3D Review HISTORY
What was the significant about a united Greek army fighting the Persians? In other words, how do the Spartan leaders decide if they should come to the aid of the Athenians who had been their longtime enemy
A) SIGNIFICANCE OF GREEK ALLIANCE OF 7,000: Usually the Greek City States fought with one another. The 7000 Greeks joining forces at the Battle of Thermopylae (land) and Artemisium Strait Battle (sea) signals one of the first large alliances between several Greek city states and sets the stage for a national identify as "Greek" rather than just Athenian or Sparta. B) SPARTAN LEADERS: The Spartans were normally arch rivals of the Athenians. The Spartans decided to send 300 soldiers to Thermopylae under the command of Leonidas, descendant of Hercules, after consulting the Oracle at Delphi. The Spartans were extremely religious as well as soldiers. They decided to honor Oracle's that they needed to sacrifice one of their kings in order to prevent their city state being conquered by the Persians.
How many Persians had been killed in the three day battle?
About 20,000 and Xerxes ordered that they be buried to preserve the morale of his troops
Silver Discovery
silver was found in southern Greece--Themistocles lied about external threats to have the money spent on building a navy
Trireme
Greek ships built specifically for ramming enemy ships.
Detail the role King Leonidas of Sparta played during this battle in 3 bullet points
1) One of 2 Spartan Kings selected by the Greek alliance of city states to be the General of the LAND BATTLE AT THERMOPYLAE 2) Leonidas' job was to ensure that his army of 300 would STAND TO THE LAST even if it meant their death 3) Spartans believed that he was the descendant of Hercules and he selected only 300 with male heirs since Sparta could not send more men during its most important religious festival, Carneia.
What motivated King Xerxes to attack Greece?
1) 499 B.C. Ionian Revolt led by a Greek rebels who fought against Persian rule and burnt down the capital city of Sardis 2) Expansion of Persian Empire to get more resources in Balkans
The Persian Empire was the largest of its day. Its borders stretched between which two rivers.
1. Indus River (India/Pakistan) 2. Nile River (Egypt)
Explain what was unique about the Persian army in 2 sentences
1. Largest army in the world 2. Xerxes assembled an even larger army to defeat Greek forces on land and sea in 980 BC on the Battlefield of Thermopylae (300 Spartans and allies) and Artemisium Strait (Athenians).
Explain how battlefield at Thermopylae gave the Greeks an advantage in 3 bullet points
- Greeks took away the Persian Army's numerical advantage by funneling them through a narrow passageway - Greeks blocked the Persians quickest route from north to south into Athens - Greeks could use a small amount of men to narrow the front and put up a significant fight so Persian army's being 50:1 was a DISADVANTAGE.
Describe the battlefield at Thermoplylae in 3 points.
- Narrow Pass between the, 5,000-foot Kallidromo Mountain - Pass only 200 yards at its widest (barely enough room for a chariot) - Sharp, vertical cliffs drop off on both sides, one facing the Malian Gulf to the Aegean Sea
What role did the Athenians play in the Greek defense?
-NAVAL BATTLE AT THE ARTEMISIUM STRAIT LED BY ATHENIANS: Themistocles was the Athenian general of the naval battle with the Persians to prevent enslavement by the Persians. -Themistocles' role as the naval commander was to prevent the Persian navy from getting through the Artemisium Strait to reinforce the Persian army against the Spartans at the land battle at Thermopylae.
SIGNIFICANCE OF 300: Although the Spartans were defeated at Thermopylae, the battle was a victory for Greek culture and Western Civilization. Why?
1. NATIONALISM: It's the beginning of a unified nation of Greece when the city-states formed an alliance of 7,000 2. UNIFICATION: King Philip II of Macedon officially unifies the city-states in the 4th century BC 3. WESTERN CIVILIZATION: Philip's son, Alexander the Great, defeats the Persian empire over 150 years later and this leads to the spread of Greek ideals into Asia, Africa, Europe, and eventually to the Americas.
What are two reasons that might have encouraged Leonidas to stay behind and fight even though he knew death was eminent?
1. Oracle- Leonidas decides that he is the king that has to die in order to save Sparta. 2. Avoid Enslavement by Persians- Spartans were the best army to lead the defense.
What happened back in 490 BC
10 years before the Battle at Thermopylae (980 B.C), Xerxes' father, Darius, had been defeated by a much smaller Athenian allied army at the Battle of Marathon.
These soldiers stayed behind to fight with the Spartan 300 knowing they would be killed
1000 Soldiers from Thespia
What is the end result of this "Last Stand?
298 SPARTANS (not all 300 as stated in the video) are killed along with many THESPIANS who fought alongside the 300 Spartans. NOTE: The Thespians staying behind is not often discussed.
What are the modern estimates of the number of soldiers in the Persian army
300,000 but it could have been 2,000,000
The Persians outnumbered the Greeks by how many
50:1
What margin did the Persians navy outnumber the Greek navy by?
6x larger or 5:1 since the Persians had about 1000 ships
Besides the 300 Spartans, how many other Greeks tried to stop the Persians?
7,000
Describe the military training of Spartan boys from birth to age 18
At the age of 7 they were taken from their homes and put into military camp. They sparred with each other in camp and some would die during this. They were not fed enough and they were taught to conceal their pain. They were flogged(beat) until they bled. They must sneak out at night and kill a slave without getting caught.
Who won the battle at Marathon?
Athenian army of Hoplites and a small Greek alliance.
What did Xerxes discover that would become the turning point of the battle? Summarize what the Persians did on day three of the battle.
DAY 3: Xerxes had sent about 10,000 of his men overnight to the top of the Thermopylae cliffs after learning about a goat path at the top of the pass from Trachian, EPHIALTES (name translates to traitor). Leonidas had already stationed ally forces, the PHOCIANS, on top of the pass but the Phocians fled as Persian forces advanced.
What idea might have been destroyed if the Persians had conquered the Greeks?
Democracy
The Greek Advantage
Geography at Thermopylae was the advantage--the only way to Athens was through a narrow pass that negated the numerical advantage of the Persian Army
What did this threaten in its infancy (at the start)
Greek democracy in Athens
What would the Greeks eventually do years later to the Persian threat
Greek forces led a counterattack on the Persians in Asia and take control of 3 Persian territories - Plataea, Mycale, Sestos.
Describe how King Leonidas was killed?
Leonidas was killed early on in DAY 3 and the Greeks were able to retrieve his body before Xerxes could behead him and put his head on a stake.
What famous battle took place between the Athenians and the Persians back then?
Marathon
What does King Leonidas order most of the Greek soldiers to do?
Most of the Greek alliances retreat in small numbers overnight so as to not be noticed by Persian army. Little known fact is that the Greek THESPIAN ally forces stay to fight alongside the SPARTANS whereas the PHOCIANS who had been stationed on top the Thermopylae pass decide to retreat to defend their city state from Persian attack.
Were they successful against the Spartans on Day 2.
No
Why wasn't there a great loss of life (in Athens on the Acropolis)?
Only a few lives are lost on top of the Athenian Acropolis because Themistocles has called for the evacuation of Athens and eventually defeats the Persian navy at the BATTLE OF SALAMIS. The Persians leave because they can no longer supply their army or lead an attack on Greek soil.
How many Persians did the Spartans kill on Day 1?
Over 10,000
What was the goal during a naval battle back then?
PERSIANS: To defeat the Athenian fleet led by General Themistocles and supply Xerxes' army at Thermopylae with fresh soldiers, horses, and food to surround the 300 Spartans and alliance of PHOCIANS (stationed at top of Pass), 1000 Thespians, etc. ATHENIANS: Themistocles wanted to prevent Xerxes' fleet from reaching Thermopylae since it would lead to the destruction of Athens. He understood it that the Persians could not sustain an army in Greece without its fleet. REMINDER: Themistocles is able to fund the construction of a larger fleet with a "great lie" using silver to pay for this fleet which defeats the Persian navy a few months later at the Battle of Salamis
The Immortals
Persian infantry that were highly skilled--they were called immortal because when one was killed another immediately took his place
What did Spartans mothers give their sons before they went off to battle and what did it mean
She sent them off with a shield. It means come back with your shield meaning you are alive or come back carried on it meaning you are dead.
What was the job of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae?
The 300 Spartans agreed stand to as the first line defense against the Persians even if it meant their death. They were selected for this "honor" since they had male heirs and it would also most likely make them legends if they defeated the mighty Persian Empire.
Why were the Spartans successful against the Persians.
The Persians were not prepared to fight shoulder to shoulder with Sparta's Phalanx Formation and their spears cannot pierce Greek shields. Immortal's shields were wicker and their clothing was no armor against Greek spears or swords. Immortals just became dead that piled up in the narrow battlefield.
Nike
The phrase meaning "victory" that the scout who ran 26 miles from Marathon to Athens
The Darkness Advantage
Themistocles attacked the Persians in the afternoon with his navy to limit his losses if the fight did not go his way
The Lie of Themistocles
Themistocles lied about a threat from a neighboring island to convince fellow Spartan leaders of the need for a Navy to fight the Persians
The Spartan 300 Big Idea
This created the understanding of a sense of belonging to a nation--that there are events bigger than individuals the preservation of a country--it is heroic to sacrifice for you country
Hoplite
This is what Spartan Infantrymen were known as
What does Leonidas decide to do?
To stay with his army perhaps because the Oracle had foretold that it was his duty to stay and also to protect the Greek armies that are still retreating in order to hold off the Persians as long as possible.
Battle of Thermopylae Turning Point
When Xerxes is told about a pass that will allow his soldiers to surround the Spartan 300--this negated the Spartan tactical advantage
Explain why the Persian elite land forces called the Immortals
When one Immortal retired or died, he was immediately replaced by another
What did Xerxes do to Athens two months later?
Xerxes begins his march through the Thermopylae Pass, some former Greek allies join him. Within two months he burns down Athens' temples on top the Acropolis as payback for Sardis.
The Pontoon Bridge
Xerxes built a bridge from old war ships to cross over the 1 mile wide waterway--this move saved him 2 years; the amount of time it would have taken to march around the Black Sea
Besides 300,000 men, what else did King Xerxes send to Greece 10 years later?
Xerxes did not want to spend two years marching his army around the Black Sea or engage the various armies en route to get to Athens and burn it down, so he decided to bring ships (cargo & navy), horses (cavalry), as well as foot soldiers.
How did Xerxes' army walk on water at the Hellespont
Xerxes ordered that hundreds of cargo ships be tied together with Egyptian papyrus and flax linen cables in order to create a bridge and shorten his journey and avoid unnecessary conflicts.
How was a Hoplite equipped for battle?
Xiphos- the short sword carried by Spartan Warriors used for thrusting and hacking Phalanx-the formation of the Spartans that provided a defense against Persian archers and infantry charges Corinthian Helmet- Made of bronze this is the helmet that Spartan warriors wore in battle Dory- 6 foot long, iron tipped spear that Spartan warriors carried Hopla- Shield wood covered with a thin layer of bronze Lamellar armor- armor made of leather, linin,and bronze. The Persians armor could not compare with armor because their armor was made of cheap items
Helot
the name for a Spartan slave who was to be murdered as a final test of a Spartan Warrior
