Persian War and Greek Philosophy

The Persian War initially gave the impression of David verse Goliath. The Persian army outnumbered the Greeks 3 to 1 at any battle; including Marathon and Thermopylae. It was interesting to see the genius military strategy employed by the Athenian general Miltiades at the battle at Marathon. I have never heard of purposefully retreating in the center of the line in order to spread your opponents line thin and attacking their flank. I feel the risk reward factor in such a maneuver takes supreme confidence by the commander. You would think with such a monumental victory Miltiades would have become a more recognizable figure in Greek history. The movie "300" is an occurring theme in classmate’s blogs, and many students are disappointed in the many inaccuracies portrayed in the movie. I also agree that the movie emphasized fiction in the historical fiction genre; however after reading about the battle at Thermopylae the movie did a great job of portraying the bravery and tenacity of the Spartan soldiers. The Spartan soldiers could be compared to the modern day Navy Seals or Special Forces. Their fighting skills were far superior to any other city-state or empire at the time, and this of course could be attributed to their emphasis and focus on militarism in their culture. The story of how after Leonidas was killed the remaining Spartans fought their way to his body and carried him while fighting their way back to the main line. The trust and bond shared by those soldiers must have been unimaginable.
Much of what I know about Greek philosophy was learned in a high school history class, so you could say that while reading about the pre-Socratic philosophers of Miletus and the Sophist I was a little overwhelmed. It was interesting to see the progression of schooling from the Sophist to Plato and eventually the academies opened by both Plato and Aristotle. The Sophist movement reminded me of law school, and the ability of the students to talk and argue their way out of anything. With Socrates came the true evolution of thought and study. He revolutionized the way people thought, and approach the world. His dedication to his beliefs was so strong that he chose death over hypocrisy. As the years passed many great thinkers came after him including Plato and Aristotle, but little showed the dedication and true belief in what he was saying much like Socrates did. Aristotle faced also faced a charge of impiety, but was quick to flee and not face the music as they say. It’s ironic how Galileo and Aristotle shared similar beliefs, and like Aristotle when convicted Galileo recant his beliefs much like Aristotle might have done if in a similar situation.