In 300, was Leonidas' decision in bringing only 300 warriors to the field right?

Question

base in on either the movie/ graphic novel or the real story

hey guys, forgot one thing... can you help me answer why?? i mean some reasonable facts/data.... thanks!!!

Answer 1

First of all it was not his choice. He wanted to bring more (there were thousands of Spartan soldiers) but the govrnment was against it because of the oracle. But in retrospect, Leonidas, and the Spartans made the right decision. What was lost in this movie is that Greece was a very divided country, but this unbelievable battle , was a rallying point that united the whole nation, to team up and ulitmately beat the Persian army and stop their invasion.

Answer 2

Something that should be remembered is the geography of the battleground. On one side was water, o nthe other a mountain range - between them was a thin strip of coast. While the spartans were incredibly skilled warriors, they would not have stood a chance in an open field.

Due to the geography, the persians were not able to use their superior numbers to advantage. They were unable to flank, surround, or attack from behind. While i do not know exactly how wide the strip was, this example is just to illustrate the point: If the strip was 100 feet wide, then the spartans would have had 3 lines of men, 50 men to a line. The pusrians would have had several hundred lines, but still only 50 men wide - while the larger army has the advantage, the advantage is greatly reduced.

Also, the spartans and Athenians who went to Thermopoli never intended to halt the persians, it was a delaying action to gain time for the rest of the Greek armies to gather.

Lastly, was it the right decision? No way of answering that, but the only reason they lost was that a herder who knew the mountain trails was paid by the persians to lead them behind the spartans. As a result, they were attacked from both sides. If the herder had not sold out, it is plausable that the Spartans could have held them until the ret of the Greeks arrived.

Answer 3

In the Battle of Thermopylae, 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians bottle necked the Persian army and held them back for three days.

Now, was it the right decision? It was for someone that loved his country and did not want them overrun by the Persians. And it did serve to rally the Greeks. Because of this small group delaying the bulk of the Persian army, the Greeks had enough time to prepare and were able to win a decisive naval battle, the Battle of Salamis. The Battle of Salamis marked a turning point in the war.

The Battle of Thermopylae was also a rallying cry for the rest of the Spartans, recognized by many as the best warriors in the world at the time. They assembled in full strength after this battle to soundly beat the Persian empire at the Battle of Plataea. The Battle of Plataea ended the Greco-Persian war and stopped Persia from spreading into the rest of Europe.

It is very probable that without these men's sacrifice, Greece would have been overrun by the Persians,and eventually, most of Europe. History might have been very different if the founders of Rome had been under the thumb of the Persian empire and never rose to power.

Answer 4

yup. he had that much faith. in his spartans.they did hold the persians off for a few days. amazingly.

Answer 5

yes

Answer 6

yes. they were the baddest of the bad.