Thermopylae: The Battle For The West

The importance of this present book is that it sets the matter straight. The sub-title of the work is in no way an exaggeration. The 300 Spartans + the allies who held the pass @ Thermopylae protected the Greek fleet at Artemesium and bought time for the armada to mobilize at Salamis. The importance of this cannot be over-stated.

In this treatise, Ernle Bradford takes us back to that long-ago period of world history. Much more than being simply an extrapolation of Book VII of Herodotus' HISTORIES, here is a study that offers a superb look at the weapons, armor, ships, tactics and logistical difficulties of both the Greeks and Persians. The attention Bradford pays to the minutest details of the classical historians allows him to reason out conclusions that may not have been evident upon a first-reading.

Beyond Thermopylae, Bradford also has brief discussions of both Salamis and Platea. The over-all thrust of the book, however, is to put into context just how pivotal Thermopylae actually was in reference to these other, more well known battles.

While the parallels that he draws between the Persian war and World War II are occasionally a bit strained, it must be remembered that it is a typical method employed by military historians to draw comparisons and contrasts between ancient conflicts and those of his own day. As Bradford fought in WWII himself, it is natural that he should use it as a frame-of-reference for how he perceives warfare throughout the ages.

This book is HIGHLY recommended as standard-reading for all War-colleges, persons interested in classical history and (most of all) those who have more than a passing-curiousity about the Spartans.

As your head hits the pillow tonight, remember that some 2,500 years ago 300 Spartans stood on a wall & fought to the last man in a battle that they knew they could not win. They left their beloved Sparta KNOWING that they would never see it again. They were aware that their life only had a few sunrises left in it, yet this did not slow their march to Thermopylae for even a moment. It is because of their sacrifice that you are where you are today; defenders of the pass. Guardians of history.


Inconsistent, but a quick and light read   March 30, 2000
88 out of 97 found this review helpful

Bradford's "Thermopylae" is actually a history of the second invasion of Greece by the Persian Empire. It is more the story of the Athenian fleet and the major Greek proponent of a combined sea and land strategy, Themistocles, than it is of the Spartan and Thespian hoplites who sacrificed themselves at the Hot Gates. The text is engaging, and I was surprised at hopw quickly I went through this book. However, I found myself bothered by several things. First, the author continually warns about drawing modern parallels with the way ancients thought, but constantly uses modern parallels (including the worn-out and inaccurate comparison of Sparta to Nazi Germany). Second, his sources are all secondary (including translations as secondary sources), so the auuthority of the book is questionable. Third, he is decidedly pro-Athenian despite the title of the book and continuous warnings about his major source's (Herodotus) biases. What all this leads to is a story of how Athens defeated the Persians. One might just get the feeling that the Spartans and Thermopylae were quite unnecessary to the Athenian victory. I'm not an expert on ancient Greece, but somehow I don't think that Leonidas and the 300 Spartans (and their Thespian allies) would have been memorialized and remembered for 2500 years if their sacrifice was irrelevant. Bottom line...read this if you want a good, quick read on the second Greco-Persian War. If you want a good read about Thermopylae alone, read the novel "Gates of Fire."


Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori   April 10, 2004
George R Dekle (Lake City, FL United States)
79 out of 97 found this review helpful

As Xerxes (aka Ahasueras), the Great King of the greatest empire the world had ever seen, prepared the greatest invasion force ever mustered, the Greeks sought advice from the Oracle at Delphi. The Oracle pronounced that wooden walls would save Athens, but only the death of a Spartan king would save that unwalled city from ruin.

As the Persian juggernaut crossed over a two mile long pontoon bridge into Europe and began its relentless march into Greece, the Greeks temporized, argued, and dithered. Finally, Sparta sent King Leonidas with three hundred Spartiates to hold the pass at Thermopylae against the Persian hordes. Leonidas stiffened his contingent with Helots (Spartan serfs) and volunteers from several other Greek city-states. Phocis, Thebes, Thespia, and a few others swelled Leonidas' ranks to a few thousand.

Upon being told that when the Persians loosed their arrows the sky went black, the Spartiate Dienekes rejoined "Then we shall fight in the shade." At a point in the pass no more than 20 yards wide Leonidas met the Persians and stopped them dead in their tracks. For three days he and his men held the mightiest empire's mightiest army at bay, slaughtering the flower of the Persian army by the hundreds, if not thousands. He might have held, but a traitorous Greek showed the Persians a mountain pass by which they could turn Leonidas' position.

Leonidas had guarded the pass with 1,000 Phocians, but the Persian "Immortals," Xerxes' best unit, brushed them aside. Upon learning of this treachery, Leonidas sent the other city-states' contingents home and prepared for his last stand. The Thebans and Thespians volunteered to stay, and Leonidas chose for his battleground a wider section of the pass. He wanted as wide a front as possible so he could kill as many Persians as possible.

The Spartans joined battle with the Persians for the last time, and the slaughter was horrific. When, as anticipated, the Immortals took them in the rear, the Spartans retreated to a hillock, formed what the Middle Ages would call a "Swiss Hedgehog," and died to the last man.

As prophecy foretold, the Spartans lost their king, but saved their city, and the rest of Greece with it. The invasion continued apace, and Athens was sacked, with her entire population fleeing to the island of Salamis. There in the straits between Salamis and Athens, the Greeks lured the Persian navy to its doom.

Winter was coming, and things hadn't quite worked out as expected. Campaigning during the winter was verboten, and sustaining such a huge army in the field over the winter wasn't practicable. Xerxes decided he had better get back to Susa, and took with him the remainder of his shattered navy and the bulk of his army. He left his seasoned field commander, Mardonius, in charge of the best Persian contingents, expecting Mardonius to complete the conquest of Greece during the next campaigning season.

Upon learning of Xerxes'withdrawal, the Spartans thought the war was over, and sent an embassy demanding satisfaction for the death of their king. Xerxes laughed in their faces and told them that Mardonius would give them satisfaction next summer. He did, but not as Xerxes expected.

Shakespeare once wrote "It is not within man's power to command success, but we shall do more--we shall deserve it." Leonidas and his 300 Spartiates could not command succes, but they did more, they deserved it.

Bradford puts the story of Leonidas in its proper place within the vast panorama of the Greco Persian Wars. He begins with the sack of Sardis and ends on the fields of Plataea. "Thermopylae" is not as scholarly as A.R. Burn's "Persian and the Greeks," but it is imminently more readable. "Thermopylae" reads somewhat like an abridgement of Peter Green's "The Greco-Persian Wars."


Perfect Companion to "Gates of Fire"   April 14, 2001
Baddyo
29 out of 32 found this review helpful

Somewhere in my youth, I became hooked on ancient Greek History after catching the "300 Spartans" matinee (I think Richard Elam was Leonidas). Several years ago, I read Steven Pressfield's "Gates of Fire." I found it fascinating and consider it today, the best book I have ever read. I just finished Bradford's "Thermopylae: Battle for the West." Mesmerizing! An absolutely perfect, non-fiction companion to "Gates of Fire." Thermopylae actually occurs about halfway through the book. Bradford does a brilliant job of setting the stage by giving the reader the events, politics, personalities, strategies, etc. that led up to the battle. He finishes his book by taking the reader through the key engagements (like Salamis and Plataea) that conclude this crossroads in history. If you enjoy ancient history (particularly ancient, military history), this is a book for you. It's an easy read through 250 pages packed with details and incidents that are sure to capture your interest.


Enjoyable Account of this Great Battle   July 31, 1999
Aussie Reader (Canberra, Australia)
24 out of 26 found this review helpful

This book offers the reader an enjoyable and interesting narrative of that most famous battle at Thermopylae. The author makes it clear that its not going to be a in-depth account but more of an overview of the battle and the Persian campaign against the Greek City States. If you are looking for a more detailed and scholarly book I would suggest Peter Green's book titled 'The Greco-Persian Wars'. Overall, bearing in mind that this book was published in 1980, this is a decent book covering Thermopylae and how the Spartan's fought and why. It made me want to go and hire the old classic video of the 300! Well worth the time to sit down and read.