Last stand: Thermopylae

The Persian Army: ABOVE Central Asia was the home of the horse-archer, and Xerxes’s army is likely to have included large contingents. Above right Archers were numerous in Persian armies, most of them fighting on foot without armour so much so that they became, for the Greeks, representative of the Persian enemy in general, as on this fine red-figure vase painting. Right The Immortals were the elite shock infantry of Ancient Persian armies. This depiction is from a relief-sculpture on the walls of the royal city of Persepolis. Far right Persian armies were strong in cavalry, including heavy shock cava lry, but these were of little value on such a constricted battlefield as Thermopylae.

February 7, 2018

‘Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie.’Inscription on the Cenotaph at Thermopylae In the Cambridge English dictionary, a ‘prototypical example’ is defined as ‘the first example from which later forms can be developed’. Thus the defence of Thermopylae in 480 BC may well be considered in historical terms as the prototypical ‘last stand’ of a small military force against overwhelming numbers of enemy. Because of its historical distance, we have limited information on the actual fight, but we are fortunate in having a few written records that attest to the desperate struggle in a narrow pass on the Greek peninsula. Miniatu

Already a subscriber? Sign in here