The Greco-Persian wars occurred several times through out the two
people's history. I've been studying the Greeks for several years and
most this information comes from the ancient Greek historian
Herodotus.In 480 BC the Persian king Xerxes took approximately
350,000-500,000 soldiers across a narrow water way known as the
Hellespont that connects Asia Minor to Europe and went into northern
Greece. Thinking he would save Sparta by martyring himself, the Spartan
King, Leonidas took 300 of his best troops to go to the hot gates which
was a narrow pass near Thermopylae that would offer a tremendous
strategic advantage because only a small amount of men could fight at
one time,making the Persians massive numbers much less useful. About
7000 other Greeks came along with Leonidas including Thespians,who made
up the largest part of the Greeks at the battle. After 3 days they were
all dead, however they dealt a huge blow to Xerxes and his army's
numbers and moral. Xerxes's main objective was to destroy Athens for
supporting a rebellion in the Ionian town of Sardis years earlier as
well as the humiliating defeat at Marathon. After there was no standing
army in between Athens and Thermopylae, Xerxes marched straight to
Athens and burned it to the ground.
Xerxes realized this was a mistake and began rebuilding Athens the next
day. With Leonidas dead, a new Spartan king was put in place. They
needed to act quickly to save Southern Greece. The new Spartan king,
Cleombrotos, decided he would make a wall at the narrowest part of the
passage into Southern Greece by Corinth, and to not help Athens.
Cleombrotos died suddenly approximately a month after his orders and
Sparta gets a new King. Pausanias was one of Sparta's generals now he
was king. Although Athens and Sparta were engaged in bloody conflict
very often,Pausanias knew if he was going to save all of Greece he
needed to ally with Athens to defeat the Persians. It is what happened
after Thermopylae that saved the Western world and democracy. In 479 BC
the Persians sacked Athens for a second time within the 365 days they
sacked it the first time.The battle that would decide the fate of all
Greece was the Battle of Plataea.
Pausanias was a warrior king and wanted to fight the Persians out of
Greece. He knew that he did not have any skirmishers or archers so he
developed a tactic to take out the Persian archers. It was called the
hoplite run. All Greek heavy infantry of the time were hoplites which
means they stood interlocking shields with 6-8 foot spears sticking out
to make a spear wall. This was devastating against light infantry and to
charge into a phalanx formation with cavalry was suicidal. However this
formation was highly immobile and was vulnerable to flank attacks as
well as missile troops. Pausanias developed the "hoplite run" which
means that the hoplites would break the phalanx formation and sprint
directly onto the enemy archer's position killing them before the
Persian main infantry could start fighting.
In August, 479 BC, Pausanias took 45,000 Spartan warriors and 50,000
Greeks including several thousand helots and went to combat the
Persian's 300,000 man force near Athens. The Persian's reaction was to
fall back to Plataea where there was an open battlefield to fight at
where their archers and cavalry could be used. The Persian general
Mardonius was in command of 300,000 men and put them on the opposite
side of the river Ossopus. Neither Mardonius or Pausanias moved to
commence battle for a week. Mardonius finally sent a small mounted
archer band to harass the Spartans into charging the field, but the
Spartans did not take the bait. Instead they killed some of the Persians
and held their ground. On the tenth day, Pausanias is running low on
water and supplies so leads his men into a orderly retreat, but as he
does this Mardonius charges his entire army onto the field to try and
cut down the retreating Spartans, which ended up being a tremendous
mistake. The Spartans turn directly towards the Persians, go into
phalanx and advance towards the Persians.
Persian cavalry could not maneuver because of the rocky terrain so they
order all the archers to fire. The Spartans shrug off the arrows as they
advance right towards the Persian line. When the 2 lines collided, the
Persians were instantly decimated. The Greek heavy infantry wearing 60
pounds of armor, using the best tactics and weapons available at the
time period slaughtered the Persian light infantry and archers. It is
said that Mardonius, the Persian commander was struck and killed with a
rock thrown by a Greek during the battle. At the end of the day, over
150,000 Persians lay dead, a hard number to imagine, half of the entire
Persian army. After this battle, the Persians would leave Greece in a
few months and never try to invade again.
In about 150 years, all the city-states joined together under the
command and influence of Phillip II of Macedon. When Phillip was
assassinated, his son Alexander took over and with all the resources of
Greece and Macedon, invaded Persia destroying the entire empire and
starting a new reign of Greek rulers in Asia Minor,Egypt, and as far as
Western India. When Alexander died, several kingdoms were established by
Alexander's generals which would eventually collapse. Since Greece's
manpower was spread so thin over Alexander's great empire it made
mainland Greece and Macedon very weak, but rich. However most the riches
would stay in Asia Minor. Approximately 200 years after Alexander's
campaign, Rome conquered Greece and Macedon.
Roman officials bred with
the Greeks so much that after a hundred years most of the Romans
controlling Greece were 50-75% Greek and when Constantine separated the
empire into Western and Eastern, the Eastern Roman Empire or the
Byzantine empire (after the city of Byzantium, the capital) was almost
completely Greek. The Greco-Roman empire would outlast the original
Roman empire by 1000 years. In the ancient world no one could rival the
accomplishments of Alexander the Great, defeat Greek philosophy or have
such a great sense of pride in culture as the Greeks did. They truly
were the Powerhouse of the Mediterranean world during the Classical Age.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
The Trojan War Homer's Iliad Decoded
The Trojan war was so intriguing to the people of the ancient
Mediterranean world that it survived through song and story for over 300
years until Homer compiled what he knew of the story and wrote it down
as the Iliad. The Iliad is hard to understand to the common person
causing it to be interpreted in much different ways by different groups
of people. When Wolfgang Peterson directed the movie Troy in 2004 many
people became irritated due to the lack of historical accuracy.Most
people thought the Iliad was fictional until the discovery of troy in
1879. Troy was found after a series of journalists and archeologists
searched for Ilium, a Roman city built on top of Troy during the reign
of Augustus. It disappeared gradually once the establishment of
Constantinople as the Byzantine Empire's capital was complete.
\Homer's Iliad was set in approximately 1250BC placing it in the Bronze age. During the Bronze age much of Ionia, or modern day Turkey, was controlled by the Hittites,which some believe to be responsible for Troy's collapse instead of the Trojan war with Greece.The Bronze Age was a time period in which people made their tools,weapons,and armor from bronze,a much inferior metal to modern blade steel. Bronze is 40% heavier than steel and isn't anywhere near as effective for holding a sharp edge and not breaking. Bronze was made by alloying copper and scarce tin with a ratio of about 80:20 bronze to tin. Although swords,cuirasses,shields,and greaves were made of bronze with a leather interior,spear tips were made of wrought iron.
Homer's Iliad says the Trojan war started when Helen of Sparta was kidnapped by Paris of Troy. Menelaus, king of Sparta and brother to Agamemnon, ruler of Greece demanded she be returned. When Paris refused Menelaus pleaded with his brother Agamemnon to invade Troy to get Helen back. Agamemnon saw an opportunity to take Troy and satisfy his brother's needs at the same time and ordered 50,000 Greek warriors to assemble. In that day it was the largest fighting force ever assembled on Earth. Greek kings from all cities followed Agamemnon's orders and sailed to Troy in a fleet of approximately 1000 ships. Among these ships, one carrying the famous warrior Achilles landed first at the beach of Troy.
Achilles was the greatest warrior to ever be brought into the world, he was invincible all except for his ankle which is where we get the term "Achilles tendon". Achilles and his Myrmidons landed killing the defensive force guarding the shrine to Apollo who was a patron to Troy. The shrine was sacked and desecrated by the Greeks. Other famous Greek warriors at Troy were Odysseus king of Ithaca,Ajax, and Achilles bisexual lover, Patroclus. An even more famous story was written about Odysseus and his journey home called the Odyssey.
The Trojan war lasted 10 years with several skirmishes in between. The first of which Menelaus was killed by Paris unfairly when his sword broke and was hit by an arrow by another Trojan helping Paris. Many Greeks were killed at the first attempt to take Troy. It was said that many Greek gods came down to help different sides during battle, an example is a Greek saying to another Greek. "Look! Ares joins our battle line!" Ares was the god of war and was known for his keen combative skills. The role of the gods in this story was very important and emphasized by Homer greatly when he wrote it. During several more skirmishes, Patroclus, lover of Achilles was killed by Hektor the Trojan prince and eldest son of Priam,the king of Troy. Achilles was enraged and vowed to revenge his death.
The duel between Hektor and Achilles is the most well known in the Iliad and all of ancient Greece. Specifics of the duel are vague. In the end, Achilles stabs Hektor in the throat with his spear. Hektor's last words are "Take my body back to Troy." Instead of honoring Hektor's last wish Achilles drags his body around Troy on his chariot for his wife Andromache,father Priam, and brother Paris to see. He continues for 14 days and finally brings back his body to the Greek encampment. Priam later asks Achilles for his son back.
After 10 long years drag on Agamemnon grows very impatient and needs a way to take Troy. Odysseus, hero of the Odyssey comes up with a plan to hide inside a wooden horse and use it as an offering to Troy. Once they were inside the city they jumped out and slaughtered Troy's citizens and unprepared guard. The Trojan army could not mobilize in the chaos and was picked off through out the city. Agamemnon ordered the burning of Troy and plundered its precious gold from its temples and palace. The only survivors were led by prince Paris out of the city through a secret tunnel. Once inside the city, Achilles is shot through his ankle by Paris and dies. It is said in later literature that Achilles son kills Paris with a poisoned arrow.
Aeneas leads whats left of the Trojans out of the city to modern day Italy and founds Rome. This is the story of the Aenead. After 10 years of siege, Agamemnon wins his victory at the cost of thousands of Greeks. Achilles, Patroclus,Menelaus, and Ajax lay dead. It is said that Ajax was not killed by Trojans but by Odysseus in a duel over who gets to keep Achilles's armor. Troy has remained a very famous place and its story is immortal. Alexander the Great was obsessed with Achilles and claimed he was of the same bloodline. When Alexander's army crossed the Hellespont into Asia Minor, he visited the ruins of Troy to pay his respects to his ancestors. Over the next 3200 years, cities were built on top of Troy which disappeared and came back. There were 10 different cities built on the same site over 3 millennia. The 2nd Troy was thought to of been the one where Priam was king and the Trojan war occurred.
\Homer's Iliad was set in approximately 1250BC placing it in the Bronze age. During the Bronze age much of Ionia, or modern day Turkey, was controlled by the Hittites,which some believe to be responsible for Troy's collapse instead of the Trojan war with Greece.The Bronze Age was a time period in which people made their tools,weapons,and armor from bronze,a much inferior metal to modern blade steel. Bronze is 40% heavier than steel and isn't anywhere near as effective for holding a sharp edge and not breaking. Bronze was made by alloying copper and scarce tin with a ratio of about 80:20 bronze to tin. Although swords,cuirasses,shields,and greaves were made of bronze with a leather interior,spear tips were made of wrought iron.
Homer's Iliad says the Trojan war started when Helen of Sparta was kidnapped by Paris of Troy. Menelaus, king of Sparta and brother to Agamemnon, ruler of Greece demanded she be returned. When Paris refused Menelaus pleaded with his brother Agamemnon to invade Troy to get Helen back. Agamemnon saw an opportunity to take Troy and satisfy his brother's needs at the same time and ordered 50,000 Greek warriors to assemble. In that day it was the largest fighting force ever assembled on Earth. Greek kings from all cities followed Agamemnon's orders and sailed to Troy in a fleet of approximately 1000 ships. Among these ships, one carrying the famous warrior Achilles landed first at the beach of Troy.
Achilles was the greatest warrior to ever be brought into the world, he was invincible all except for his ankle which is where we get the term "Achilles tendon". Achilles and his Myrmidons landed killing the defensive force guarding the shrine to Apollo who was a patron to Troy. The shrine was sacked and desecrated by the Greeks. Other famous Greek warriors at Troy were Odysseus king of Ithaca,Ajax, and Achilles bisexual lover, Patroclus. An even more famous story was written about Odysseus and his journey home called the Odyssey.
The Trojan war lasted 10 years with several skirmishes in between. The first of which Menelaus was killed by Paris unfairly when his sword broke and was hit by an arrow by another Trojan helping Paris. Many Greeks were killed at the first attempt to take Troy. It was said that many Greek gods came down to help different sides during battle, an example is a Greek saying to another Greek. "Look! Ares joins our battle line!" Ares was the god of war and was known for his keen combative skills. The role of the gods in this story was very important and emphasized by Homer greatly when he wrote it. During several more skirmishes, Patroclus, lover of Achilles was killed by Hektor the Trojan prince and eldest son of Priam,the king of Troy. Achilles was enraged and vowed to revenge his death.
The duel between Hektor and Achilles is the most well known in the Iliad and all of ancient Greece. Specifics of the duel are vague. In the end, Achilles stabs Hektor in the throat with his spear. Hektor's last words are "Take my body back to Troy." Instead of honoring Hektor's last wish Achilles drags his body around Troy on his chariot for his wife Andromache,father Priam, and brother Paris to see. He continues for 14 days and finally brings back his body to the Greek encampment. Priam later asks Achilles for his son back.
After 10 long years drag on Agamemnon grows very impatient and needs a way to take Troy. Odysseus, hero of the Odyssey comes up with a plan to hide inside a wooden horse and use it as an offering to Troy. Once they were inside the city they jumped out and slaughtered Troy's citizens and unprepared guard. The Trojan army could not mobilize in the chaos and was picked off through out the city. Agamemnon ordered the burning of Troy and plundered its precious gold from its temples and palace. The only survivors were led by prince Paris out of the city through a secret tunnel. Once inside the city, Achilles is shot through his ankle by Paris and dies. It is said in later literature that Achilles son kills Paris with a poisoned arrow.
Aeneas leads whats left of the Trojans out of the city to modern day Italy and founds Rome. This is the story of the Aenead. After 10 years of siege, Agamemnon wins his victory at the cost of thousands of Greeks. Achilles, Patroclus,Menelaus, and Ajax lay dead. It is said that Ajax was not killed by Trojans but by Odysseus in a duel over who gets to keep Achilles's armor. Troy has remained a very famous place and its story is immortal. Alexander the Great was obsessed with Achilles and claimed he was of the same bloodline. When Alexander's army crossed the Hellespont into Asia Minor, he visited the ruins of Troy to pay his respects to his ancestors. Over the next 3200 years, cities were built on top of Troy which disappeared and came back. There were 10 different cities built on the same site over 3 millennia. The 2nd Troy was thought to of been the one where Priam was king and the Trojan war occurred.
History of the First Punic War
The Punic wars were 3 wars fought between Carthage and Rome. the word
"Punic", in Latin means Carthaginian. In 264, Rome was just a small
republic in the Mediterranean sea. Carthage however, was a super power
with much influence through the Mediterranean. Rome was quickly
expanding in Italy, but lacked the naval power of the Carthaginians. The
first Punic war started over a quarrel in the Sicilian city of Messana,
which is located in the north-east corner of the island.
Half of the city was Carthaginian, the other half Roman. A Carthaginian fleet was invited by one side of the city, and Rome retaliated by sending an expeditionary fleet there. Carthage got upset and sent a larger fleet towards Messana. Rome assembled an army to go to Sicily, the Carthaginians countered Rome's move and had an army of 50,000. Despite the numbers, Rome won many victories in Sicily, though neither side ever had a victory good enough to make a turning point in the war.
The first Punic war went on for 20 years and ended in 241BC with Carthage on the losing side. Carthage itself was not conquered how ever. The Romans put an indemnity on Carthage by making them give up claims to Sicily which gave Rome a new income and a new province. Rome became a super power in the Mediterranean, Rome also learned how to wage war on a massive scale. Much things were learned from the first Punic war for Rome. Although trade wasn't in Rome's interest at the moment, Sicily was. Sicily was a port city that had access to the Adriatic as well as Greece,Asia Minor, and most of the Mediterranean.
Half of the city was Carthaginian, the other half Roman. A Carthaginian fleet was invited by one side of the city, and Rome retaliated by sending an expeditionary fleet there. Carthage got upset and sent a larger fleet towards Messana. Rome assembled an army to go to Sicily, the Carthaginians countered Rome's move and had an army of 50,000. Despite the numbers, Rome won many victories in Sicily, though neither side ever had a victory good enough to make a turning point in the war.
The first Punic war went on for 20 years and ended in 241BC with Carthage on the losing side. Carthage itself was not conquered how ever. The Romans put an indemnity on Carthage by making them give up claims to Sicily which gave Rome a new income and a new province. Rome became a super power in the Mediterranean, Rome also learned how to wage war on a massive scale. Much things were learned from the first Punic war for Rome. Although trade wasn't in Rome's interest at the moment, Sicily was. Sicily was a port city that had access to the Adriatic as well as Greece,Asia Minor, and most of the Mediterranean.
History of the Roman Empire
It has been said that Rome was founded by Romulus, who killed his
brother and named the city after himself. It is also believed by some
people that they are the descendants of the city of Troy. Either way,
Rome was believed to rebel against the Etruscans, who ruled them, taught
them how to make and use weapons and armor, and taught them
agriculture. Rome started with the SPQR which stands for Senate and
People of Rome. They were very small, but by the year 340 B.C., it is
believed that Rome had conquered the middle part of modern day Italy,
controlling estates such as Rome, Capua, and Arettium. Rome had been
founded on a republic, which is when the people vote for other
representatives to vote for them, who then vote for the senate council.
By 270 B.C., the SPQR owned all of Italy, except for one Greek province, Syracuse, which was later captured. Once that was completed, Rome began to push through and around the Alps to take settlements in the North and Eastern coast. The western area of Gaul would be conquered by Gauis Julius Caesar. He would be assassinated shortly after his successful military campaign in Gaul, by Brutus and other conspirators. The Romans, by the 100's B.C. would have weaponry such as the gladius, a short steel sword, and different types of laminar armor along with spears and shields.
Rome began pushing into Greece and Dacia, along with Thrace and Macedonia during the 100's B.C. which would lead to the story of Spartacus, who led a rebellion against the Romans in 109 B.C. The Romans have invented many things useful to us by then, such as the arch, aqueduct, and dome. All of these are used today. By 325 A.D., Constantine, the current ruler of the Roman empire at the time, made a decision to split the empire in 2 to make the Western Roman empire, and the Eastern Roman empire, which would outlast the Western empire by almost 1000 years. Then Constantine officially made Rome a christian empire. The Byzantines (Eastern Roman empire) fell in the 1400's by the turns who used gunpowder to destroy the walls of Constantinople and destroyed it. The 2000 year legacy of Rome ended that day.
By 270 B.C., the SPQR owned all of Italy, except for one Greek province, Syracuse, which was later captured. Once that was completed, Rome began to push through and around the Alps to take settlements in the North and Eastern coast. The western area of Gaul would be conquered by Gauis Julius Caesar. He would be assassinated shortly after his successful military campaign in Gaul, by Brutus and other conspirators. The Romans, by the 100's B.C. would have weaponry such as the gladius, a short steel sword, and different types of laminar armor along with spears and shields.
Rome began pushing into Greece and Dacia, along with Thrace and Macedonia during the 100's B.C. which would lead to the story of Spartacus, who led a rebellion against the Romans in 109 B.C. The Romans have invented many things useful to us by then, such as the arch, aqueduct, and dome. All of these are used today. By 325 A.D., Constantine, the current ruler of the Roman empire at the time, made a decision to split the empire in 2 to make the Western Roman empire, and the Eastern Roman empire, which would outlast the Western empire by almost 1000 years. Then Constantine officially made Rome a christian empire. The Byzantines (Eastern Roman empire) fell in the 1400's by the turns who used gunpowder to destroy the walls of Constantinople and destroyed it. The 2000 year legacy of Rome ended that day.
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