07-31-2006, 03:34 AM
Quote:Evidence for this is the sudden stiffening of Greek resistance to the invader after the battle.But did it? The Persians met no further resistance in the next weeks and reached Athens without losses. The account of Salamis betrays that many commanders were no longer willing to fight; Themistocles had to use a trick. Even after Salamis, when the Persians were retreating, the Spartan king Cleombrotus refused to pursue them. Herodotus' account of the winter of 480/479 shows a Greece that was totally confused.
Personally, I think that a strong case can be made for the thesis that Thermopylae was considered a big defeat, and that the re-interpretation started after Plataea.
Quote:I couldn't find any sound basis in your posts for your assumption that Leonidas accidentally got himself trapped
But that's not what I am arguing. My point is that we do not know what happened. After the allies had left, Herodotus' story is no longer based on eyewitnesses.
Personally, I do not rule out that Leonidas wanted to sacrifice himself in some sort of devotio; after all, he went to Thermopylae with an army that was not made of from the best warriors, or a phalanx of men who knew each other and shared the same routines, but he used "soldiers who already had sons", a strange choice unless you have decided that you know there is a very great chance that you will not survive. The oracle itself can be older than the battle; it does not refer to the Persians but to the "sons of Perseus", which is also applicable to Argos.
So, it is certainly possible that Herodotus' interpretation is correct, but he can not have based it on eyewitness reports. It must be treated as a legend. An inspiring legend, BTW.
