Spartan Mirage
Clas 2215 | Assignment 1 | How does the portrayal of the Spartans in Herodotus’ account of the Battle of Thermopylae relate to the ‘Spartan Mirage’? | | Mohammed Hasan B00524306 | 2/14/2013 |
To fully understand how Herodotus portrays the Spartans in the battle of Thermopylae with relation to the ‘Spartan Mirage’, we must first completely understand what the ‘Spartan Mirage’ means. Spartans were known to be the military power of Greece; their sole purpose was towards military strength and military strength only. They left no records of their battles or thoughts ……… |
Q. How does the portrayal of the Spartans in Herodotus’ account of the Battle of Thermopylae relate to the ‘Spartan Mirage’?
To fully understand how Herodotus portrays the Spartans in the battle of Thermopylae with relation to the ‘Spartan Mirage’, we must first completely understand what the ‘Spartan Mirage’ means. Spartans were known to be the military power of Greece; their sole purpose was towards military strength and military strength only. They left no records of their battles or thoughts of any kind and they closed their city doors to their contemporary neighbours (Nancy Demand, page 130). The ‘Spartan Mirage’ is nothing but an illusion, an idea of what the Spartans were and what their principles were. The only solid pieces of writing left about the Spartans are of non-Spartans, which were late, dating back to the 4th century (Plato, Aristotle, Xenophon) (Nancy Demand, page 130). “the ‘Spartan Mirage’ essentially reflects the public image of Spartan austerity and military prowess created by the Spartans to intimidate their enemies, but with the help of those writers who are our ancient sources, it has gained a life of its own as an idea of authoritarian government that has persisted even until modern times” (Nancy Demand, page 130). Herodotus portrays the Spartans in the views of other Greeks or people who managed to cross paths with Spartans. He does not describe
To fully understand how Herodotus portrays the Spartans in the battle of Thermopylae with relation to the ‘Spartan Mirage’, we must first completely understand what the ‘Spartan Mirage’ means. Spartans were known to be the military power of Greece; their sole purpose was towards military strength and military strength only. They left no records of their battles or thoughts ……… |
Q. How does the portrayal of the Spartans in Herodotus’ account of the Battle of Thermopylae relate to the ‘Spartan Mirage’?
To fully understand how Herodotus portrays the Spartans in the battle of Thermopylae with relation to the ‘Spartan Mirage’, we must first completely understand what the ‘Spartan Mirage’ means. Spartans were known to be the military power of Greece; their sole purpose was towards military strength and military strength only. They left no records of their battles or thoughts of any kind and they closed their city doors to their contemporary neighbours (Nancy Demand, page 130). The ‘Spartan Mirage’ is nothing but an illusion, an idea of what the Spartans were and what their principles were. The only solid pieces of writing left about the Spartans are of non-Spartans, which were late, dating back to the 4th century (Plato, Aristotle, Xenophon) (Nancy Demand, page 130). “the ‘Spartan Mirage’ essentially reflects the public image of Spartan austerity and military prowess created by the Spartans to intimidate their enemies, but with the help of those writers who are our ancient sources, it has gained a life of its own as an idea of authoritarian government that has persisted even until modern times” (Nancy Demand, page 130). Herodotus portrays the Spartans in the views of other Greeks or people who managed to cross paths with Spartans. He does not describe
References: MLA Citation Style * Demand, Nancy. A History of ANCIENT GREECE in Its Mediterranean Context. 3rd ed. New York: Sloan Publishing, 2013. Print. * HERODOTUS, . The Histories. 1st ed. New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 2008. Print.