The number of troops which Xerxes mustered for the second invasion of Greece has been the subject of endless dispute, most notably between ancient sources, which report very large numbers, and modern scholars, who surmise much smaller figures. Herodotus claimed that there were, in total, 2.6 million military personnel, accompanied by an equivalent number of support personnel. [64] The poet Simonides, who was a contemporary, talks of four million; Ctesias gave 800,000 as the total number of the army that was assembled by Xerxes. [7] The outstretched chest symbolizes the struggle, the gallantry, the strength, the bravery and the courage. One of the many virtues of this book is that he quotes the actual words of speeches and other important documents: he realises that the actual words matter, and in the case of the Withdrawal Agreement he concludes that in Article 174, the superiority of the European Court of Justice in the dispute resolution mechanism means that once ratified, this provision cannot be “over-trumped” even by Act of Parliament. a b Naqs-e Rostam – Encyclopaedia Iranica. Archived from the original on 16 September 2020 . Retrieved 18 October 2018.

Pressfield, Steven (1998). Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae. Doubleday. ISBN 1407066595. Between 410 and 406, Athens won a continuous string of victories, and eventually recovered large portions of its empire. All of this was due, in no small part, to Alcibiades. What History's Biggest Wars Teach Us About Leading in Peace". HBS Working Knowledge. 2021-02-24 . Retrieved 2023-07-31. Later that day, however, as the Persian king was pondering what to do next, he received a windfall; a Trachinian named Ephialtes informed him of the mountain path around Thermopylae and offered to guide the Persian army. [101] Ephialtes was motivated by the desire for a reward. [101] For this act, the name "Ephialtes" received a lasting stigma; it came to mean "nightmare" in the Greek language and to symbolize the archetypal traitor in Greek culture. [102] Strachey, Edward (February 1871). "The Soldiers' Duty". The Contemporary Review. London: Strahan & Co. XVI: 480–485.

The Boeotian War

These ships were then released, and served as the core of the Athenians' fleet throughout the rest of the war. An oligarchical revolution occurred in Athens, in which a group of 400 seized power. Peace with Sparta might have been possible, but the Athenian fleet, now based on the island of Samos, refused the change. In 411 BC, this fleet engaged the Spartans at the Battle of Syme. The fleet appointed Alcibiades their leader, and continued the war in Athens's name. Their opposition led to the reinstitution of a democratic government in Athens within two years.

Battle of Thermopylae" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 September 2020 . Retrieved 1 August 2019. With the death of Cleon and Brasidas, both zealous war hawks for their nations, the Peace of Nicias was able to last six years. However, it was a time of constant skirmishes in and around the Peloponnese. While the Spartans refrained from action themselves, some of their allies began to talk of revolt. They were supported in this by Argos, a powerful Peloponnesian state that had remained independent of Lacedaemon. With the support of the Athenians, the Argives forged a coalition of democratic states in the Peloponnese, including the powerful states of Mantinea and Elis. Early Spartan attempts to break up the coalition failed, and the leadership of the Spartan king Agis was called into question. Emboldened, the Argives and their allies, with the support of a small Athenian force under Alcibiades, moved to seize the city of Tegea, near Sparta. In the Hellenic calendar, years ended at midsummer; as a result, some events cannot be dated to a specific year of the modern calendar. [ clarification needed]Both George and I had read history at university, and one thing that runs as a golden thread through British history is that you cannot bully us. Many have tried and all have failed. The British are an inherently reasonable people, often far more patient than many of their counterparts, but there is a point beyond which they simply will not go. And what sounded like a blatant attempt to bully or frighten the British people to vote to Remain in the EU, seemed to me a fundamental error…” Herodotus on Thermopylae - Livius". Archived from the original on 4 October 2023 . Retrieved 13 September 2023. A further provocation was Athens in 433/2 BC imposing trade sanctions on Megarian citizens (once more a Spartan ally after the First Peloponnesian War). It was alleged that the Megarians had desecrated the Hiera Orgas. These sanctions, known as the Megarian decree, were largely ignored by Thucydides, but some modern economic historians have noted that forbidding Megara to trade with the prosperous Athenian empire would have been disastrous for the Megarans, and so have considered the sanctions a contributing causing of the war. [22] Historians who attribute responsibility for the war to Athens cite this event as the main cause. [23] Merivale, J.K. (1833). From the Greek Anthology by the Late Rev. Robert Bland, and Others: A New Edition: Comprising the Fragments of Early Lyric Poetry, With Specimens of All the Poets Included in Meleager's Garland. Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman; and John Murray. Bradford, Ernle (1980). The Battle for the West: Thermopylae. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. pp.68–69. ISBN 0-07-007062-8.

The Spartan army stood at the center of the Spartan state, citizens trained in the disciplines and honor of a warrior society. [1] Subjected to military drills since early manhood, the Spartans became one of the most feared and formidable military forces in the Greek world, attaining legendary status in their wars against Persia. At the height of Sparta's power – between the 6th and 4th centuries BC – other Greeks commonly accepted that "one Spartan was worth several men of any other state." [1] Bagnall, Nigel. The Peloponnesian War: Athens, Sparta, And The Struggle For Greece. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 0-312-34215-2).Along the path itself was a series of three constrictions, or "gates" ( pylai), and at the centre gate a wall that had been erected by the Phocians, in the previous century, to aid in their defence against Thessalian invasions. [53] The name "Hot Gates" comes from the hot springs that were located there. [83] Also obedience in its highest form is not obedience to a constant and compulsory law, but a persuaded or voluntary yielded obedience to an issued command ... His name who leads the armies of Heaven is "Faithful and True"...and all deeds which are done in alliance with these armies ... are essentially deeds of faith, which therefore ... is at once the source and the substance of all known deed, rightly so called ... as set forth in the last word of the noblest group of words ever, so far as I know, uttered by simple man concerning his practice, being the final testimony of the leaders of a great practical nation ... [the epitaph in Greek] [160]

a b c Ziogas, Ioannis (9 November 2014). "Sparse Spartan Verse: Filling Gaps in the Thermopylae Epigram". Ramus. Aureal Publications. 43 (2): 115–133. doi: 10.1017/rmu.2014.10. hdl: 1885/13680. S2CID 109914629. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022 . Retrieved 10 October 2014. Others, such as Francois and Steve Baker (whose fiery speech to the ERG is printed in this book, and was quoted in the recent ConHome profile of him), decided to fight on to the bitter end. The alternative ancient reading πειθόμενοι νομίμοις ( peithomenoi nomίmois) for ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι ( rhēmasi peithomenoi) substitutes "laws" ( νόμοι) for "words". [146] After the destruction of the Sicilian Expedition, Lacedaemon encouraged the revolt of Athens's tributary allies, and indeed, much of Ionia rose in revolt. The Syracusans sent their fleet to the Peloponnesians, and the Persians decided to support the Spartans with money and ships. Revolt and faction threatened in Athens itself. The Lacedaemonians were not content with simply sending aid to Sicily; they also resolved to take the war to the Athenians. On the advice of Alcibiades, they fortified Decelea, near Athens, and prevented the Athenians from making use of their land year round. The fortification of Decelea prevented overland supplies to Athens, and forced all supplies to be brought in by sea at greater expense. More significantly, the nearby silver mines were totally disrupted, with as many as 20,000 Athenian slaves freed by the Spartan hoplites at Decelea. With the treasury and emergency reserve of 1,000 talents dwindling, the Athenians were forced to demand even more tribute from her subject allies, further increasing tensions and the threat of rebellion within the Empire.

Failed negotiations

Kipling is not a fashionable poet, but If still has claims to be the nation’s favourite poem, and one can imagine the emotion with which he would invest Brexit if he were alive now. Main articles: Second Persian invasion of Greece and Achaemenid destruction of Athens A Persian soldier at the time of the Second Achaemenid invasion of Greece. Francois agreed, and said “we have felt like the 300 Spartans guarding the pass at Thermopylae.” Goodman proceeded to use the term in a piece for ConHome, “Enter – or Rather Exit – The Spartans” (also reprinted in this book), and the word entered general use. Militarily, although the battle was actually not decisive in the context of the Persian invasion, Thermopylae is of some significance on the basis of the first two days of fighting. The performance of the defenders is used as an example of the advantages of training, equipment, and good use of terrain as force multipliers. [144] Legacy [ edit ] Monuments [ edit ]