300

[Chiron]

In Greek the H is silent. Greece is written Hellas but pronounced Ellas.

Helots - Elots, same.

[Steadfast]

I didn't even feel good when I left the theater although the Sparan's sacrafice was truly great, seeing it was real depressing.

Long life the Spartan's memory.

RIP Warriors ~S~

[Chiron]

I didn't even feel good when I left the theater although the Sparan's sacrafice was truly great, seeing it was real depressing.

Long life the Spartan's memory.

RIP Warriors ~S~

Understood, however anything less from the Spartans at the time would be cowardice and punishable by death. They acted, as any Spartan would have.

The Spartan race and culture demanded nothing less. It was sad that they were sacrificed, but it was necessary. Without that sacrifice the Persians would have reached Athens before the Greek army assembled. Remember back in the day there weren’t any early warning systems to tell of the Persian army in that word got to Athens when the massive Persian army was already within a few days reach.

What Leonidas and the 300 plus Thespians and others did was a confirmation that the lives of the many outweighed the lives of the few. Back then it made a huge difference. Tactically the placed that the battle was fought was brilliant. If you believe in choosing the ground to win this was it, and they may have all died but the outcome was that the Persians saw total annihilation in the next battle.

I would rather feel happy and honoured that Leonidas and his men did what they did. Today hard men and hard rules like that are considered inhuman and frowned upon. Not by me!

[Looon]

Today hard men and hard rules like that are considered inhuman and frowned upon. Not by me!

Same here!!

Those deaths are something that should be remembered and celebrated!! IMHO

[rj50]

I didn't even feel good when I left the theater although the Sparan's sacrafice was truly great, seeing it was real depressing.

Long life the Spartan's memory.

RIP Warriors ~S~

. Today hard men and hard rules like that are considered inhuman and frowned upon. Not by me!

That sentament rings true EVERYWHERE, even in the military to an extent.

[ANGRYCivilian]

I watched it again yesterday.

[Invictus]

Today hard men and hard rules like that are considered inhuman and frowned upon. Not by me!

Same here!!

Those deaths are something that should be remembered and celebrated!! IMHO

Some argue that the Spartans saved the west.

I'm not a subject matter expert on this part of history. But what do you think the larger impact was with regard to the Persian Empire, and whether or not the rest of Europe would have been conquered had the Spartans not made their stand?

I watched the movie and really liked it a lot. I'm afraid though, that I don't understand exactly what it was all about other than protecting Sparta.

I don't know about saving the west, but I think you can certainly make the argument that they saved Democracy in the cradle.

Considering the make up of Europe at the time, it isn't a stretch to say all of the individual clans/tribes of Euorpe would have rolled over for the Persian juggernaught.

The movie focused several times on not being enslaved and what would a free man do. I really think that is what they were fighting for. An outsider wanting to conquer them, and basically becoming a vassal. They made that stand to give the rest of the Greek city states time to mobilize and also to galvanize the greeks to unite and fight the Persians. If the Spartans didn't lead the way at Thermopylae, it is very possible the Greek city states just roll over and capitulate.

[cams]

I didn't even feel good when I left the theater although the Sparan's sacrafice was truly great, seeing it was real depressing.

Long life the Spartan's memory.

RIP Warriors ~S~

Understood, however anything less from the Spartans at the time would be cowardice and punishable by death. They acted, as any Spartan would have.

The Spartan race and culture demanded nothing less. It was sad that they were sacrificed, but it was necessary. Without that sacrifice the Persians would have reached Athens before the Greek army assembled. Remember back in the day there weren’t any early warning systems to tell of the Persian army in that word got to Athens when the massive Persian army was already within a few days reach.

What Leonidas and the 300 plus Thespians and others did was a confirmation that the lives of the many outweighed the lives of the few. Back then it made a huge difference. Tactically the placed that the battle was fought was brilliant. If you believe in choosing the ground to win this was it, and they may have all died but the outcome was that the Persians saw total annihilation in the next battle.

I would rather feel happy and honoured that Leonidas and his men did what they did. Today hard men and hard rules like that are considered inhuman and frowned upon. Not by me!

Unfortunately you're right. But there is one small place left on Earth like this, a place called The 75th Ranger Regiment.

[Chiron]

Today hard men and hard rules like that are considered inhuman and frowned upon. Not by me!

Same here!!

Those deaths are something that should be remembered and celebrated!! IMHO

Some argue that the Spartans saved the west.

I'm not a subject matter expert on this part of history. But what do you think the larger impact was with regard to the Persian Empire, and whether or not the rest of Europe would have been conquered had the Spartans not made their stand?

I watched the movie and really liked it a lot. I'm afraid though, that I don't understand exactly what it was all about other than protecting Sparta.

The fact that the Persian empire in two generations attempted to take Greece the center of culture and progress of the world (Darius, Battle of Marathon and Xerxis, battle of Thermopylae and the battle of Salamis which was a sea battle in which the Persians attempted to get to Athens by sea and lost) goes to show to what length the Persian would go. Some (most that study the time) historians agree that had one of the three battles not occurred democracy would not have flourished. The then known cultural center of the world would have been lost to tyranny.

Many things would not have happened. Many things that did happen resulted in the culture of the west. It becomes speculation as to the extent of the change in the world that one can’t put a finger on it. Imagine if the Greeks fell and the Persian Empire reached through Rome and into the north.

They say if you change one thing the entire sequence of events will change. The basis of democracy was the Golden age of Pericles and ancient Greece. That would have been non-existent.

Many of the subsequent Empires and or Dynasties would not have existed. Imagine the renaissance not happening?

Remember Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis as they saved the western world, as we know it. There is no debate for me on that. Of course long after those battles other battles occurred that has equal value but would they have occurred without the Persians getting thrown out of Europe?

At Thermopylae Sparta gave the Greeks the chance to win at Platea. It was a “spoilingâ€

[EvilCouch]

Don't know much about squid fights, but from what I know of Salamis, the battle was insane. First day of the battle, the Greeks abandoned their defensive position and charged a vastly superior Persia navy. They wrecked their shit and then returned to the defensive position once night fell.

Even though both navies were using the same type of ship, the Greeks had more stable boats, with better rams. It should not have been such a one-sided fight. From everything I've read, the Greeks were at a big deficit going into the battle and they just ripped through the Persians.

[Fennidh]

Considering the make up of Europe at the time, it isn't a stretch to say all of the individual clans/tribes of Europe would have rolled over for the Persian juggernaut.

Ranger Invictus, as a student of Indo-European history particularly the Celtic peoples I must disagree with your assessment of the situation. I seriously doubt that the Persian military would have done well against the various Celtic tribes and to a lesser extent the Germanic ones. Had they been able to make it into the main body of Europe.