battle of thermopylae the 300 spartans 480 b.c.e
TRANSCRIPT
Battle of Thermopylae
The 300 Spartans 480 B.C.E
Essential Standards
• 6.H.2- Understand the political, economic and/or social significance of historical events, issues, individuals and cultural groups.
• 6.G.1- Understand geographic factors that influenced the emergence, expansion and decline of civilizations, societies and regions (i.e. Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas) over time.
• 6.C&G.1- Understand the development of government in various civilizations, societies and regions.
Clarifying Objective• 6.H.2.1- Explain how invasions, conquests and migrations
affected various civilizations, societies and regions
• 6.H.2.3- Explain how innovation and/or technology transformed civilizations, societies and regions over time (Battle Tactics)
• 6.H.2.4- Explain the role that key historical figures and cultural groups had in transforming society
• 6.G.1.1- Explain how the physical features and human characteristics of a place influenced the development of civilizations, societies and regions (natural barriers).
Clarifying Objective
• 6.C&G.1.1- Explain the origins and structures of various governmental systems (e.g., democracy, absolute monarchy and constitutional monarchy).
Essential Question??
• Why did civilizations choose to live near natural barriers?
Emperor Xerxes
• Xerxes was the son of Darius & the grandson of Cyrus the Great and the last great ancient ruler of Persia
• Although he was schooled in mathematics, literature, & philosophy his father Darius was grooming him to by a military leader
Emperor Xerxes
• As a young boy he learned military tactics as well as how to fight hand to hand
• His father once put him in a courtyard with only a spear and a lion. He would either kill or be killed
King Leonidas
• Leonidas was King of the city state of Sparta
• He heroically led the 300 Spartans against the Persians
• He became a unifying figure in Greece by uniting the city states and creating nationalism in Ancient Greece
Story of the Battle of Thermopylae
• The Battle of Thermopylae starts with a man named Xerxes
• Xerxes is the King of Persia
• He is trying to conquer the world and expand the empire that Cyrus the Great & Darius had created
Persian Revenge
• For Xerxes this is also payback/revenge for the Ionian Revolt
• Xerxes is trying to do what his father Darius could not do at Marathon
• He plans the battle of Thermopylae for over 10 years
Persian Military
• The Persian Military was the largest fighting force assembled at that time in history
• They had already conquered the Egyptians and wanted the lands of Ancient Greece
• Xerxes himself was leading the Conquering of Greece
Persian Military Forces @ Thermopylae
• Historians believe that Xerxes brought about 300,000 men plus 1000 ships to conquer Greece
• The army was led by the Immortals which was the personal guard of Xerxes
• When his army went into battle formations there were so many men and animals that the ground shook
The Persian Army Assembles
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-WXgcX0eLc&feature=youtu.be
Assembling an Army• Xerxes assembles his giant
army & navy in modern day Turkey and marches and sails 800 miles to Greece
• In August of 480 B.C.E. he reaches a narrow pass called Thermopylae
• This is where King Leonidas have set up fortifications to stop the Persian Military
Thermopylae Pass• Thermopylae Pass is a natural
place to defend Greece for Leonidas and his small force of men
• The pass at its widest point is about 200 yards wide
• On Southside of the pass is Mount Kallidromo which stood about 5,000 ft tall
• The base of the mountain is about 400 ft of shear vertical rock
Thermopylae Pass• On the North side is a 300
foot cliff that sits hanging over the Aegean Sea
• This was a natural bottleneck between the Northern part of Greece and the mainland of Greece
• There was no other way to get to Greece than to go through Thermopylae Pass
Why Thermopylae Pass
• King Leonidas chooses Thermopylae pass because he can stack his men at the entrance of the pass and use the Spartan Phalanx battle Tactic
• He does not have to worry about the Persians coming to either side of them because the Sea is on one side and the Mountain on the other
Why Thermopylae Pass
• The Spartans simply jam up the front of the pass
• The strength of the Persian Army becomes a weakness because the Persians can only fit so many warriors in the pass
Why Thermopylae Pass
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK6QLligHrc&feature=youtu.be
The Phalanx Battle Strategy
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3QOgvam0N4&list=UUPsn1kPoAqrVYAkBtUvtq3w
Democracy is Young • At this point in Ancient Greece
Democracy is very young
• Democracy is a government where every citizen gets to vote for representatives and every citizen has a voice in decision making
• It is a basic idea that America shapes it’s government with today
Turning Point for Ancient Greece• The Battle of Thermopylae
marks the beginning of something never seen before in Greece
• The people of Greece have been fighting each other in a civil war for so long (Greeks vs. Spartans)
• This marks the 1st time in Ancient Greece’s history that all of Greece will team up & unite to fight the Persian Empire
Turning Point for Ancient Greece
• By joining together Greece was turning away from the thought that they were all separate city states
• They instead were beginning to become nationalistic
• They were devolving one Greece instead of individual city states
Day 1 of the Battle of Thermopylae
• The Battle starts with with Xerxes sending one of his generals to demand the surrender of the Spartans
• The general tells the Spartans that they are heavily outnumbered and if they don’t surrender they will all be killed
Negotiating a Surrender
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ponIqkWmKCo&feature=youtu.be
Day 1 of the Battle of Thermopylae• Xerxes has so many archers that if
they don’t surrender now the archers will blot out the sun with arrows
• To which one of Leonidas captains replies “Than we shall fight in the shade”
• Xerxes general returns to his side and orders the archers to fire
• Millions of arrows rain through the air but they do almost no damage because of the armor that the Spartans wear
We Shall Fight in the Shade
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6sR_mGm7W4
Spartan Armor
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxkmLk4YfkQ&list=UUPsn1kPoAqrVYAkBtUvtq3w
Day 1 of the Battle of Thermopylae• Xerxes then sends his infantry
at the Spartans
• Thousands of Persian warriors charge over & over but because of the Phalanx they cannot break through the Spartans lines
• The Spartans are slaughtering the Persians who are not prepared for this kind of battle
Day 1 of the Battle of Thermopylae
• The Persians are built for speed
• They don’t wear any armor because they are used to fighting in an open battlefield where they use their speed to get to the sides of their enemy
Day 1 of the Battle of Thermopylae
• Because of the Thermopylae pass they cannot do that and Leonidas is just slaughtering them
• At the end of the 1st day Leonidas and the Spartans have killed thousands (10,000) of Persians with just 300 men
Day 1 of the Battle of Thermopylae
• The night ends with hurricane like winds & rains pounding down on Aegean Sea destroy hundreds more of Xerxes ships
• The Spartans cheer as they have totally throttled the Persians on day 1 of the Battle of Thermopylae
End of Day 1
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swTHQRwrlcA&feature=youtu.be
Day 2 of the Battle of Thermopylae
• Xerxes has had enough of the light infantry get kicked around by the Spartans
• He starts day 2 by sending in his heavy infantry and personal guard unit called the Immortals
The Immortals
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzoAp9jX_as&feature=youtu.be
Day 2 of the Battle of Thermopylae
• All 10,000 of the Immortals silently slam into the Spartan Phalanx
• The Immortals are held up by the Spartan Phalanx as they are built for speed and stealth
Day 2 of the Battle of Thermopylae
• Xerxes also uses animals from his Kingdom that are unknown to the Spartans to try to attack
• They too are slaughtered by the Spartans
• Day 2 goes to the Spartans
Xerxes Turns to Animals
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCc_krpnjHs&feature=youtu.be
Day 3 of the Battle of Thermopylae
• Day 3 starts with a Greek scout going to Xerxes and informing him that there is a pass high in the mountains that will allow the Persians to sneak to the back of the Spartan force
• Xerxes seeing how he has been crushed for the last two days decides to use the pass
The Secret Pass
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij31N-qzVs4&feature=youtu.be
Day 3 of the Battle of Thermopylae• One of King Leonidas lookout
informs him that the Persians have found a secret through the mountains and are coming with 10,000 men
• Leonidas knowing that the Persians will rain arrows from the top of the mountain knows that his time as come
• He sends Herodotus to tell about the last stand of the 300 Spartans
Herodotus Leaves to Tell the Story of the 300 Spartans
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b8T4s6ZD5w&list=UUPsn1kPoAqrVYAkBtUvtq3w
Day 3 of the Battle of Thermopylae• Xerxes 10,000 archers get to the
top of the mountain and begin to rain arrows at the Spartans
• Xerxes ground soldiers attack from the front
• Early in the battle King Leonidas is struck by an arrow and lies dying as he watches his Spartans die one by one
• Within 2 hours every Spartan is dead
Xerxes Burns Athens to the Ground• After Xerxes kills all Greek
soldiers holding the pass he marches through to Athens
• Herodotus has convinced the Athenians to abandon Athens because he knows Xerxes is coming
• Xerxes reaches Athens and fulfills his promise to his father Darius and burns it to the ground in revenge
Cultural Perspective of Thermopylae
• The Greek city states of Athens & Sparta put aside their differences and battled Persia as a unified country
• King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans become a legend in Greek society and Leonidas becomes a unifying historical figure for all of Greece
Cultural Perspective of Thermopylae
• Thermopylae was the beginning of Greece moving away from being individual city states into a nation that had a sense of being one country
• Now everybody in every city state is proud to call themselves a GREEK!
Democracy• If the Persians would have won
that battle that would have been the end of Democracy
• Democracy is one of the basic ideas that the United States bases their government on today
• If democracy would have been crushed that day the world would be a far different place today
Important Points• 6.H.2.1- The Persian invasion of
Greece influenced the different Greek city states to band together to fight a common enemy (Persia)
• 6.H.2.3- Sparta became a dominating war culture because of the battle tactics they employed. They used the Phalanx so that few soldiers could defeat large armies
• 6.H.2.4- King Leonidas became an immediate legend that everyone looked up to. He became the key figure that unified city states into one united country of Greece
• 6.G.1.1- The Thermopylae Pass could not have been a better place for a few men to take on a huge army. Because of the sea on one side and the mountains on the other Thermopylae was a huge protection path for Ancient Greece
• 6.C&G.1.1- All of Greece’s newly founded Democracy was in trouble if Xerxes was not stopped. Democracy is what the United States Government is today
• The 300 Spartans have become legend that everyone basis heroism and bravery upon