Why was the battle of Thermopylae such an important moment in ancient history?
See if this is okay: but keep in mind doco's are often extremely bias: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi06Is3KVOQ
Reasons why the Battle of Thermopylae was so important?
Boosted Greek morale Lowered the morale of the Persian army. United Greeks against the common Persian threat. Gave the Greeks time to plan and organize their naval strategy which resulted in the battle of Salamis - far more important than Thermopylae,as the loss of his fleet meant Xerxes could no longer supply his army,so had to order a retreat out of Greece as a direct consequence. The Persians won at Thermopylae,and continued their advance into Greece - so the battle in itself didn't stop the spread of anything persian into Greece.
What was the importance of the Battle of Thermopylae to history?
A2A: 1 person wants an answer to What was the importance of the Battle of Thermopylae to history?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 extension, the Asians).In the fight of cultures, the battle helped Western civilization to survive another day, and delayed the conquest by an Eastern civilization - by some 2500 years (namely, to our day, when Western civilization is again under threat of annihilation by an Eastern civilization - Political Islam), after the previous Mongols effort failed in the 13th century.A side effect of the battle was introducing some laconic answers into World culture, e.g., “we’ll fight in the shade” or “come and take it”.
What is the significance of the battle of thermopylae?
Leonidas set an example for the Greeks. Although Sparta was not immediately threatened, he marched several hundred miles away to stop the Persians. Together with 5-6000 other troops from various northern Greek city states (Phocis, Locris etc) he and his bodyguard held off 1.8 million Persians (OK, Herodotus was exaggerating here, probably around 350,000 is a likely figure) for a week. The delaying actions of the Greek fleet at Artemesium prevented them from being outflanked on the seaward side, but it also showed that Greeks could be their own worst enemy-they were betrayed by a Greek who showed the Persians a goat track through the hills. It helped to unify the often fractious and arugmentative Greeks, it showed the Spartans were committed to the cause and it showed again the superiority of heavy infantry (hoplites) over lightly armed archers and spearmen. Leonidas may have been prompted to sacrifice himself because of an oracle given at Delphi, that Sparta must be burnt or a Spartan king must die in battle before the Persians would be defeated. Strategy have been influenced by the advice of oracles (see also the wooden walls of Salamis), which I think is also significant.
What was the importance of the Battle of Charleston?
What was initially Great Britain’s greatest victory in the War for American Independence turned into the final humiliating defeat of the British.On May 12, 1780, British Lt. Gen. Sir Henry Clinton captured the main port city of Charleston, SC, along with 2,500 members of the Continental Army and three signers of the Declaration of Independence. The Americans were denied the so-called ‘honors of war’ as a means of humiliation. Worse yet, 45% of those captured died while imprisoned. Clinton then left Charleston for New York, leaving Gen. Lord Charles Cornwallis in charge of sweeping up the remaining rebels.The British were assured that with the fall of Charleston, Loyalists to the Crown would rise and retake the Southern colonies from the upstart Americans.That did not happen.Before leaving, Clinton ordered that all militia and civilians be released from their parole, but must take an oath to the Crown and be at ready to serve. This angered many of the locals and led to many deserting to the Colonists’ cause.Clinton also ordered Cornwallis to hold Charleston at all costs, fearing an attempt to retake the city. This also worked into the American’s favor. The state militia stayed away from Charleston for fear of an outbreak of smallpox. They would serve to hamper the British attempts to bring the rest of the South into line until Gen. George Washington could figure out his strategies with his generals.That’s not to say it was easy. The fighting in the Carolinas was among the most violent of the entire war. On several occasions, captures forces were massacred rather than taken prisoner. But under the leadership of Gen. Nathaniel Greene, the war of attrition meant tactical victories by the British, but at the cost of more lives than necessary.That would leave the British sufficiently softened for Washington to finally draw Cornwallis out of Charleston into Virginia and defeat him at Yorktown in 1781, ensuring independence for the American colonies.
What was the battle of thermopylae?
The battle of Thermopylae occured in 480 BC. At the time the Persian Empire ruled by Xerxes I planned to invade and conquer the Greek City states, probably partially motivated from the Greek defeat of his father Darius's army by the Athenians and their Allies at Marathon 10 years earlier To oppose the invasion a Greek army under the leadership of Leonidas, King of Sparta went to Thermopylae which was a narrow pass and natural choke point as well as an Athenian fleet (as the Persians were supplied by sea). In addition to the famous 300 Spartans under leonidas there were about 5,000 other Greek soldiers from various city states. The faced a much larger army of Persians (no records exist but it probably had at least 200,000 soldiers). The Greeks held off a number of Persian attacks over 2 days until the Persians were informed of a path through the mountains that came out behind the Greek army. The Persians sent troops along the path and defeted the Photian defenders stationed there Realising that they were about to be surrounded and killed the Greeks held a council nd most decided to withdraw. Leonidas along with his Spartans and about 700 Thespians remained, almost certainly to delay the Persian army and allow the other Greeks time to escape. They advanced to attack the main Persian army and in the battle that followed all the Greeks were killed. The simultaneous naval Battle of Artemisium was a stalemate, whereupon the Athenian fleet 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.
What is the Battle of Thermopylae?
The battle of Thermopylae was the first major land battle in the Greco Persian war.Thermopylae was a tight pass called hellspont that connected Asia minor to mainland Greece, and it was key for the Greeks to deny the Persians access to Greece's heart land.The main force numbered in the thousands but was lead by the famous 300 hundred Spartans. I can't give exact numbers, but the Persians outnumbered the Greek alliance by 5 to 1 or 10 to 1.The Greek alliance formed a phlanax at the tightest point in the pass, eliminating the Persians ability to use Calvary and hit the flanks which was their greatest strength.The Persians waited three days before attacking to see if the Greeks would leave, at the same time was an important naval battle lead by the Athenians to defeat the Persian navy and attack the baggage line moving by sea to feed the troops.After three days, the Persians attacked. They failed to break the phalanx for three days. The Greeks rotated troops around for fresh soldeirs and their superior weapons and armour easily defeated the Persians.A Greek farmer travelled to the Persians and told them if a pass to get behind the Greeks lines. The Greeks posted a small group of troops to guard the pass.They were easily defeated by arrow fire. When would that the pass was compromised, the Spartans and a few hundred fellow Greeks marched forward to allow the others to retreat.The two enemies clashed again, and eventually the phalanx broke. The Greeks were picked apart but the others were able to rally at Corinth to fight again.The Persians razed Athens and mainland Greece, but the main Spartan amry allied with the other Greeks rallied for another battle.
What happened in the Battle of Thermopylae?
The Greeks, led by the Spartans (the Spartans were not there alone and were not a majority of the Greek troops) defended a narrow pass against a huge army of invading Persians for three days in one of the greatest last stands in history. When the Persians outflanked the Greeks 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians, and 400 Thebans fought a rear guard action so the rest of the Greeks could escape. The Greeks died to the last man....
What were the effects of the Battle of Thermopylae on the Greeks and the Persians?
Thermopylae was just one of the series of battles that constituted Greece's victory over Persia, but a crucial one for its symbolic status to the West in the long term. It would not be until the Ottoman Turks that Greece would again be dominated from the East. This let Greece continue the intellectual developments that it had been undertaking free from Persian tyranny. It is often taken as a major turning point in all of world history, since the Western view of the world and itself would be based on Grecian intellectual developments when mixed in with the monotheism from Israel. In the short term it of course was a Persian victory; Persia occupied much of Greece. But the fight at Salamis a few months later and then Palatea a year later would prove the turning point. Mycale and Byzantium finished Persia off. Persia was overextended and needed Mediterranean allies and ports; it was mostly a land power. Luck and better generals/admirals gave the Greeks victory over the course of the major battles in the war. The main outcome for Greece would be to strengthen Athens showing you how short-term losses can be long term gains. Athens burns but the 50 year conflict effectively begun by Greece ends with Persian loss. Anger against Sparta for conduct at Byzantium leads to Athens becoming the leader. Persia remained in possession of Greek-speaking modern Turkey, so from its point of view little changed from pre-war conditions. There may or may not have been a real peace treaty. For the West, it guaranteed the rise of Greek philosophy, however, and thus the most advanced civilization in the world from an intellectual point of view. Athens would go on to become a mini-imperialist of its own causing revolt by fellow Greeks, but that is another story.You can think of it like the war of 1812 in the US: neither side won, but in the long run it allowed US expansion free of British power. Greece was the distant part of the Perisan world, so it was a bit like Rome fighting Scotland: no great loss of wealth in the short-term. In a bit longer term it set up the future Roman-Persian wars that would exhaust both empires and allow Muhammed's armies to rise up and invade both. But that, too, is another story.