The Battle of Thermopylae: A Captivating Guide to One of the Greatest Battles in Ancient History Between the Spartans and Persians (Ancient Greek History)

This book analyzes the dramatic events of the battle of the Thermopylae. It was a crucial battle that showed the courage of the Spartans against the Persian threat. It is a well-researched book.

I received an advance copy of this book so that I could submit an early review. However, I volunteered to do early reviews because I really like the Captivating History series. The books are written on a wide variety of historical subjects. They are relatively short, but packed with information, so the reader can understand the subject without making a huge time commitment. The book focuses on the Battle of Thermopylae but gives an overview of Xerxes invasion of Greece in order to put the battle into context. In addition to the battle itself, the book discusses the Persian king Xerxes and the Spartan king Leonidas, as well as the Battle of Artemisium, which was a naval battle that took place concurrently with Thermopylae. Although Thermopylae was significant in that it gave the Greeks time to regroup, I feel like it is placed too much at the center of this war, when it was really Salamis and Plataea that really turned the tide in the war. Overall, it is a good treatment of its subject. If you would like more context, Captivating History’s The Greco-Persian Wars is a great read.

I chose this book because of the movie 300. Before the movie I had not even heard of the valiant stand if the 300. I enjoyed this book. I love history and especially ancient history.

As a history buff, this book was okay for me. Probably great for people who not knowledgeable of world history of Greek history. Would like to see more pictures or maps. I understand that I might be expecting more from this book but for $2.99 I guess I got what I paid for. I would recommend this to though.

Again, Captivating History manages to focus on a period in history in detail, and to make it both interesting and educational. I would have preferred some more information on the logistics concerning the battles featured. Did invading armies send advance scouts, did they have spies? How long did it take hundreds of thousands of soldiers to move vast distances, how did they eat (where did the food and drink come from, did they herd live animals for food or just pillage, who prepared it), and where/how did they sleep at night, etc.? What was the hierarchy among the forces? There's brief mention of how the soldiers each side were armed, but nothing about how the naval battles were fought. Apparently, the Greeks had longer spears, but: did they use them like a long sword, or throw them (and if they did - how many did they carry)? STILL - it's another very competent coverage of a significant historical event, brought to 'life'.

Most history books are dry and not interesting. This book was concise and provided a great perspective of the Ancient World.

This book is the first I've read in the Captivating History series. I pick it up as a challenge for myself. History has always been a difficult subject matter for me but it was an easy read. It contained just enough detail to give you a thorough understanding of the events without the usual theatrics. It flowed easily and held your attention. I'm definitely going to pick up more of the series. I would recommend this book to anyone with a curiosity for this battle, but not interested in information dumping.

This book covers one of the most important battles in ancient Greek history. Xerses, the ruler of the Persian Empire, which had the largest army in ancient history and had conquered much of the then known world, decided to expand his empire by subduing Greece. He spent a lot of time preparing for this campaign. He even had a pontoon bridge built across the Posporous Strait. He invaded from the north through Macedonia. The Greeks knew that this invasion was going to take place and wanted to be prepared on both land and sea. Athens appealed to Sparta for their help. Because of an important religious festival at the time Sparta could not send it's army as that was not allowed during this festival. However, King Leonidas picked 300 Spartan soldiers to go with him to Thermopylae. There were also 6 to 7000 other Greeks there. The pass at Thermopylae is very narrow and it gave the Greeks a great advantage because of their falanks that all Greeks used. There was a pass that went around the pass, but Leonidas hoped that the Persians would not find out about it. When the Persians attacked on the third day, they were beatenback easily sustaining heavy losses. The same thing happened when Xerxes sent in his immortals, his finest troops. Somehow Verses found out about the pass that bypassed Thermopylae.He sent troops that way to encircle the Greeks. When Leonidas learned of this he sent most of the Greek soldiers away to be able to fight at a later day. Leonidas and his 300 with a few other Greeks fought to slow down the Persians and allow the other Greeks to escape. He chose to fight and die with his soldiers. A Spartan. warrior was to come home either carrying his shield or on it. This was a defeat , but a moral victory for Greece.