This book was concise and provided a great perspective of the ancient world. It is the story of thermopylae, where king leonidas and the spartan 300 stood against xerxes mighty host at a narrow pass. Greek casualties in the battle of thermopylae during 3 days could be up to 4000 dead soldiers or perhaps even more. Along with battle tactics and weapons, pressfield did if you like your historical novels on the bloody side, this ones for you. Xerxes i makes extensive preparations to invade mainland greece by building depots, canals and a boat bridge across the hellespont. Whatever tactics the immortals tried on the greeks, leonidas forces.
A captivating guide to the fierce warriors of ancient greece, including spartan military tactics, the battle of thermopylae, how sparta was ruled, and more, you will discover topics such as. Battle of thermopylae wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The battle of thermopylae august 480 bc is one of the most famous military defeats in history, and is best known for the fate of the 300 spartans, killed alongside 700 thespians on the final day of the battle. Aristocratic, one vs one combats, in an age six centuries earlier than the thermopylae battle, with a quite different concept of war. Nov 30, 2017 the british title for this book, the year of thermopylae london, 1980, is much more descriptive since the book covers events leading up to and including thermopylae. The first thing anyone visiting thermopylae will notice is that it looks nothing like it should. Jun 30, 2011 actually, the lessons learned in the famous hellenic war battle at thermopylae was that the persians failed to use their tactics at all.
So the battle of thermopylae included a land and sea component. Battle of thermopylae ancient history encyclopedia. May 31, 2014 the peloponnesian war athens vs sparta complete ancient history see u in history duration. Since the greek strategy required both thermopylae and artemisium to be held, given their losses, it was decided to withdraw to salamis. The battle for the west by ernle bradford goodreads. Battle of thermopylae in the persian wars thoughtco. The battle of thermopylae is believed to have been fought in august 480 bc, during the persian wars 499 bc449 bc. It was the first major battle of the romanseleucid war. Having been turned back at marathon in 490 bc, persian forces returned to greece ten years later to avenge their defeat and conquer the peninsula. The battle of thermopylae has remained a cultural icon of western civilization ever since it was fought. The alamo scouts behind japanese lines in world war ii by larry alexander, castles of steel.
Battle of thermopylae 480 bc myths vs reality total war. What are some good books about the battle of thermopylae. The passage between them was narrow for many miles along the shore, being narrowest at the ingress and egress. In the battle of plataea there were 5000 spartan hoplites and they had 35,000 helots 5 per each spartiate. The battle for the west is one of those greatly accessible, pleasantly reading, and yet academically meaty history books. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. This would give us 1500 300 x 5 helots at thermopylae, but ive seen estimations which say about 900 helots at thermopylae. The battle was fought for over three days, at the same time as the naval battle of artemisium. It was one of the most symbolic battles rallying the greeks and, by extension, the europeans, to the fight against the invading persians and, by e. Some others tend to ignore the fact that a war is a business of a state and its allies against another one and its allies.
Nov 15, 2006 there are many, many books about the persian wars of the early 5th century, but i believe this one deserves a place among them for helping us to understand why, as its subtitle asserts, thermopylae was a battle that changed the world. The persian imperial army stopped at anthela, just west of thermopylae a narrow pass between the mountains and the sea to rest up and wait for the rest of the army to catch up. An epic novel of the battle of thermopylae by pressfield, steven from amazons fiction books store. A masterful account of the causes, preparations for and consequences of the threeday battle in 480 b. Apr 16, 20 the pass of thermopylae, located 150 km north of athens was an excellent choice for defence with steep mountains running down into the sea leaving only a narrow marshy area along the coast. The romans were victorious, and as a result, antiochus was forced to flee from greece.
A captivating guide to the fierce warriors of ancient greece, including spartan military tactics, the battle of thermopylae, how sparta was ruled, and more the grecopersian wars. The athenians were out numbered almost 10 to 1 and reinforcements from the famous warriors or sparta had failed to appear. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. According to sun tzu, a leader in war must be smart, trustworthy, caring, brave, and strict. The battle of thermopylae between greeks led by leonidas and persians led by xerxes. The battle of thermopylae was fought between an alliance of greek citystates, led by king. A critical point in this invasion was the battle for the pass at thermopylae hot gates in greek. The mountains landward were steep and inaccessible.
The greek loyalists battle for six days in a prelude to their ultimate victory. The battle is revisited in countless adages and works of popular culture, such as in films e. The germans would continue their march down the country, eventually occupying the country the absence of the greek army, from a battle at a site as significant to the national psyche as thermopylae, was controversial within greece, as general georgios tsolakoglou had already capitulated. This is an interesting book to readand a pretty quick read, too. Rupert matthews has personally examined the battlefield in order to try to explain how 300 spartans could hold at bay the hordes of the persian emperor xerxes. The pass had also been fortified by the local phokians who built a defensive wall running from the socalled middle gate down to the sea. What are some good books about the battle of thermopylae, or roman war strategies, wars, etc im interested in history of wars of romans and greeks and other ancient civilations and im looking for books about thermopylae, roman wars and war strategies. Battle of thermopylae, august 480 bc military history. It was fought between an alliance of greek citystates, led by sparta, and the persian empire of xerxes i. After three days resisting the much larger persian army of xerxes i, greek forces were betrayed by ephialtes and sent into retreat by their leader, leonidas, who died during a final stand. Descriptive texts and many photos of the battlefield and the modern monuments. Examines the leadership, tactics, strategy, technology and the interplay of armies.
It took place simultaneously with the naval battle at artemisium, in august or september 480 bc, at the pass of thermopylae the hot gates. Such accordingly were the intentions of the allies. Decisive battles thermopylae greece vs persia youtube. A captivating guide to the fierce warriors of ancient greece, including spartan military tactics, the battle of thermopylae, how sparta was ruled, and more captivating history 4. The battle of thermopylae was fought in central greece at the mountain pass of thermopylae in 480 bce during the persian wars. Battle of thermopylae simple english wikipedia, the free. The battle that changed the world cartledge, paul on. Thermopylae books about the battle of thermopylae thoughtco. Following the retreat of allied forces from the mountain passes at olympus and servia, british commonwealth forces began to set up defensive positions at the coastal pass at thermopylae, famous for the battle of. A military historian, bradford makes sense of the complicated maneuvers and does a very thorough background on all components of the battle, from the three rows of trireme rowers to an analysis of the less than treachery of.
Amongst these warring citystates arose athens, and a group of men wh. Their strategy involved holding a line only a few dozen yards long between a steep hillside and the sea. For anyone interested in history, battles, tactics or war then this would be a great gift. While they were waiting xerxes sent a spy to watch what king leonidass army was doing. He well uses both modern and ancient sources to tell the story not just of the battle of thermopylae, but also of the whole war in which it took place. Thermopylae is primarily known for the battle that took place there in 480 bc, in which an outnumbered greek force probably of seven thousand including the famous 300 spartans, 500 warriors from tegea, 500 from mantinea, 120 from arcadian orchomenos, from the rest of arcadia, 200 from phlius, 80 from mycenae, 400 corinthians, 400 thebans, phocians and the opuntian locrians held off. This was a very well written book on the events leading up to thermopylae, and also. In fact, herodotus account of the battle, in book vii of his histories, is such an important. Battle for the west, acclaimed author ernle bradfor in 480 bce, persian king xerxes led a massive invasion of greece.
The persian war on greece, athens and the spartans at thermopylae, salamis and marathon by herodotus 480 bce the junior classics volume 07. Battle of thermopylae date, location, and facts britannica. A history book that describes the key battle of ancient greece, fought between greeks and persians, putting the battle in context and revealing what it was like to fight at thermopylae. After the war, aris velouchiotis a veteran of the 1941 campaign and leader of the greek. The battle of thermopylae, on 2425 april 1941, was part of the german invasion of greece during world war ii. None of them looked to see the contest at thermopylae decided so speedily. Responding, an alliance of greek citystates, led by athens and sparta, assembled a fleet and an army to oppose the invaders. Battle of thermopylae spartans vs persians youtube. A captivating guide to the conflicts between the achaemenid empire and the greek citystates, including the battle of marathon, thermopylae, salamis, plataea, and more. Again, i am not sure how strong that case is, since thermopylae was a defeat.
In addition, the battle has been taught in military academies as an example of how a small welltrained group of resolute warriors can defend their position against a numerically superior force. Ultimately, they were betrayed by another greek, and xerxes sent troops by a narrow pathway to outflank the spartan position. The battle of thermopylae was fought in 191 bc between a roman army led by consul manius acilius glabrio and a seleucid force led by king antiochus iii the great. What was the importance of the battle of thermopylae to. The greek force was very small but was determined to make a stand against the huge persian army. 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. Western democracy traces its roots to ancient greece, a land of squabbling citystates.
The battle of thermopylae, 480 bc, was a battle in the second persian invasion of greece. Spartan military secrets and tactics must now be shared among the sometimes former enemies to unify. The 300 spartans led by the spartan king leonidas met the persians by. One of the most remarkable actions in military history took place at thermopylae in 480 bc. This book portrays very well the spartan culture, way of living and warring. Homer did that in the trojan war, due to the very nature of the conflict. The battle of thermopylae was the first between the persians and greeks during the persian invasion of 480479 bc.
414 310 942 603 1226 1497 1019 781 1044 348 916 1105 1311 453 1234 1471 952 1286 1118 28 167 1025 1467 965 1187 836 332 218 788 1461 529 623 963 848 166 743