Modern scholars tend to reject the figures given by Herodotus and other ancient sources as unrealistic, resulting from miscalculations or exaggerations on the part of the victors. The Greek fleet—seeking a decisive victory over the Persian armada—attacked and defeated the invaders at the Battle of Salamis in late 480 BC. ", Similarities between the Battle of Thermopylae and the Battle of Persian Gate have been recognized by both ancient and modern authors,[170] which describe it as a kind of reversal of the Battle of Thermopylae,[171] calling it "the Persian Thermopylae". [53], At daybreak on the third day, the Phocians guarding the path above Thermopylae became aware of the outflanking Persian column by the rustling of oak leaves. A well-known epigram, usually attributed to Simonides, was engraved as an epitaph on a commemorative stone placed on top of the burial mound of the Spartans at Thermopylae. Otherwise,

There are three monuments of the plain of Marathon, the Athenian Tumulus, the Plataean Tumulus, and a victory column erected by the Athenians. Who is the longest reigning WWE Champion of all time? [103], Learning from a runner that the Phocians had not held the path, Leonidas called a council of war at dawn. Ano ang pinakamaliit na kontinente sa mundo? [127] He left a hand-picked force, under Mardonius, to complete the conquest the following year. It took place simultaneously with the naval battle at Artemisium, in August or September 480 BC, at the narrow coastal pass of Thermopylae ("The Hot Gates"). [93] A Persian force of 10,000 men, comprising light infantry and cavalry, charged at the front of the Greek formation. Demaratus called them "the bravest men in Greece" and warned the Great King they intended to dispute the pass. [96], On the second day, Xerxes again sent in the infantry to attack the pass, "supposing that their enemies, being so few, were now disabled by wounds and could no longer resist. [4], According to Herodotus and Diodorus, the king, having taken the measure of the enemy, threw his best troops into a second assault the same day, the Immortals, an elite corps of 10,000 men. Go tell the Spartans, thou who passest by, Stranger, tell the Spartans that we behaved, Stranger! [60] The Greeks fought in front of the Phocian wall, at the narrowest part of the pass, which enabled them to use as few soldiers as possible. [30], Darius thus put together an amphibious task force under Datis and Artaphernes in 490 BC, which attacked Naxos, before receiving the submission of the other Cycladic Islands. All Rights Reserved.
[55] The Phocians and Locrians, whose states were located nearby, became indignant and advised defending Thermopylae and sending for more help. News of the imminent Persian approach eventually reached Greece in August thanks to a Greek spy. The broken wing symbolizes the voluntary sacrifice and death.

For the number of them that disappeared beneath the mud was great. Greek epitaphs often appealed to the passing reader (always called 'stranger') for sympathy, but the epitaph for the dead Spartans at Thermopylae took this convention much further than usual, asking the reader to make a personal journey to Sparta to break the news that the Spartan expeditionary force had been wiped out. [113] In 1939, archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos, excavating at Thermopylae, found large numbers of Persian bronze arrowheads on Kolonos Hill, which changed the identification of the hill on which the Greeks were thought to have died from a smaller one nearer the wall. [64] Modern scholarly estimates are generally in the range 120,000–300,000. Herodotus claimed that there were, in total, 2.6 million military personnel, accompanied by an equivalent number of support personnel. In Athens, however, the ambassadors were put on trial and then executed by throwing them in a pit; in Sparta, they were simply thrown down a well. A variant of the epigram is inscribed on the Polish Cemetery at Monte Cassino. [172] Here, on Alexander the Great's campaign against Persia in 330 BC to exact revenge for the Persian invasion of Greece, he faced the same situation, encountering a last stand of the Persian forces (under Ariobarzanes) at a narrow pass near Persepolis who held the invaders for a month, until their fall as the enemy found a path to their rear. [124] However, instead of a mere blockade, Themistocles persuaded the Greeks to seek a decisive victory against the Persian fleet. [52] The name "Hot Gates" comes from the hot springs that were located there. Whatever the real numbers were, however, it is clear that Xerxes was anxious to ensure a successful expedition by mustering an overwhelming numerical superiority by land and by sea. [111] This seems to have been a particularly Thespian trait – on at least two other occasions in later history, a Thespian force would commit itself to a fight to the death.[109]. Either your glorious town shall be sacked by the children of Perseus, Both tumuli are fairly standard with hemispherical shapes and with the dead interred within the hole left by the excavation of the dirt that would be piled on top of them. [143], While this paradigm of "free men" outfighting "slaves" can be seen as a rather sweeping over-generalization (there are many counter-examples), it is nevertheless true that many commentators have used Thermopylae to illustrate this point. The outstretched chest symbolizes the struggle, the gallantry, the strength, the bravery and the courage. . The battle itself had shown that even when heavily outnumbered, the Greeks could put up an effective fight against the Persians, and the defeat at Thermopylae had turned Leonidas and the men under his command into martyrs. [44] Furthermore, to prevent the Persians from bypassing Thermopylae by sea, the Athenian and allied navies could block the straits of Artemisium. On the north side of the roadway was the Malian Gulf, into which the land shelved gently. Athens and its ally Plataea, some 11,000 hoplites in total, attacked a Persian expeditionary force of some 25,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry, with 100,000 armed sailors acting as reserves. [95] The weaker shields, and shorter spears and swords of the Persians prevented them from effectively engaging the Greek hoplites. The fame of Thermopylae is thus principally derived not from its effect on the outcome of the war but for the inspirational example it set. While many of the Greeks took him up on his offer and fled, around two thousand soldiers stayed behind to fight and die. [51] Leonidas chose to camp at, and defend, the "middle gate", the narrowest part of the pass of Thermopylae, where the Phocians had built a defensive wall some time before. The battle is revisited in countless adages and works of popular culture, such as in films (e.g., The 300 Spartans (1962) and 300 (2007), based on the events during and close to the time of the battle), in literature, in song, in television programs, and in video games. In Western culture at least, it is the Greeks who are lauded for their performance in battle. Anopaea behind the cliffs that flanked the pass. [81], The terrain of the battlefield was nothing that Xerxes and his forces were accustomed to. [137] Alternatively, the argument is sometimes advanced that the last stand at Thermopylae was a successful delaying action that gave the Greek navy time to prepare for the Battle of Salamis. One of which is a statue of King Leonidas I, portrayed as bearing a spear, and shield. Although no obstacle to individuals, such terrain would not be passable by an army and its baggage train. ^ b: A huge number of estimates have been made since the 19th century, ranging from 15,000 to acceptance of Herodotus' 1,800,000. [174], Informational notes A Thessalian delegation suggested that the Greeks could muster in the narrow Vale of Tempe, on the borders of Thessaly, and thereby block Xerxes' advance. Cicero recorded a Latin variation in his Tusculanae Disputationes (1.42.101): Additionally, there is a modern monument at the site, called the "Leonidas Monument" by Vassos Falireas [el], in honour of the Spartan king. ... Xerxes had every reason to congratulate himself",[140] while Lazenby describes the Greek defeat as "disastrous".[133]. The Greek Plain of Marathon The Persian Wars lasted from 492 - 449 BCE. Coordinates: 38°07′04″N 23°58′42″E / 38.11791°N 23.97833°E / 38.11791; 23.97833. [23], The Ionian revolt threatened the integrity of his empire, and Darius thus vowed to punish those involved, especially the Athenians, "since he was sure that [the Ionians] would not go unpunished for their rebellion". For instance, Plutarch recounts, in his Sayings of Spartan Women, upon his departure, Leonidas' wife Gorgo asked what she should do if he did not return, to which Leonidas replied, "Marry a good man and have good children. [133] It seems clear that the Greek strategy was to hold off the Persians at Thermopylae and Artemisium;[76] whatever they may have intended, it was presumably not their desire to surrender all of Boeotia and Attica to the Persians. A plate below the statue explains its symbolism: The monument to the Thespians is placed beside the one to the Spartans. Along the path itself was a series of three constrictions, or "gates" (pylai), and at the centre gate a wall that had been erected by the Phocians, in the previous century, to aid in their defence against Thessalian invasions.
[99] Ephialtes was motivated by the desire for a reward. The simultaneous naval Battle of Artemisium had been a tactical stalemate, and the Greek navy was able to retreat in good order to the Saronic Gulf, where they helped to ferry the remaining Athenian citizens to the island of Salamis. [28][29] This meant that Sparta was also effectively at war with Persia. The Battle of Marathon took place on September 12, or possibly August 12, 490 BCE at the plain of Marathon. 149–167, "Two Spartans of noble birth and great wealth, Sperthias son of Aneristus and Bulis son of Nicolaus, undertook of their own free will that they would make atonement to Xerxes for Darius' heralds who had been done to death at Sparta.


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