300 Spartans?

[AqD]

I noticed in the 1962 movie that the narrow pass they guarded border the sea! So why didn't persians just surround them by sea, with marines & archers on boats, rather than to waste time climbing the mountains?

I mean like

Sea    Narrow-Pass

AAAA
AAAA
AAAA
AAAA      33333
AAAA      33333
AAAA      33333
AAAA      33333
AAAA
          SSSSS
         AAAAAAA
         AAAAAAA
         AAAAAAA

3 = spartans, A = archers, S = spearmen



Or they could just fire arrows every day and night so the spartans couldn't sleep....

[A pimp named Slickback]

Because that wouldn't make a cool movie.

[AqD]

all right but they also had elephants! why not just send the elephants forward? Elephants crushing hoplites would make a great show!

[Tiberius Tosi]

all right but they also had elephants! why not just send the elephants forward? Elephants crushing hoplites would make a great show!

Because elephants, like men, don't charge frontally into a large group of screaming men.

The Persians did send a fleet to unload behind their lines, but the athenians held for a while and then a storm destroyed it.

[Orko]

Because 300 IS A LIE! They forgot about the other 10000 or so Greeks who were there either.

[René Artois]

Because 300 IS A LIE! They forgot about the other 10000 or so Greeks who were there either.

Nope. It was definitely 300, no more no less. 300 spartans wearing only metal pants and a cape just like the real thing happened.

[PointOfViewGun]

Nope. It was definitely 300, no more no less. 300 spartans wearing only metal pants and a cape just like the real thing happened.

Not really. It came anywhere close to 300 at the last few days. Initially there were something like 7000 people then some retreated after few days of fighting. At the end there was 300 Spartans with something like 1300 Thesbians and they didn't fight to the death. Some of them surrendered in the end but Persians rained arrows on to them.

[MaximiIian]

Because 300 IS A LIE! They forgot about the other 10000 or so Greeks who were there either.

For one, he's not talking about 300. Pay attention to the world around you.
Secondly, both 300 and The 300 Spartans mentioned the Thespians and other Greeks. However, they are quite right in that the Spartans alone held the line at the very end, in order to allow the Greeks a chance to make a tactical withdrawal to Corinth.

[Orko]

For one, he's not talking about 300. Pay attention to the world around you.
Secondly, both 300 and The 300 Spartans mentioned the Thespians and other Greeks. However, they are quite right in that the Spartans alone held the line at the very end, in order to allow the Greeks a chance to make a tactical withdrawal to Corinth.

Well, They sort of show that only 300 Spartans and some 200 other Greeks held the pass. In reality, there were much more.

[Goofan]

Well they tried but the athenias (I think) met them with a fleet and won that fight. So the persians couldn't surround them

[conon394]

Because the Greek fleet was busy hammering the Persians a bit up the coast. Holding the pass was a side show the main point was defeat the Persian fleet.

see Battle of Artmisium

[Sphere]

Actually the sea battle during Thermopolye was of far greater importance than stand made by the land forces, and greater still than the final day of the land battle where the Spartan king and his body gaurd stayed behind and were killed.

The last stand of the 300 Spartans may be an inspiring story, but it was only a minor part of the battle. If the spartan king has decided to stay home, it probably would have made little difference.

[Delta228]

Gerard Butler would have jumped from boat to boat slaying the archers. duh!

[Habelo]

just want to say how ing gay it is off all the retards to spam jokes all over this thread. Its the history part of the forum, should be serious and a part where people learn from eachother. And by learning i dont mean socially declined jokes.

[Godless Pickle]

I think there was some kind of bad weather in which the Persians lost some 50,000 or so soldiers, so thy had to land farther down the coast. Sadly there where no cliffs, that was just for good old action packed cinema scenarios.

[AqD]

but they can just use fish boats and put archers on it? And why not harass spartans every day and night? Certainly the greeks wouldn't have enough men to guard at night?


PS: I read there are many thousands of greeks, but they don't matter anyway!

[Godless Pickle]

I think there were around 5,000 total, from some random, unimportant greek state, but some retreated before they battle, and the rest fought to the end with the Spartans. What a great way to fight for your country....

[Racer X]

Initially it was about 7,000 Greeks from various poleis, including the 300 Spartans (actually 299 because one, Pantites, was on another duty thus missed the fight, and hanged himself because of it, supposedly - but 299 Spartans doesn't have a good ring to it), 700 Thespians, 400 Thebans, 1000 Phokians etc. Of course the numbers depleted greatly over the few days they were there, and the last stand consisted of the Spartans, the Thespians (voluntarily) and the Thebans (involuntarily - they were believed by the other Greeks to be Persian sympathisers). The Thebans surrendered during the last stand while the Spartans and Thespians died. Beforehand, the Spartans and Thespians decided they were bezt frendz 4eva and traded cloaks.

Anyway, the answer to thread question is the aforementioned battle of Artemisium.

[removeduser_487563287433]

I noticed in the 1962 movie that the narrow pass they guarded border the sea! So why didn't persians just surround them by sea, with marines & archers on boats, rather than to waste time climbing the mountains?

I mean like

Sea    Narrow-Pass

AAAA
AAAA
AAAA
AAAA      33333
AAAA      33333
AAAA      33333
AAAA      33333
AAAA
          SSSSS
         AAAAAAA
         AAAAAAA
         AAAAAAA

3 = spartans, A = archers, S = spearmen



Or they could just fire arrows every day and night so the spartans couldn't sleep....

Um, because you don't want to smash your trireme against a load of rocks?

[Demetrios of Messene]

I noticed in the 1962 movie that the narrow pass they guarded border the sea! So why didn't persians just surround them by sea, with marines & archers on boats, rather than to waste time climbing the mountains?

I mean like

Sea    Narrow-Pass
 
AAAA
AAAA
AAAA
AAAA      33333
AAAA      33333
AAAA      33333
AAAA      33333
AAAA
          SSSSS
         AAAAAAA
         AAAAAAA
         AAAAAAA

3 = spartans, A = archers, S = spearmen



Or they could just fire arrows every day and night so the spartans couldn't sleep....

Some of these points have already been mentioned, but anyway:
1. The Persians had a fleet. They could not flank the greek land forces due to the allied greek fleet shadowing the persian fleet. See battle of Artemisium.
2. You overestimate the range of archers. Even if the Persians could avoid the allied greek fleet and the possibly rocky shore, how many archers do you think could be packed on boats and approach close enough to the greek land army in order to effectively fire at the greeks?!
3. Again how many archers could be packed at the narrow passage in order to keep firing arrows at the greek land army day and night? A well timed counter-attack from the well armoured greeks would have slaughtered most of them.
4. The Persians were not fool or ignorant. They kept thinking of alternative ways of defeating the greek armies and this is proven by the fact that in the end they succeded.

Sorry, but your strategy could perhaps work only in video games...