The Spartan War By Aidanus Leeus 480 B.C.
King Leonidas in battle.
Don't ask how we got this photo
These are dark, dark times that we are in my fellow Greeks. A war rages on at the pass of Thermopylae between defending city-states and arch enemies the Persians. The Greek army is led by Athenian General Themistocles and none other than King Leonidas himself. They lead a small number of Spartans, Thespians, and Thebans. King Leonidas' army is outnumbered as they are against thousands and thousands of Persians. Sources say that the Persians have between 70,000 and 300,000 men at their command. Some say they even have a whopping 2,000,000 men to defeat the Ruthless army of Themistocles and Leonidas. That's good news for the Persians but bad news for us. We only have a measly (compared to Persia's numbers) 5,200 to 11,200 men in our hands; which makes us completely and utterly outnumbered. Some could say we've already been defeated but knowing how ruthless the Spartans are, I say that we have a chance. I am happy to say that I've managed to get an exclusive interview with none other than King Leonidas earlier today. Here is the interview.
A:"King Leonidas, how did you feel when you heard that Xerxes I, King of Persia, and his army was marching through Thrace and Macedon to get to Greece?"
L:"Well, Aidanus, we Spartans were celebrating a festival called Carneia in which no armed battles were allowed to take place during it. But since the Persian army was massive, I was chosen to be the leader. So, as we Greeks always do in need of help, I went to the Oracle to listen to the prophecy. Most of the time, we Greeks actually believe in what the prophecy has to say, but I was in doubt since it said I was going to die. I don't know if that's actually gonna happen but if it does it does. So, i gathered 300 men of the Royal bodyguard who had sons to carry on the family lineage because if that actually happens, I won't die alone. As we marched on to Thermopylae, our army went well over 5,000 soldiers by marching to other cities. From there on, we reached an armed forces camp at the narrowest pass known as the middle gate; where the Phocians, our ally, had crafted a defensive wall. I stationed four thousand Phocians on a high mountain trail to protect a secret goat trail so our armed forces could not be ambushed by the ongoing Persian army. We heard that the Persians had done something common they do before a battle. They sent their emissary, a person sent on a special mission, to offer terms that would mean no battle would take place. But while being 'free men' we would also have to serve the Persians so, that's an absolute no."
A:"Wow, I wish you luck, going against that massive Persian army is going to be tough. I hope this war ends soon because this is madness."
"Madness?
THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!!!!!"
Well that ends our interview with King Leonidas, and this article! He needs to go back to his army and lead us to victory!
Death of a King
UPDATE: I am writing this in a dark room with the door locked so I don't have much time. Leonidas is dead, the oracle was right, and the Persians have won.
I will write the full details of the battle below.
Our army positioned themselves at the narrow pass of Thermopylae because the Persian army was much, much larger than the small Greek army; and since the pass was narrow, the Persian army could not overrun the Greeks with their army. Five days later, the Persians arrived at Thermopylae. With that, the battle commenced. Xerxes (the Persian king) ruthlessly started sending men out to push the Greeks back so they could attack us and overrun us. The Greeks stood in front of the Phocians (a Greek ally) defensive wall and formed the Greek phalanx, which was an impenetrable wall of men that rotated continuously so those out of the battle will be brought in and out keeping the Greeks from getting tired. King Xerxes watched in horror as the Greek army was absolutely destroying the Persians one by one without losing large amounts of men. So, with nothing else to lose, King Xerxes sent his highly trained, elite soldiers, known as the Immortals, on the second attack of the first day. The Immortals were feared not only for there battle skills and capabilities, but also that they were seen as men who couldn't die. After all, they are called the Immortals. However, we defeated the Persians' so called 'Immortals' and the Persians, yet again, suffered heavy losses. The second day also ended up a win for us and a loss for our enemy. Xerxes was getting more and more furious by the blood shed as men were just being sent to get killed. The second days battle ended up with Xerxes calling a retreat to regroup his remaining forces back to his camp. However, the tides turned as a Greek named Ephialtes , betrayer and will forever be hated, told the Persians about Leonidas' hidden goat trail. Ironically what Ephilates did is a nightmare and his name means nightmare in Greek, and Ephilates has been rumored to not get the rich reward to live a lavish life like he wished.
"As darkness fell, the Persian king sent his best soldiers [the Immortals] to take the secret path and so come up behind the Greeks. At dawn on the third day of battle, the Greeks discovered that they had been betrayed."
Now the Immortals were actually, Immortal. They had the upper hand as their large amount of forces were obviously stronger than the small amount of Spartan soldiers. The question was: Could the Greeks avoid absolute slaughter after being betrayed by one of them? Or would they face the ultimate fate. Death" With the words of the oracle in Leonidas' mind, he knew that he had to die to save Greece. Xerxes sent a small army of men to the goat trail lead by Commander Hydarnes. The Phocians were shocked to see Persians marching up the trail, however, the Persians did not attack. They sent a volley of arrows and proceeded to cut off the Greek force led by Leonidas.
"Leonidas, the Spartan leader, chose to fight to the end, knowing that his men could never win this battle. He told the remaining Greek soldiers to flee whilst they could, but the Spartans would show their courage and fight on."
A:"King Leonidas, how did you feel when you heard that Xerxes I, King of Persia, and his army was marching through Thrace and Macedon to get to Greece?"
L:"Well, Aidanus, we Spartans were celebrating a festival called Carneia in which no armed battles were allowed to take place during it. But since the Persian army was massive, I was chosen to be the leader. So, as we Greeks always do in need of help, I went to the Oracle to listen to the prophecy. Most of the time, we Greeks actually believe in what the prophecy has to say, but I was in doubt since it said I was going to die. I don't know if that's actually gonna happen but if it does it does. So, i gathered 300 men of the Royal bodyguard who had sons to carry on the family lineage because if that actually happens, I won't die alone. As we marched on to Thermopylae, our army went well over 5,000 soldiers by marching to other cities. From there on, we reached an armed forces camp at the narrowest pass known as the middle gate; where the Phocians, our ally, had crafted a defensive wall. I stationed four thousand Phocians on a high mountain trail to protect a secret goat trail so our armed forces could not be ambushed by the ongoing Persian army. We heard that the Persians had done something common they do before a battle. They sent their emissary, a person sent on a special mission, to offer terms that would mean no battle would take place. But while being 'free men' we would also have to serve the Persians so, that's an absolute no."
A:"Wow, I wish you luck, going against that massive Persian army is going to be tough. I hope this war ends soon because this is madness."
"Madness?
THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!!!!!"
Well that ends our interview with King Leonidas, and this article! He needs to go back to his army and lead us to victory!
Death of a King
UPDATE: I am writing this in a dark room with the door locked so I don't have much time. Leonidas is dead, the oracle was right, and the Persians have won.
I will write the full details of the battle below.
Our army positioned themselves at the narrow pass of Thermopylae because the Persian army was much, much larger than the small Greek army; and since the pass was narrow, the Persian army could not overrun the Greeks with their army. Five days later, the Persians arrived at Thermopylae. With that, the battle commenced. Xerxes (the Persian king) ruthlessly started sending men out to push the Greeks back so they could attack us and overrun us. The Greeks stood in front of the Phocians (a Greek ally) defensive wall and formed the Greek phalanx, which was an impenetrable wall of men that rotated continuously so those out of the battle will be brought in and out keeping the Greeks from getting tired. King Xerxes watched in horror as the Greek army was absolutely destroying the Persians one by one without losing large amounts of men. So, with nothing else to lose, King Xerxes sent his highly trained, elite soldiers, known as the Immortals, on the second attack of the first day. The Immortals were feared not only for there battle skills and capabilities, but also that they were seen as men who couldn't die. After all, they are called the Immortals. However, we defeated the Persians' so called 'Immortals' and the Persians, yet again, suffered heavy losses. The second day also ended up a win for us and a loss for our enemy. Xerxes was getting more and more furious by the blood shed as men were just being sent to get killed. The second days battle ended up with Xerxes calling a retreat to regroup his remaining forces back to his camp. However, the tides turned as a Greek named Ephialtes , betrayer and will forever be hated, told the Persians about Leonidas' hidden goat trail. Ironically what Ephilates did is a nightmare and his name means nightmare in Greek, and Ephilates has been rumored to not get the rich reward to live a lavish life like he wished.
"As darkness fell, the Persian king sent his best soldiers [the Immortals] to take the secret path and so come up behind the Greeks. At dawn on the third day of battle, the Greeks discovered that they had been betrayed."
Now the Immortals were actually, Immortal. They had the upper hand as their large amount of forces were obviously stronger than the small amount of Spartan soldiers. The question was: Could the Greeks avoid absolute slaughter after being betrayed by one of them? Or would they face the ultimate fate. Death" With the words of the oracle in Leonidas' mind, he knew that he had to die to save Greece. Xerxes sent a small army of men to the goat trail lead by Commander Hydarnes. The Phocians were shocked to see Persians marching up the trail, however, the Persians did not attack. They sent a volley of arrows and proceeded to cut off the Greek force led by Leonidas.
"Leonidas, the Spartan leader, chose to fight to the end, knowing that his men could never win this battle. He told the remaining Greek soldiers to flee whilst they could, but the Spartans would show their courage and fight on."
One of the Phoenicians had to run to King Leonidas to tell him about the Persians so Leonidas knew what was to come. As soon as the Phoenician told Leonidas that, the Greek commanders held a council to decide on what was to happen. It ended with nearly all of Greek's forces withdrawing without being ordered to do so. This left 300 Spartans, 400 Thebans, and 700 Thespians left at Leonidas' command. However, before they were completely surrounded, Leonidas dismissed the rest of the troops and they lived on to tell stories.
... armed with whips, urged their men forward with continual blows. Many were thrust into the sea, and there perished; a still greater number were trampled to death by their own soldiers; no one heeded the dying. For the Greeks, reckless of their own safety and desperate, since they knew that, as the mountain had been crossed, their destruction was nigh at hand, exerted themselves with the most furious valour ... (Herodotus, Histories, 7.223)
King Leonidas knew for certain that death was near and that there was no escape. Then , out of the blue and a good distance away from his men, the great King Leonidas died at the hand of Persian archers. Furious fighting raged on as the Spartans were trying to recover their dead leaders body. Successfully-only for a short while- they stood tall and made their last stand on a small hill. Standing in the formation of a circle, the remaining soldiers killed as many invaders as they could. The Persians sent arrow after arrow until all the Greek soldiers were dead.
. . . Xerxes . . . proceeded to pass through the slain; and finding the body of Leonidas, whom he knew to have been the Lacedaemonian [Spartan] king and captain, he ordered that the head should be struck off, and the trunk fastened to a cross. This proves to me most clearly, what is plain also in many other ways - namely, that King Xerxes was more angry with Leonidas, while he was still in life, than with any other mortal. (Herodotus, Histories, 7.238)
King Xerxes usually honors those who die in battle but Xerxes decided to do something out of character. Xerxes dishonored King Leonidas' remains by chopping his head off and putting the rest of the poor kings remains on a cross.
We have been defeated at Thermopylae and who knows what will happen next for us Greeks. Xerxes and his army could march through all the city-states if he wanted to and take over. That is exactly why I locked myself in a dark room, hoping that no foul Pers- ughh disgusts me just to say it-ian comes in and wrecks the "party."
We have been defeated at Thermopylae and who knows what will happen next for us Greeks. Xerxes and his army could march through all the city-states if he wanted to and take over. That is exactly why I locked myself in a dark room, hoping that no foul Pers- ughh disgusts me just to say it-ian comes in and wrecks the "party."