Military of Ancient Greece Essay - 3508 Words

Throughout the course of history there have been many great and powerful civilizations. These civilizations made their way to power in many ways including military force, great wealth, and politics. These civilizations include the Assyrians, the Egyptians, the Romans, and in more recent times, the United States of America. Another civilization that is often mentioned to be a part of this prestigious group is that of the Ancient Greeks. The primary reason being the Ancient Greek’s military advancement made them superior to the other ancient armies of the time allowing their civilization to grow. The Greeks went through many, many years of colonizing, invasions and other rough times before they were able to become the envy of the ancient†¦show more content†¦It is the same way with armies. The men need smart leaders to issue orders or they will fail to do their job correctly. Luckily enough for the Greek city-states, they did have them and these men were able to help a nd speed up Greece’s rise to power. One great leader of the Greeks was a man by the name of Leonidas. Leonidas was the king of the Spartans during the time of the Persian War. The Spartans were the elite of the elite when it came to military strength. One of the greatest displays of his courage and honor was in his last battle, The Battle of Thermopylae. At the Battle of Thermopylae the Persians were trying to come down into Greece through the mountain pass Thermopylae. The odds were heavily against the Greeks with the Persians numbering in the hundreds of thousands and the Greeks only having a couple thousand Athenians and only 300 Spartan warriors under the command of King Leonidas. The Greeks stopped-up the pass with phalanxes and were slaughtering the Persians. The battle was looking like a major victory for the Greeks until the Persians discovered a back-road on a mountain pass and were about to surround the Greeks. King Leonidas told the remaining Athenian Greeks to fl ee back to Athens while he and his 300 hundred Spartans held off the Persians. The Spartan army caused massive damage to the Persian army by killing off thousands of them. All the Spartans died in that battle, along with Leonidas, but this weakened the Persians and allowed theShow MoreRelatedAncient Greece : A Single Political Body850 Words   |  4 Pages In the first section of the chapter describing ancient Greece, Paul Cartledge explains that researchers know how and in what way the ancient Greeks surrendered in battle, but do not know exactly why they surrendered since they did not keep a comprehensive account of their surrenders. 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