August 11- Leonidas� last stand

Another battle and one of the most famous in history, that has become a by-word for self-sacrificing heroism:


On August 11, 480 BC the Persian army, led by Xerxes, finally overrun the mountain pass in Thermopylae, Greece that had been heroicly defended down to the last man by a Greek force of 300 Spartan Elite Hoplites, commanded by their King Leonidas, and a 700 strong Thespian militia.

So much is known about the Battle of Thermopylae, its historical background and aftermath that I don�t have to go into any more detail.
Instead, here is a wonderful, but possibly not terribly accurate, painting of Leonidas� and the Spartans� last minute preparations for the final Persian onslaught, by the French artist Jacques-Louis David, best known for his interpretations of glorious moments in Greek and Roman history and for his sycophantic portraits of Napoleon I.



Leonidas, by Jacques-Louis David



Please observe the Spartan warrior top left, who with the hilt of his sword engraves into the stone the immortal words:

Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,
that here, obedient to their laws, we lie



1492 Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia Lanzol is elected Pope Alexander VI. Probably even better known as the father of the two offsprings in his celibate life, Cesare and Lucretia Borgia, he is nevertheless famous in his own right, as possibly the most corrupt and debauched of all Italian Renaissance Popes, which is by no means a small achievement. If there was one positive aspect to his career as head of the Catholic Church, then it was his patronage of many great artists whom he commissioned to glorify his reign with buildings and statues in the Papal city.

1984, President Ronald Reagan, of �Bedtime for Bonzo� fame, had the nation in stitches when he declared on public radio during a voice test: "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes. � The Soviets didn�t find that very funny, but then they were not known for their great sense of humour,apart from Krushchev of course. Reagan thus started a tradition of �stand-up-comedy� as an important means of US-American politics, of which the current President is, with no doubt, an unsurpassed master.

Full list:

Wikipedia

Edited by Komnenos

I have always thought, why did not the persians in the begining just use archers to take down the spartans and there allies? Wouldn't that of been easier? Perhaps he wanted to try his army out,,

Edited by strategos

One would think with a group of men so close together, the arrows would not be effective? yes, I know at the end of the 3 day battle, Xerxes did not want to waste another one of his troops, so he used arrows to finish them off..

I think it's cause their formation (phalanx) was too tight, and their shields were overlapping eachother giving them incredibly good protection against arrow fire.  Once the greek formation starting breaking up, and they started losing their weapons and shields, the arrows would be more effective.  Although, if you keep shooting volley after volley of arrows, your enemies' weapons and armor would eventually start breaking down no matter what.

I could be wrong though, perhaps it was because the Greeks considered the bow as a weapon of cowards, and Xerxes wanted to defeat them in close quarter combat in order to gain the respect of the soon-to-be conquered subjects.

Other important or historical events which occurred on August 11th are:

0117 - Hadrianus hears of death of emperor Trajanus of Antioch
1253 - Clara van Assisi leads rules of life in order of Clarissen
1304 - Sea battle of Zierikzee
1522 - Uprising of adel/burgerij in Austria fails
1597 - Germany throws out English sales people
1611 - Emperor Rudolf forces out king of Bohemia
1674 - 1st Battle of at Seneffe (Louis II Cond� vs Willem III)
1695 - English and Dutch fleet capture Dunkerk
1718 - Battle at Cape Passaro: English fleet destroys Spanish
1772 - Explosive eruption blows 4,000' off Papandayan Java, kills 3,000
1780 - Barbados hurricane begins
1835 - George B Airy begins 46-year reign as England's Astronomer Royal
1860 - Nation's 1st successful silver mill (Virginia City, Nev)
1863 - Cambodia becomes French protectorate
1866 - World's 1st roller rink opens (Newport RI)
1874 - Harry S Parmelee patents sprinkler head
1877 - Asaph Hall discovers Mars's moon Deimos
1884 - 1st double-century stand in Test cricket, McDonnell/Murdoch 207 Aust

Morty


Edited by morticia

897: Death of Wilfred the Hairy, Count of Barcelona.