...Weapons/Warfare of Ancient Greece Weapons/Warfare of Ancient Greece The Ancient Greeks went through their dark age in the ages leading up to the 8th century BC. After the 8th century BC until the 6th century AD this period can be categorized as the Ancient Greek period of history. This is a period of interesting wars and advances in warfare. I will take a deeper look in this paper into the different wars, leaders and weapons used. There were many great wars in this period. The Greek states often fought each other. Sparta and Athens fought a long war, called the Peloponnesian War, during the period from 431 to 404 BC. Sparta won. Only the threat of attack by a foreign enemy made the Greeks forget their quarrels and fight on the same side. Their main enemy was Persia. The conflicts against Persia lasted on and off from 490 to 449 BC. The Persian kings tried to defeat Greece and make it part of the Persian Empire. In the end, it was Greece which conquered Persia, when Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Kingdom in the 330s BC. The strength of the army was the hoplite. They were foot soldier, and the artilleries were a long spear and a sword. They also had a shield. Hoplites clashed in lines or ranks. Eight to ten ranks made a formation called the phalanx. Each soldier held his long spear underarm. Enemy fighters saw only a figure of spears and shields, that was tough to go through and tough to break once it started advancing forward. The Greeks had archers and cavalry...
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...revenge. Several years earlier, his father, Darius, had attempted an invasion of the Greek peninsula, seeking to add it to his empire. After a failed invasion however, the Greeks began to instigate revolts throughout the empire, postponing Darius’ plans for a second invasion. By the time Darius had finished putting down the revolts in his empire, he had grown old and died. Xerxes was going to avenge his father and finish what Darius had started, the conquest of Greece. Initially demanding “earth and water” (a token of submission in ancient times), all of the city states complied, save Athens and Sparta. The Athenian court tried the emissaries as spies and executed them as such, but the Spartan government wasn’t quite so formal, and supposedly kicked the emissaries down a well. Twice. Xerxes, his offer for the Greeks to surrender...
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...The Pages Of History by Donald Smith Professor David K. Woodroof English 122 22 June 2011 The Pages of History I have often contemplated about what makes something important enough to be recorded on the pages of history. History is only as accurate as the scribes that laid down its foundation and the editors that decided what was important enough to be retained. People possibly for their brilliance or horrendous acts, inventions or monumental events that may have changed the world are recorded for posterity. Editors have the difficult task of sifting through mountains of historical recordings, selecting the most significant and compiling them accordingly into anthologies or independent volumes. Over the centuries some items have remained while others have faded from history’s pages. In many instances those items that made it past the editor’s pen shall remain among the pages of history for eternity. As an example, if I were to mention Thomas Edison, one would immediately think of the electric light bulb. Others are forever enshrined in history for their brilliant minds: Newton; Galileo; Michelangelo; Da Vinci; or Hitler and the Nazis for their infamous acts. Not limited to people, events such as the discovery of the new world, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the rise and fall of the Roman Empire have made past the editors. Many rightly deserve their places in the annals of recorded time but some have elevated or cemented themselves on history’s pages...
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...day “kleos” myth. King Leonidas, along with the 300 Spartans illustrate these cultural truth-values through their altercation with King Xerxes I and his Persian Empire. We view similar concepts in “The Odyssey”, as well as other classical mythology works. There are many examples in “300” where the Spartans express a common theme of fulfilling their fate no matter the cost. A case in point is during the first half of the film when Leonidas blatantly slaughters Xerxes’s messenger. Thus, starting a war and...
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...“300” is based on the battle of Thermopylae, which was the first battle between the Persians and Greeks during the Persian attack. The battle began because Persia wanted to rule the entire world because owning Asia Minor, Lydia, Mesopotamia, Judah, and Asia was not good enough. The Greeks had a very small army but they were determined to do whatever it took to stand against the Persians, who had a huge military. When all of Greece heard about this outlandish decision, they all had a tremendous amount of fear, especially when they knew that the army of the Persian king Xerxes had commenced its attack. The Thessalians, an area of east-central Greece, had gone over to the Persian side in the early states of the attack. Some Greek cities had formed together and forgot about their usual conflicts so that they could stop the Persian invasion. The cities that had formed with each other decided together that Sparta would lead the Greek army because its status in war was supreme over any other Greek state. When the Greeks went on their way, they had chosen to guard a narrow pathway among the mountains of central Greece and the sea, called Thermopylae. The pass that they were defending, led its way into Greece from the north. At this location, the Greek force waited, which was made up of only three hundred Spartans ruled by their king, Leonidas, and about six thousand soliders from other Greek cities. These nine thousand men were about to face a Persian army that consisted of hundreds of...
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...“Have a good breakfast men, for we dine in Hades.” This quote by King Leonidas shows the will to fight of an ancient Greek warrior as they would accept death to serve their country. There were three things that protected a Greek warrior from this meal in Hades, their armor, poise under the pressure of war, and their shield. I will be focusing on the shield and what it represented not only to the men that used but the culture as a whole. And I will be doing this by answering some key questions. First what did the shield represent in the Greek world? Second what did the symbols on each shield represent? And finally what did it symbolize in the warriors who wielded them? It is through answering these questions that the true significance of the...
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...Great, War Hero Alexander is one of the greatest war geniuses in history. He was the conqueror of the Persians and the king of Macedonia. He was an inspiration to many other military geniuses, such as Napoleon, Caesar, Pompey of Rome, and Hannibal of Carthage. Alexander was a king in the Ancient Macedonia kingdom of Greece. During his reign, he conquered Indus, Punjab, Bactria, media, Persia, Babylonia, and Egypt. He was also a student of Aristotle. He took over the kingdom of Macedonia after assassination of his father, King Philip. At one point in history, Alexander’s kingdom stretched from the Indus River to the Adriatic Sea. He is remembered for his vast spreading of Greek civilization and culture to other parts of the world. He is often regarded as one of the most influential individuals of all times together with his tutor Aristotle. Alexander was born in Macedonia in 350 BC. His mother was Olympias and his father was Phillip, the ruler of Macedonia. Alexander’s mother was Philip’s fourth wife. Several myths surround Alexander’s birth. According Plutarch, an ancient Greek biographer, Olympia experienced a thunderbolt and flames on her womb after getting married to King Phillip. King Philip is said to have dreamt seeing a lion seal on the womb of his wife just before Alexander was born (Bose23). Plutarch argued that Alexander’s father was Zeus because Olympia got pregnant before getting married to King Phillip. On the day Alexander was born, various extraordinary activities...
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...225 Cicely Denean-Cobb October 2, 2012 The film I have chosen to do my critique on is Zack Snyder’s 300. 300 is a film about King Leonidas, the King of Sparta, and his 300 Spartan warriors who all stood up against the God-king Xerxes and his massive Persian army from annihilation. After watching the film very closely for my critique I believe there is a serious underlying theme that everyone has the right to be free and sometimes you have to stand up and make sacrifices to keep your freedom. Standing up for freedom is never an easy task as shown in 300 but, everyone deserves to be free. In discussing the storytelling, acting, cinematography, editing, sound, style and directing, the impact of society on the film, genre, a formalist approach to analysis, and the overall textual theme of 300 I will attempt to back up my belief. Storytelling 300’s narrative structure is the first-person point of view of Dilios, a Spartan solider under the command of King Leonidas. The film is presented in chronological order and takes place in Sparta and Thermopylae, Greece. The major conflict in the film is that the Persian army has come to Sparta and requests their submission or will kill them and enslave their women and children. King Leonidas makes the decision to stand up to the Persians but; is not allowed to go to war with the Xerxes, the Persian God-king, because the Ephors deny him the right. The Ephors are later found out to be traitors. Unfortunately, by the end the Spartans are...
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...Waters, Matt. “Cyrus and the Achaemenids”. Iran 42 (2004): 91–102. Web. The Feeling of Victory. The Agony of Defeat. The Fires of Rebirth. The Joy of Conquest. The reign of the Achaemenid Dynasty of the Persian Empire, or the Achaemenid Empire, was riddled with emotions and success. It’s everlasting influence that still inspires us to this day leads some historians to deem the Achaemenids, one of the most powerful and influential empires in history (Zeinert 70). The Achaemenid Empire’s influence was only increased by their legendary battles with the Greek. The area from which the Achaemenid Empire sprang(current day Iran) was inhabited by several other peoples before the Achaemenids called it their home. The area was first inhabited...
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... Abstract This essay is a critique on Zack Snyder’s movie, 300. This is a film on Leonidas, who is the Spartan King alongside 300 Spartan Warriors that willingly volunteered to stand up against a Persian army, which were almost ten times as many as they were. After a careful look at the film for the following critique, it is clear that there is a general theme prevailing in the whole movie that, sometimes one has to make sacrifices to gain freedom. Film Critique The movie “300” finds its roots from a graphic novel named 300 also, that was written by Frank Miller in 1998. The movie is based on one of the fierce Persian Wars in 492-449 BC in a battle known as the Thermopylae Battle. This battle went down in the historical books as a war that was characterized with plenty of bravery. The Spartan King, who was known as Leonidas, was the leader of 300 Spartan warriors who engaged the Persian Army in a war, which intended to block them from going into Greece via a two-meter wide pass in the Thermopylae Mountains. In as much as the Persian Army greatly outnumbered the Spartan soldiers, they were held back for two days, and in those two days they encountered major losses, which outweighed that of the Spartan warriors by far. However, on the third day, all was lost when a traitor informed the Persian King of a Path that would lead them behind the Spartan warriors. Therefore, it remains uncertain to the viewers...
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...Alexander The Great Alexander the Great is arguably the most famous King that has ever lived. Alexander’s historical perception is without a doubt not entirely accurate, but in the facts of his Kingdom, and in reading the few historically relevant sources, we can interpret something about the life of this man. Through the writings of Plutarch, Arrian, Curtius Rufus, and Pliny, I see Alexander the Great as a justly motivated, intelligent military hero. We will never truly know how Alexander would have turned out as a ruler due to his early death, but in his fifteen years as king he motivated people from different cultures and different countries to come together and execute, under his rule, the most impressive military conquests the world has ever seen. Many modern historians, including those in the ETEP module, have differing views of Alexander the Great. Some claim that he was a deranged, bloodthirsty general who only sought personal triumph, while others thought that he was a military hero who sought unity among all men. W.W. Tarn was a proponent of the latter statement, who wrote about Alexander’s lasting impact of blending culture in the East. Tarn notices that there are many conflicting sources with regards to Alexander’s triumph, and focus’s more on the positive impact that Alexander left on the Eastern world. I agree with Tarn in that Alexander’s conquers led to cultures coming together and advancing at a rate that otherwise would have been unattainable....
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...colonization (magna graecia) Trade and commerce would produce tremendous wealth. Phoenicians They see themselves as monopolizing. Rivalry between Phoenicians and these new Greeks. 2. Alphabetic Writing Writing will return to the Greek world during this period. When it does it won’t be like Linear A or B. It will be based on an alphabet that the Greeks borrowed and modified the Phoenicians alphabet. Homer- iconic poet of Greek literature. He came from the region of Ionia. Produced famous epics of the Trojan War. Legends of the great Mycenaean heroes. Different traditions focused on different heroes. Responsible for two of the great monuments. The Iliad and the Odyssey. Achilles Agamemnon Odysseus Hector Ajax Paris Helen of Troy Penelope Important element- arête means excellence. Surpassing Excellence. Achievement, accomplishment. Exceed potential. Also mental. Ex. Odysseus is smarter than anyone else. He outwits Gods. Virtue of this society. Also is very competitive. Forever contending against one another. Individualistic quality. Have to be the best. Character trait that is the center of Greece. 3. Polis e. Polis literally means city. f. Greeks meant g. Oligarchic rule of Basileis Greece is made up of city-states. Each city will undergo its own political history. At the beginning of the archaic period almost all were Oligarchic. Oligarchic is rule by the few, Basileis- landed aristocrats. Owned most of the land in the...
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...Notes for Exam 5- Geography North America Tuesday, November 16, 2010 Physical Geography * Latitude is very important –broad range * Western climates- Mountains (change the climate of the region) * Example: Sierra Nevada and Rockies * Deserts and dryness- Because the mountains are so tall they absorb the precipitation * Further west- very wet * Louisiana- very close to the equator, nothing to stop the storms -2 of the largest countries in the world include (Population)- 1. Canada- 1/10th of the US- 33 million * Lots of empty land in this area 2. The US- 300 million pop * Highly urbanized (D): Megalopolis- Applies to the US and Canada, very big *PROS OF North America 1. -Farming and Ranching and Agriculture * Used to be dominate * 1790: employed 90% of the work force * 1880: dropped down to 50%- because of industrialization * Today: less than 2% * In the US only 1% of population are farmers * Farm populations fell by 2/3 in the beginning of the 20th century * Farms are consolidating * 20% drop in the number of farms * Agriculture has become more meganized (more industrial) More money to keep it going, more land and more machines * Farms are still critical in the US and Canadian economy * 2000: US Alone, $216 billion dollars in farming alone * Land use, agriculture remains dominant * Varies by region * Dairy farming in the east * Live Stock...
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...GENERAL TYPES OF LITERATURE Literature can generally be divided into two types: prose and poetry. Prose consists of those written within the common flow of conversation in sentences and paragraphs, while poetry refers to those expressions in verse, with measure and rhyme, line and stanza and has a more melodious tone. I. Prose There are many types of prose. These include novels, biographies, short stories, contemporary dramas, legends, fables, essays, anecdotes, news and speeches. 1. Novel. This is a long narrative divided into chapters. The events are taken from true-to-life stories and spans a long period of time. There are many characters involved. 2. Short Story. This is a narrative involving one or more characters, one plot, and one single impression. 3. Plays. This is presented in a stage. It is divided into acts and each act has many scenes. 4. Legends. These are fictitious narratives, usually about origins. 5. Fables. These are fictitious and they deal with animals and inanimate things who speak and act like people and their purpose is to enlighten the minds of children to events that can mold their ways and attitudes. 6. Anecdotes. These are merely products of the writer’s imagination and the main aim is to bring out lessons to the reader. 7. Essay. This expresses the viewpoint or opinion of the writer about a particular problem or event. 8. Biography. This deals with the life of a person which may be about himself, his autobiography...
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..., YOU LL K NO W A T T HE F I N I S H L I N E A SP A R T A N G UI D E T O T H E SPO R T O F O B ST A C L E R A C I N G JOE DESENA AND ANDY WEINBERG B 1 , YOU LL K NO W A T T HE F I N I S H L I N E A SP A R T A N G UI D E T O T H E SPO R T O F O B ST A C L E R A C I N G JOE DESENA AND ANDY WEINBERG Spartan Race, Inc. www.spartanrace.com Pittsfield, VT USA Copyright © 2012 by Joe De Sena and Andy Weinberg All rights reserved, Including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Spartan Race and “You’ll Know at the Finish Line” are registered trademarks of Spartan Race, Inc. Designed by Steven Mosier New York, NY Published by Spartan Press ISBN-13: 978-0615675183 ISBN-10: 0615675182 FOR SP A R T A NS A N D F U T U R E S P A R T A NS E V ER YW H ER E. WE GIVE SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS— ESPECIALLY OUR WIVES COURTNEY AND SLOAN, AND OUR CHILDREN JACK, JADE, CHARLIE, GRACE, AND CATHERINE— WHO SUPPORT AND INSPIRE OUR ADVENTURES AND MAKE THE SPARTAN LIFE REAL. 4 T A B LE O F C O N T EN T S 5 FOREWORD PREFACE WELCOME TO OBSTACLE RACING, THE ULTIMATE HUMAN SPORT THE SPARTAN BRAND OF OBSTACLE RACING JOIN THE OBSTACLE RACING COMMUNITY CHAPTER 1. MYTHS AND LEGENDS PRIMAL ELEMENTS: WATER AND LAND, MUD AND FIRE PRECURSOR EVENTS OBSTACLE AND CHALLENGE EVENTS: SKILL, ADVENTURE, AND MUD OBSTACLE RACING AS A FORMALIZED SPORT THE FOUNDING FEW FORGING A NEW SPARTAN LEGACY SPARTAN RACE LORE: IN THE BEGINNING … SPARTAN WARRIOR: JASON...
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