Herodotus: The Ionian War

Sparta was not going to let itself being conquered or their freedom being taken away. Some battles that Spartans were known for were Thermopylae and Plataea in the 5th century BC. The battle of Thermopylae was the first battle between the Persians and the Greeks; the Persian army was vast compared to the small Greek and Spartan armies. Persian King Xerxes had already the Thessalains in the Persian side but the rest of the Greek city-states banded together and put Sparta in charge of the Greek army. The Greeks had to defend a narrow pass that could lead the Persians into Greece from the North, this pass was called Thermopylae.

Being alive to witness the events that occurred in and around fifth century B. C. E. Greece meant that Thucydides could not help but write down his experiences. The Athenians of Greece and the people of the Persian Empire were constantly at odds with each other, and these differences eventually led to the Peloponnesian war. This war lasted from 431-404 B.C.E. and began an era of conflict between the two peoples (Bulliet). This power struggle not only inflated the ego of the Athenians, but created many negative viewpoints of the Persians. Thucydides, being an Athenian, was therefore extremely biased against the Persians.

Herodotus explains how the Spartans carried on defending Greece even though they were in distress from the continuous shooting of arrows form the Persians. This was not a situation the Spartans were used to as they were more skilled in close combat, whereas the Median soldiers were highly skilled archmen. Therefore, the Spartans should be given more credit than the Athenians for holding the line even in conditions they were not used to, under severe distress. However, the passage later goes on to reveal that the Spartans needed the Athenians help as they were only holding the line. They had no way to penetrate the Persians barricade that they built with their wicker shields and without the Athenians there was not much they could do.

The trireme which crushed Darius and the persians when they invaded Athens From Marathon onwards, the Athenians began to think of themselves as the center of Greek culture and Greek power. With that victory Greek cultural achievements

No military force had ever been brought together larger than what the Persians brought together. No military had ever trained and valued war as much as the Greeks had. Two runaway trains were headed right towards one another. One of the

He gave inspiring and great speeches to give citizens the idea that they were an amazing civilization, and the most powerful. This overall boosts the ego of the Athenian Citizens and convinces them that they are a “master race”, and it also encourages them to become apart of their government, and work together. With the continuation of these speeches given by Pericles, it would lead the Athenians to show off their amazing achievements, by sending fleets into the Black Sea to demonstrate power, finding

The ancient historian, Thucydides, a realist and aristocrat by birth, gave the world The History of the Peloponnesian War, but with a questionably biased view of the happenings of the 5th century BC, specifically the causes of the Peloponnesian War and the key personality(s) that played an influential role to the end result, a deep understanding of his writing style and attitude towards history must be learnt to allow for his work to be viewed as a credible source. The writing itself was the most scientifically accurate piece of work at the time but readers are misled by the downplaying and ignoring of events that negatively portray the role Athens had in the war. This deliberate action has been the foundation for countless scholars’ analysis of the reliability of Thucydides as a historian. Even though Thucydides was significantly more advanced and accurate than other historians to date, his pro-Athenian attitude, specifically surrounding the causes of the war, resulted in a History that has proven difficult to view wholly as a credible source. The causes of the Peloponnesian War described by Thucydides as “the truest” are accurate but intentionally ignore the motives behind them that would insinuate that the true aggressor of the Peloponnesian War was in fact Athens.

At the beginning of the battle, the Greeks fought in a phalanx formation at the narrowest part of the pass. Persian forces were unable to defeat the Greeks for two days, but Ephialtes alerted Xerxes to the mountain path which led behind the Greek army. When Leonidas heard, he sent most of the allies to retreat, in order to save as many lives as possible for the continuation of the war. Leonidas and the remaining army inflicted further heavy losses on the Persians, but eventually they all perished. Due to Leonidas, the Persians were delayed, which therefore allowed sufficient time for the Athenians to flee Athens.

The historian Thucydides described himself as a wealthy Athenian general whose exile to the Peloponnese allowed him to personally observe, from both the sides of the conflict, a comprehensive account of the Peloponnesian War. Book 1 in Thucydides’ “History of the Peloponnesian War” is dedicated to explaining over fifty years of the events and proceedings that led to the abandonment of the Thirty Year’s Peace and subsequent war. In Book 1 he identifies four main incidents, which I shall refer to as ‘grievances’, regarding the conduct of Athens towards both their Delian members and the Peloponnesian allies. Yet he also mentions what he deems to be a more ‘real’ truth than these four grievances that led to Sparta and the Peloponnese going to

The Athenians and Plataea had a combined army of around eleven thousand men, versing a Persian army of about twenty five thousand infantry and one thousand cavalry. Even though the Greeks were at a disadvantage, Miltiades, the Greek commander used great military strategy to defeat the Persians. The Athenian strategy was to keep the Persian army pinned down at Marathon, blocking both exits from the plain, thus preventing themselves from being outmaneuvered. The Athenians had the more favourable position of the plain. The Athenian’s main plan was to stay defensive and wait for the allied Spartans to come and help.

According to Thucydides, Athens became the ultimate empire having power as the leader of the Delian League. (Hunt, Pg.100) Athens was superior and had power, which put terror in the surrounding city-states. Athens allies had put up a protection wall to protect Athens from the Spartan attack by land. Sparta had their hands full.

Athens and Sparta, located between the Aegean and the Ionian Sea, allied with each other in the Greco-Persian war. Due to the advanced and powerful navy of Athens incorporation with the well-built army of Sparta, they gained victory over the Persian Empire. After the victory, Athens gained wealth and dominance over the other Greek societies causing tensions between Sparta. They both share similarities towards their cultural background but had different views in creating an ideal society in addition to their state’s place in the world. Moreover, they differ from the concepts of a well trained or educated society and a well built military, but share similarities in their government format.

However, his royal advisor Croesus tried to convince him otherwise, saying to instead make allies out of their two peoples, not more war. But Cyrus ignored his advisor’s wise council and led his army against Queen Tomyris and her forces, and lost his life in the battle. This is where Clio ends, and where Book II, Euterpe begins, and where the Persian War starts to fully form as a massive conflict between the Greeks and

Courage, bravery, leadership, and dedication are only a few of the great attributes shown by King Leonidas of Ancient Sparta. Leonidas was King of Sparta for only a short amount of time, but in that time ensured himself a legacy that will never be forgotten. In Leonidas’ life he did many things but, the most diligent and respected action was the stand he took at the Battle of Thermopylae along with 300 other warriors. Leonidas is one of the most widely known leaders of the ancient world and will never be forgotten for the bravery and discipline he demonstrated in his self sacrifice at the Battle of Thermopylae.

Picking up allies along the way, a total Hellenic force of about 4,000 prepares to fight a much larger force of Persians. On August 18, 480 BC, the Battle of Thermopylae begins. The Spartans and their allies, do well against the Persians, who must move their troops through a narrow mountain pass onto a battlefield that has a drop-off. The Thespians and Spartans form phalanxes that charge the Persian line from the mountain side of Thermopylae. The Persian line cannot hold against the Greek infantry.