Battle Of Thermopylae Was Fought History Essay

Battle Of Thermopylae Was Fought History Essay The main source that described the battle of Thermopylae is the book VII of Herodotus. He was a Greek historian, and in his book he generally favors the Greeks. But he also writes about the greatness of the Persian Empire. There are also some doubts in the story told by Herodotus. For example, in one part Herodotus states that 2.6 million people were the total Persian armies in the battle. But modern scholars reject this claim and they state that the figures given are unrealistic and it is as the result of miscalculations or exaggerations that sources put to favor the victor side. King Xeroxes was so frustrated because his father, Darius who attacked the Greeks in 490 BC, shamelessly defeated in the battle of Marathon. After the battle Darius wanted to reinforce and attack the Greeks again, but the rebellion in Egypt got his attentions off the Greeks and before he could deal with the Egyptian, he died in 486 BC. Xeroxes then crushed the Egyptian and turned his attention to the Greeks. He started his long term plan, which lasted for couple of years, to be prepared for the war. At that time even the Greeks knew that the battle is inevitable. Xeroxes decided that Hellespont, which is a narrow strait, connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara, is the way that he could get to Greece. So he ordered that Hellespont should be bridged by ships so his army could cross to Europe. By early 480 the massive army of Persia was ready to invade Europe, and the preparation was complete. The Persian army crossed Hellespont on two bridges which were made of ships. Athenians were aware of the Persian threat and they were preparing for the war with Persians in the middle of 480 BC. It was at 482 when Themistocles, who was an Athenian politician and general, suggested that the best way to defend against the Persian is by building triremes, which were an ancient vessel and a type of galley. But the Athenians did not have enough workers to defend against the enormous army of Persia so they asked the other Greek states for help. A congress met in the late autumn of 481 BC, and an alliance was formed between the Greek states. The congress was very important and remarkable because some of the states were in war at that time, so the alliance helps the union between the Greeks. The congress met again in the spring of 480, and this time they decided to block Xeroxes advance to Europe. The congress sends the army containing 10,000 hoplites, which were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed as spearmen and fought in phalanx formation, to The Vale of Tempe, which is a gorge in northern Thessaly, Greece, located between Olympus to the north and Ossa to the south. However the planed did not work and the army retreated because Alexander I of Macedon warned them that the Persian army is overwhelming and they could bypass them easily. The Persian army was marching through Greece with the help of Greek spy in august of 480 BC. They were in luck because by the law Spartan army were forbidden to have military activity because of a festival called Carneia. It was also the Olympic Games season and it would have been doubly sacrilegious for the whole Spartan army to march to any war. Under this circumstances king Leonidas took 300 men and around 1,000 Phoceans, which were the support troops, with the orders of the Ephors, leaders of ancient Sparta, and shared power with the Spartan kings to launch an expedition and gather as many Greek soldier as possible and await the arrival of the main Spartan army. Herodotus told a legend that Leonidas consulted Oracle at Delphi, the priestess at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, before and the oracle told Leonidas that he is going to certain death, so Leonidas only took 300 men with a living son. By the time Leonidas arrived at Thermopylae, he had more than 7,000 men contingents from various cities. He chose to defend the narrowest part of the pass of Thermopylae called the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“middle gateà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  because there was a defensive wall constructed by Phocians in there. He was afraid that mountain track nearby Thermopylae could be used to outflank the pass, so he put around 1,000 men on the heights. Finally, the Persian army led by the god-king Xeroxes approached Thermopylae. The total number is unknown and Herodotus number is unrealistic. Modern scholars estimate the total number of Persian army had been around 70,000 to 300,000. At first Xeroxes wanted to negotiate with Leonidas, so he sent an emissary to him. Leonidas refused the offer of Persians to resettle in another area and in a famous response he said: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“come and take themà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . After that the war became inevitable and after four days, which Xeroxes thought the Greeks were going to disperse, he sent his troops to kill Leonidas and crush his army. At the first day of the battle, Xeroxes ordered five thousand archers to attack the Greeks with their arrows, but the bronze shield of the Greeks deflected the arrows and eventually no one got hurt. After Xeroxes realized that the archers could not to any damage to Leonidas army, he ordered Medes and Cissians, which were around 10,000 soldiers to attack and bring prisoners before him. They Spartans and other Greeks crushed them with an easy victory. Xerxes then shocked by the result sent his best troops, the Immortals. They defeated horribly and had no more success than the other group. The reason Spartans could defeat the Persian army so easily is the tactical advantage at Thermopylae. One of the reasons was that Persians were too many on numbers and the battlefield was too tight, and the only weapons that they had were daggers and short spears for hand to hand combat. Persians were not fighting the way they had been trained and they were not equipped for such close fighting so the Greek army wiped them out easily. Another reason could be that Greeks were fighting for their lands, and defending their homes and their family so they had more intangible edge. On the other hand, half of the Persian army was slaves and to make them fight the Greeks the commanders lashed them with whips. On the second day of the battle, Xeroxes again sent some troops to attack the Greeks. After Greeks drew them off with light injuries, Xeroxes stopped and withdrew to his camp without any plan. However, everything changed at the end of the second day. His name was Ephialtes, which coming to mean nightmare in the Greek language, and he was a Trachinian traitor. Greed and rewards made him to betray the Greek army and informed Xeroxes of the mountain path around Thermopylae. After that a Persian army under command of a general named Hydarnes attacked the pass. The 1,000 Phocians guarding the pass were surprised by the Persian attack and they retreat to higher grounds to regroup after a brief resistance. However the Persian army advanced through the pass and did not chase them. On the third and final day of the battle,

Deception in Shakespeares Othello Essay -- Othello William Shakespear

Deception in Shakespeare's Othello Deception, which by its definition is a bad thing and has only one level or degree, is truly not this way at all. Deception appears many times in Othello, but in almost every incident the degree of deception is different. There are only a few characters that use deception, and those characters all use different degrees of deception to get what they want in the play. Deception is almost always used through verbal language or body language because it is the easiest way to deceive a person. The reasons, or intentions, a person has for deception determines the goodness (or badness) and (or) severity of the deception. If a person deceives others with good intentions, then, in a way, the deception is partially good. However, if a person has bad reasons or intentions in deceiving others, then the deception is bad. There is also, in contrast to the definition of deception, debate over what is deception because it is always different in the eyes of different people. Although deception is always meant to deceive, the degree of deception varies upon the context of the situation. Desdemona gives one example of deception when she hides her relationship with Othello from her father. Brabantio says, â€Å"O, she deceives me Past thought!† (1.1.166) Desdemona had reasons for deceiving her father. Her reasons were very simple, because she loved her father she wanted to protect him. Desdemona knew that her father would eventually find out the truth, but she felt that by hiding her relationship with Othello she would be delaying the inevitable pain that her father was going to feel. Since Desdemona loved her father, she felt that by delaying his pain she would be doing him a service, and because Desdemona deceived her father out of love, this deception was not severe. It was however bad, because there was no way in which Desdemona could avoid hurting her father. This shows that even though Desdemona deceived her father and the outcome was bad, it w as not severe because her intentions were good hearted. Another example of the degree of deception was when Iago said to Othello, â€Å"She did deceive her father, marrying you† (111.3.205). Iago’s deception, which in appearance looks similar to Desdemona’s deception, is in fact very different. When Iago says this to Othello, he is trying to anger Othello, and place doubt in Othello’s mind. Iago’s int... ... each interpretation, Iago is able to ask this question and honestly believe that what he does is not deceitful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even though deception is defined as malicious, trickery, cheating, and as a sham, it is evident that deception can be good through its intentions, can have different degrees, and is open to debate because of different interpretations. Because Desdemona wanted to spare her father from pain, it was not as deceitful as when Iago lied to Othello to put doubt in his mind. Desdemona’s deception to Othello was good because she did not want to upset him when she thought that she could fix the situation without him knowing. Iago’s deception was bad however, because he tricked Othello by lying to him and wanted to hurt him. Finally, Iago was able to believe that he was not a villain because deception is open to debate because it is different to each person. Shakespeare showed how deception is far different than it’s definition in the â€Å"OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY† by giving examples of deception which all differ from the standard definition. Works Cited Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd Ed. Volume 4. 1989. Shakespeare, William. Othello. New York: Penguin Books, 1968.

The Power of Prayer

On the afternoon of June 5th (2011), I was hurrying toward central London in a cold rain. Soon, more and more of the people I passed were Japanese people in formal dress, a somewhat unusual thing to see in a foreign city. The line of Japanese people crossed the busy road and entered the famous Westminster Abbey. We had come to join in the Great East Japan Earthquake Memorial Service being held in the abbey. When I mention Westminster Abbey, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the magnificent royal wedding that recently took place there.At the same place where the people of Britain prayed for the happiness of the newlyweds, we Japanese people were going to pray for the victims of the earthquake, and for the restoration of our homeland. The Japanese flag flown high above the abbey signified that this service was being conducted for the people of Japan. As a student living in London, I heard about the Tohoku Earthquake at dawn on March 11. Even now, I vividly remember turning on the BBC news and instantly snapping out of my sleepy state. At first, I didn't understand what had happened.But as I watched images of the events, I got goose bumps all over my body, and was at a loss for words. When a horrific photo of the disaster-struck area covered the front page of the next day's newspaper, I once again felt the gravity of the situation. People in Britain were quick to take action. They immediately set up various charities, and collected relief funds and donations for the affected areas. On the front page of one newspaper was the red sun of the Japanese flag with the Japanese words â€Å"‚ ªÃ¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒ ±Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ÃƒÅ½Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒ ªÃ¢â‚¬Å"à ºÃ¢â‚¬â€œ{ A‚ ªÃ¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒ ± ‚΂à ªÃ¢â‚¬Å"Œ–k (Ganbare Nippon, Ganbare Tohoku: Don't give up Japan, Don't give up Tohoku).†People I did not know were giving me encouragement. I think this kindness of the British people was the driving force behind the service I was attending. Th e ceremony was carried out with solemnity. Passages from the Bible were read; hymns and pipe organ music echoed from the high ceilings of the sanctuary. As the program proceeded, to my surprise, Kenji Miyazawa's poem Ame ni mo makezu (Be not Defeated by the Rain) was read aloud. The power of its words struck me deeply. It dawned on me that this, too, is a form of prayer. Up until then, I had thought of prayer as putting one's hands together or kneeling down in devotion to God.I realized, however, that there are other forms of prayer as well. Surely, anyone listening to this reading must have prayed for the advent of a safe and peaceful world, and envisioned a vigorous rebuilding of Japan. I felt the poem quietly guiding our spirit, and uniting the hearts of all those in attendance. I think what is meant by prayer is ‘the power of thought. ‘ Even Japan's restoration and rebirth cannot begin without thoughts. It is through thoughts that action takes place. People say that prayer alone will not change anything, but in times of crisis, I think it is what we need most.Indeed, all I can do at present is pray, but it seems to me that this is by no means an insignificant force. When all of us who had gathered at Westminster Abbey united our hearts and prayed together, I believe that our thoughts became a great force that reached the areas affected by the disaster. Another thing that moved me was the international cooperation. I could feel intensely the kindness of the British people toward Japan, and their strong desire to help. Many people are praying for the restoration of Japan and the happiness of its people.Amidst this, I feel that I have caught a glimpse of the true warmth of international cooperation. This great disaster has brought about changes in me. It led me to reconsider the meaning of prayer, which I had only experienced in form, and to learn what true prayer really is. I was also able to understand the spirit underlying the words ‘inte rnational cooperation,' which I had previously understood as merely a political term. In the future, I hope to use this ‘power of thought' that I keenly felt during recent events to reach out to the international community. The ‘power of prayer' and ‘power of thought' are infinite. The Power of Prayer On the afternoon of June 5th (2011), I was hurrying toward central London in a cold rain. Soon, more and more of the people I passed were Japanese people in formal dress, a somewhat unusual thing to see in a foreign city. The line of Japanese people crossed the busy road and entered the famous Westminster Abbey. We had come to join in the Great East Japan Earthquake Memorial Service being held in the abbey. When I mention Westminster Abbey, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the magnificent royal wedding that recently took place there.At the same place where the people of Britain prayed for the happiness of the newlyweds, we Japanese people were going to pray for the victims of the earthquake, and for the restoration of our homeland. The Japanese flag flown high above the abbey signified that this service was being conducted for the people of Japan. As a student living in London, I heard about the Tohoku Earthquake at dawn on March 11. Even now, I vividly remember turning on the BBC news and instantly snapping out of my sleepy state. At first, I didn't understand what had happened.But as I watched images of the events, I got goose bumps all over my body, and was at a loss for words. When a horrific photo of the disaster-struck area covered the front page of the next day's newspaper, I once again felt the gravity of the situation. People in Britain were quick to take action. They immediately set up various charities, and collected relief funds and donations for the affected areas. On the front page of one newspaper was the red sun of the Japanese flag with the Japanese words â€Å"‚?‚n‚I‚eâ€Å"u–{?A‚?‚n ‚I‚eâ€Å"?–k (Ganbare Nippon, Ganbare Tohoku: Don't give up Japan, Don't give up Tohoku).â€Å"People I did not know were giving me encouragement. I think this kindness of the British people was the driving force behind the service I was attending. The ceremony was carried out with so lemnity. Passages from the Bible were read; hymns and pipe organ music echoed from the high ceilings of the sanctuary. As the program proceeded, to my surprise, Kenji Miyazawa's poem Ame ni mo makezu (Be not Defeated by the Rain) was read aloud. The power of its words struck me deeply. It dawned on me that this, too, is a form of prayer. Up until then, I had thought of prayer as putting one's hands together or kneeling down in devotion to God.I realized, however, that there are other forms of prayer as well. Surely, anyone listening to this reading must have prayed for the advent of a safe and peaceful world, and envisioned a vigorous rebuilding of Japan. I felt the poem quietly guiding our spirit, and uniting the hearts of all those in attendance. I think what is meant by prayer is ‘the power of thought. ‘ Even Japan's restoration and rebirth cannot begin without thoughts. It is through thoughts that action takes place. People say that prayer alone will not change anyth ing, but in times of crisis, I think it is what we need most.Indeed, all I can do at present is pray, but it seems to me that this is by no means an insignificant force. When all of us who had gathered at Westminster Abbey united our hearts and prayed together, I believe that our thoughts became a great force that reached the areas affected by the disaster. Another thing that moved me was the international cooperation. I could feel intensely the kindness of the British people toward Japan, and their strong desire to help. Many people are praying for the restoration of Japan and the happiness of its people.Amidst this, I feel that I have caught a glimpse of the true warmth of international cooperation. This great disaster has brought about changes in me. It led me to reconsider the meaning of prayer, which I had only experienced in form, and to learn what true prayer really is. I was also able to understand the spirit underlying the words ‘international cooperation,' which I ha d previously understood as merely a political term. In the future, I hope to use this ‘power of thought' that I keenly felt during recent events to reach out to the international community. The ‘power of prayer' and ‘power of thought' are infinite.

The Destiny of the Unevangelized Debate Free Essay Example, 1500 words

â€Å"The pluralist holds onto the belief that a good number of ways usually lead to God. On the other hand, the inclusivist believes that many  ways, primarily those in the global religions, lead to God, and finally, the particularist affirms that there is only one way to God that is through personal faith in Jesus Christ†5. Re-examining General Revelation When it comes to human know how, it is generally believed that Romans 2:14-16 (New Revised Standard Version) gives the basis for Gentiles potentially and most innately cultivating a relationship with God through â€Å"the Law that is written in their hearts. † However, there are two significant problems with this view. First, the notion that individuals come to know God by use the works of the Law is contrary to biblical believe (Rom. 3:20, New Revised Standard Version); and second, the witness of the Gentile ethics in this passage occurs not in the in the due course of this life but in the ultimate judgment (Rom. 2:16, New Revised Standard Version). The main idea that comes behind pure inclusivism is not that Christ, or Christ’s cross is not necessary, but that our understanding of that work of sacrifice is not necessary. We will write a custom essay sample on The Destiny of the Unevangelized Debate: or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page