" was taken by the Hellenic Army XX Armored Division as their motto.
- ^ a b Herodotus VII, 210
- ^ Diodorus Siculus XI, 6
- ^ Herodotus VII, 208
- ^ a b c Diodorus Siculus XI, 7
- ^ a b Herodotus VII, 211
- ^ Herodotus VII, 212
- ^ a b c d Ctesias. "Persica" (html). Bibliotheca or Myriobyblon: Codex 72. The Tertullian Project. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Herodotus VII, 213
- ^ Tegopoulos, G. (1988). Elliniko Lexico (Greek Dictionary). Armonia.
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: Text "location-Athens" ignored (help) Word: Εφιάλτης. - ^ Herodotus VII, 215
- ^ Herodotus VII, 217
- ^ a b Herodotus VII, 218
- ^ Herodotus VII, 219
- ^ Herodotus VII, 220
- ^ Herodotus VII, 222
- ^ Herodotus VII, 224
- ^ Herodotus, VII 233
- ^ a b c Herodotus, VII, 225
- ^ Crawford, Osbert Guy Stanhope (1955). Said and Done: The Autobiography of an Archaeologist. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. pp. page 302.
{{cite book}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help) - ^ Herodotus VII, 238
- ^ See Herodotus VII,181
- ^ Herodotus VII, 35
- ^ Herodotus, VIII, 26
- ^ Pausanias Book III Ch. XIV Sect. 1
- ^ Herodotus IX, 10
- ^ a b Herodotus VII,176
- ^ Dore, Lyn (2001), "Once the War Is Over", in Freeman, P.W.M.; Pollard, A. (eds.), Fields of Conflict: Progress and Prospect in Battlefield Archaeology, David Brown Book Co., pp. pages 285-286, ISBN 9781841712499
{{citation}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help). The article can be viewed at [3] - ^ Herodotus VII, 89
- ^ Herodotus 90
- ^ a b c d e f Herodotus VII, 184
- ^ As the crew of a trireme consisted of 170 rowers, 30 marines, the imperial 30 were probably part of the 200.
- ^ But according to VII, 97 the 3000 included also 30-oared ships, light galleys and heavy horse-transports.
- ^ Only 46 are listed, the 47th name has been lost from VI, 76.
- ^ Herodotus VII, 61
- ^ Herodotus VII, 62
- ^ Herodotus VII, 63
- ^ Herodotus VII, 64
- ^ Herodotus VII, 65
- ^ Herodotus VII, 66
- ^ Herodotus VII, 67
- ^ Herodotus VII, 68
- ^ Herodotus VII, 69
- ^ Herodotus VII, 70
- ^ Herodotus VII, 71
- ^ Herodotus VII, 72
- ^ Herodotus VII, 73
- ^ Herodotus VII, 74
- ^ Herodotus, VII, 75
- ^ Herodotus VII, 77
- ^ Herodotus VII, 78
- ^ Herodotus VII, 79
- ^ Herodotus VII, 80
- ^ Herodotus VII, 60, but in VII, 184 he states that there were 700,100 footsoldiers.
- ^ Herodotus VII, 84
- ^ Herodotus VII, 85
- ^ Herodotus VII, 86
- ^ Herodotus VII, 87
- ^ The term "Asian" is Herodotus' but under that term he also includes Arabians and north Africans.
- ^ a b Herodotus VII, 185
- ^ Herodotus VII,186
- ^ a b c Herodotus VII, 228
- ^ Ctesias (1996–2007). "Excerpt 27" (html). Persica. Livius articles on ancient history. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
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suggested) (help)CS1 maint: date format (link) - ^ Grote, George. A History of Greece: Part II: Chapter XXXVIII From the Battle of Marathon to the March of Xerxes Against Greece. The page numbers depend on the edition; however, Grote often used top-of-page captions instead of subsections. The presentation on the size of Xerxes' army is to be found under "Muster of the Army of Xerxes."
- ^ Maurice, F. (1930). "The size of the army of Xerxes in the invasion of Greece 480 B.C.". Journal of Hellenic Studies. 50: pages 210–235.
{{cite journal}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help) Most readers will not have free access to this article, but discussion of it can be found in nearly every modern book on the Battle of Thermopylae; for example, Bradford page 34, or Fischer, N.B. (1993). The Cambridge History of Iran. Cambridge University Press. pp. page 320. ISBN 0521200911.{{cite book}}
:|pages=
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suggested) (help) - ^ Herodotus VII, 21 "Was there a river ... which sufficed for his troops to drink?"
- ^ Dewald, Carolyn (2006). The Cambridge companion to Herodotus. Cambridge University Press. pp. page 217. ISBN 052183001X.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Stecchini (under External links below) reiterates some of the tangles of this complex question.
- ^ Hammond, N.G.L. (2000), "The Expedition of Xerxes: Persian Preparations and the Advance to Therma in Macedonia", The Cambridge Ancient History: IV Persia, Greece and the Western Mediterranean, Cambridge University Press, pp. 532–534, ISBN 0521228042
- ^ a b de Souza, Philip (2003). The Greek and Persian Wars, 499-386 BC. Osprey Publishing. pp. page 41. ISBN 1-84176-358-6.
{{cite book}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help) - ^ Herodotus, VII, 202, 203.
- ^ Diodorus Siculus, book XI, 4
- ^ Herodotus VIII, 25
- ^ Herodotus VII, 202
- ^ Herodotus VII, 228
- ^ The 900 appear in most modern books often with the complaint that history has neglected them and typically without any attempt to prove their existence, or else the concept is attributed to recent scholarship. It is not in fact recent: Macan, Reginald Walter (1908). "Herodotus: The Seventh, Eighth & Ninth Books with Introduction and Commentary: Commentary on Herodotus, Histories, book 8, chapter 25" (html). The Perseus Digital Library (Tufts University). Retrieved 2007-10-24. Macan in presenting the argument (as "less probably") cites no predecessor but nowhere implies there is not one. Macan's more probable view, for which he cites prior references, is that the 900 are Perioeci; however, if they are, there would seem to be a duplication with the other Lacedaemonians mentioned by Diodorus.
- ^ Pausanias Book X, Ch. xx, Sect. 2
- ^ For example, Bradford page 105 and Bury (1913) page 272.
- ^ VIII, 24
* Out of the initial 7,000-strong Greek army, all but 2,300 were dismissed on the third day. - ^ Macan, Reginald Walter. "Herodotus: The Seventh, Eighth & Ninth Books with Introduction and Commentary: Commentary on Herodotus, Histories, book 7, chapter 228" (html). The Perseus Digital Library (Tufts University). pp. section 8. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
- ^ Strachey, Edward (February, 1871). "The Soldiers's Duty". The Contemporary Review. XVI. London: Strahan & Co: pages 480-485.
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:|pages=
has extra text (help); Check date values in:|date=
(help) Page 481. Downloadable Google Books. - ^ Golding, William (2002). "The Hot Gates" (html). The Sparta pages. Retrieved 2007-10-20. Excerpt from the book, The Hot Gates.
- ^ Merivale, J.K. (1833). From the Greek Anthology by the Late Rev. Robert Bland, and Others: A New Edition: Comprising the Fragments of Early Lyric Poetry, With Specimens of All the Poets Included in Meleager's Garland. Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman; and John Murray. pp. page 64.
{{cite book}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help) Downloadable Google Books. - ^ Campbell, George (1889). The History of Herodotus: Translated into English: Vol. II. MacMillan and Co., Limited. pp. page 220.
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has extra text (help); Unknown parameter|city=
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suggested) (help) Downloadable Google Books. - ^ Paton, W.R. (Editor and Translator) (1918). The Greek Anthology. W. Heineman. pp. page 139.
{{cite book}}
:|first=
has generic name (help);|pages=
has extra text (help) - ^ Pressfield, Steven (1998). Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae. Doubleday. pp. page 384. ISBN 0385492910.
{{cite book}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help) - ^ Herodotus (2005). "The History of Herodotus: Polymnia". Greek Texts. Greek-Texts.com & Greece Http Ltd. pp. page 51. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
{{cite web}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
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suggested) (help) - ^ Robinson, C.E. (2007). Hellas - A Short History of Ancient Greece. Pantheon Books. pp. page 65. ISBN 1406766992.
{{cite book}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help) The translation dates to 1948. - ^ Herodotus (2003). The Histories. penguin group (usa). pp. page 495. ISBN 9780140449082.
{{cite book}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
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suggested) (help) The translation dates to 1954. - ^ Ruskin, John (1894), "Part VIII: Of Ideas of Relation - I. of Invention Formal: Chapter I: The Law of Help", The Complete Works: Modern Painters: Volume the Fifth, New York: Bryan, Taylor and Company. Page 212.
Further reading
- Barkworth, Peter R. (1993). "The Organization of Xerxes' Army" (PDF). Iranica Antiqua. XXVII: pages 149-167. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
{{cite journal}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help) - Pressfield, Steven (1998). Gates of Fire. ISBN 0385492510.
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{{cite journal}}
:|pages=
has extra text (help) - Bradford, Ernle (2004). Thermopylae: The Battle for the West. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0306813602.
- Cartledge, Paul (2006). Thermopylae: The Battle That Changed the World. Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press. ISBN 1585675660.
- Matthews, Rupert (2006). The Battle of Thermopylae: A Campaign in Context. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 1862273251.
- Holland, Tom (2006). 'Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West'. ISBN 0385513119.
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See also
- Aristodemus (Spartan)
- Battle of the Persian Gate
- Battles of macrohistorical importance involving invasions of Europe
- Molon labe
- Persian empire
- Pantites
- Spartan Army
- Battle of Saragarhi
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Ctesias; Freese, J.H. (Translator) (2002), "Persica", in Photius; Pearse, Roger (eds.), Bibliotheca (Myriobiblon): Codex LXXII, The Tertullian Project
{{citation}}
:|first2=
has generic name (help). - EDSITEment staff. "300 Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae: Herodotus' Real History". National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
- Lendering, Jona (1996–2007). "Herodotus' twenty-second logos: Thermopylae" (html). Livius articles on ancient history. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: date format (link) - Lendering, Jona (2007). "Thermopylae (480 BCE)" (html). Livius articles on ancient history. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - Stecchini, Livio C. (2007). "The Persian Wars: the Size of the Persian Army" (html). Iran Chamber Society. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
- The Five Great Battles of Antiquity by David L. Smith, Symposion Lectures, 30 June 2006.
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