Introduction-John

[rangertough]

No great surprise.

Tough

[MolonLabe]

Xerxes said that if the Spartans laid down their weapons he would make them the rulers of Greece in his name. Leonidis (according to legend) said "Molon Labe" (come take them).

New assignment (with Ranger Jim's approval). Research the "T" battle. Tell us the locations name, what the name means in english and the troop strength in the Greek contingent. Tell me why there were only 300 Spartiates and their Helots. What was the tactical significance of the chosen battlefield (ie. Why was that location chosen by the greeks for their battle plan)? Finally what qualifications made a man a Spartan (education, birthright, what)? State your sources of information (Wikipedia better not be the only source).

You have until 0001 Monday 19MAY14.

Recommended (not required) reading: Gates of Fire by Stephen Pressfield.

Tough

Don't even fucking bother posting anything else on this forum until you complete Rangertough's assignment and a good reason why you couldn't meet his timehack.

Ranger Rangertough and Ranger Affirm,

I hope you enjoy what I wrote and I had a good time learning about this part of history. As for my good reason or "excuse", I don't have a GOOD reason as there is no such good reason. My reasoning is I saw what he assigned to me, which was during my college finals and I really just forgot to do it, through my studying and other papers. Since then I haven't been on the forum due to me having no questions. I got on today because my buddy just left with his option 40 and I just wanted to read other postings and then I saw new comments on this post and remembered. But like I said before, I do not have a good reason, and I am sorry for my lack of meeting his time hack by a long shot. I hope you enjoy what I wrote, and maybe you will learn something new as well.
Spartans were raised to be loyal to the state, strong, self–disciplined, and to be soldiers. Soldiers came to the house when a Spartan baby was born and they would examine it carefully to determine his strength. The babies were bathed in wine rather than water to determine his strength and if the baby was weak, he would become a Helot (slave) or abandoned on a nearby hillside and left to die or be adopted. The boys were taken at the age of 7 and housed in a dormitory and trained them as soldiers. A mother softening influence was considered to be detrimental to a boy’s education. They had harsh physical discipline and deprivation to make them stronger, marched without shoes and went without food. They learned how to fight, survive with their wits, endure pain, the warrior code, loyalty, and self-denial.
Additionally, Spartan children were taught stories of strength and courage. At the age of about 20 they had to pass a test to graduate and become full citizens. Only the soldiers received the aristocratic citizenship and if the failed this test they would never be citizens but “perioeci”, or middle class. So their class was based on merit rather than birth. If the men passed, they would live in the barracks and train as soldiers. They were also required to marry to produce new young Spartans.
The Battle of Thermopylae was a battle located in Thermopylae, Greece. This battle lasted for about three days (held off the Persians for seven days) and it was fought by the Greek city-states led by King Leonidas and the Persian Empire of Xerxes. Thermopylae derives its name from its hot sulphur springs, “the place of hot springs and cavernous entrances to Hades.” There is much debate about how many Persian soldiers there were, but many scholars say there were about 70,000-300,000 Persians (about 150,000). The same goes for the Greek army as well, scholars estimate there were about 7,000 Greek soldiers.
Furthermore, The Battle of Thermopylae took place in a narrow pass between the mountains of central Greece and the sea. The significance of the battleground was so that the small numbers of the Greece could diminish the vast numbers of the Persians. By fighting in the narrow pass, the Greeks made a funnel of sort out of the Persians and could implement the phalanx formation. As the Persians came into narrow pass, their numbers would decrease at the front line and it would be a more even fight. By doing this, the Greeks could also use fewer of their own men and would be able to rotate men and give rests if necessary. The Spartans had many strategies, one being that they would pretend to retreat to get the Persians to chase after them, but would then turn around and kill many of the Persians.
Before the 3rd day of battle, Leonidas was informed the Persians sent an auxiliary force of thousands of men to cross the mountains and the Greek force would be flanked. So Leonidas sent most of the remaining men away because death was almost certain and Leonidas wanted to ensure Greece could fight another day. It is at this point when there were about 300 Spartans and around 1,000 other Greeks that stay behind to form a rear guard.


Wilde, Robert. "The Truth Behind the 300 Who Held Thermopylae." About.com European History. Web. 15 Aug. 2014. <http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/anc ... myths2.htm>.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 15 Aug. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_ ... ing_forces>.

"Ancient Greece - War - The British Museum." Ancient Greece - War - The British Museum. Web. 15 Aug. 2014. <http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/war/story/sto_set.html>.

[rangertough]

First: Good report. Did it give you a better understanding of your screen name?

When did you complete finals?

[MolonLabe]

First: Good report. Did it give you a better understanding of your screen name?

When did you complete finals?

Roger Rangertough, thank you and I did learn a lot, not only about where Molon Labe derives from, but also the way of life of a Spartan.

I completed my finals on Thursday May 22nd (Tuesday and Thursday are final days so kind of easy days), then started summer school on Tuesday the week after. I really just got discouraged because I was told by my recruiter around that time that eczema is a disqualifier (which I have on my feet). But mine is a really minimal condition that is only on my feet sometimes and is like athletes foot.

I posted this May 15, 2014 at 0423
"Ranger Jim,

Sorry for not replying, I did not see you sent me a message, I have been really busy finishing up this semester in college and work. My PT test is at about 85 push ups (in 2 min), 95 sit ups (in 2 min), 10 chin ups, and 1 1/2 mile in 11:00. I am now out of school and I have set a goal to reach for my PT. I have a lot to work to do and I plan to go in to get a contract in October or November.

MolonLabe"

Thursday the 15th was the last day of learning in class, then studied for finals.