The story of Thermopylae, the battle that helped define the identity
of the ancient Greeks: how it was fought, how it has been remembered,
and what it means for us today.
During the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, a Greek force of
approximately 7,000 faced the biggest army ever seen in the Greek
peninsula. For three days, the Persians--the greatest military force in
the world--were stopped in their tracks by a vastly inferior force,
before the bulk of the Greek army was forced to retreat with their rear
guard wiped out in one of history's most famous last stands.
In strict military terms it was a defeat for the Greeks. But like the
British retreat from Dunkirk or the massacre at the Alamo, this David
and Goliath story has taken on the aura of success. Thermopylae has
acquired a glamour exceeding the other battles of the Persian Wars,
passing from history into myth, and lost none of that appeal in the
modern era.
In Thermopylae, Chris Carey analyses the origins and course of this
pivotal battle, as well as the challenges facing the historians who
attempt to separate fact from myth and make sense of an event with an
absence of hard evidence. Carey also considers Thermopylae's cultural
legacy, from its absorption into Greek and Roman oratorical traditions,
to its influence over modern literature, poetry, public monuments, and
mainstream Hollywood movies. This new volume in the Great Battles
series offers an innovative view of a battle whose legacy has overtaken
its real-life practical outcomes, but which showed that a seemingly
unstoppable force could be resisted.
