"Thermopylae, the “300” Spartans, and the 26 Other Battles Fought There Over the Last 2,400 Years

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 1 October 2024

⏱️ 52 minutes

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Summary

Since the dawn of the Greek Classical Era up to World War II, thousands have lost their lives fighting over the pass at Thermopylae.. The epic events of 480 BC when 300 Spartans attempted to hold the pass has been immortalized in poetry, art, literature and film. But that is not the only battle fought there. Twenty-six other battles and holding actions took place, and they were fought by Romans, Byzantines, Huns and Ottomans during the early and late medieval periods and finally the two desperate struggles against German occupying forces during World War II.

To discuss it is today’s guest, Michael Livingston, author of “The Killing Ground: A Biography of Thermopylae” The Killing Ground details the background and history of each conflict, the personalities and decision making of the commanders, the arms and tactics of the troops, and how each battle played out.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Scott here with another episode of the History Unplugged Podcast.
0:07.0	The Pass of Thromopoly is site of perhaps the most famous battle in history,
0:11.0	when in 480 BC King Leonidas of the Spartans
0:14.3	leading only 300 soldiers held the pass against the Persians led by Xerxes.
0:18.9	This battle immediately became legendary and every part of it was inflated. For starters
0:24.1	there weren't 300 soldiers more like 8,000. But because the site was so famous,
0:27.8	anyone else who fought near the site couldn't help but think that they were
0:31.2	taking part in its legend.
0:32.7	And there were a lot of battles that happened at the past of Thermopylae,
0:35.7	27 in fact. Here, the Greeks fought Philip of Macedon, and Greeks fought Romans,
0:40.6	Romans fought Goths, Byzantine's fought Bulgars, Ottomans fought Greeks once again during the
0:45.2	Greek War of Independence, all leading up to the most recent battle there, Operation Washing,
0:50.2	World War II Espionage Operation, where four British SOE officers blew up a railway bridge over the
0:55.1	Aspos River in Central Greece.
0:57.5	In today's episode I'm speaking to Michael Livingston, author of the killing ground, a biography
1:01.0	of Thermopylae.
1:02.0	We look at the background in history of the different
1:03.8	conflicts, of personalities, and decision-making of the commanders, and what's stayed consistent
1:08.5	over the millennia and what changed as methods and tactics and warfare swapped out?
1:13.7	Sort of like looking at how chess grand masters across the centuries
1:16.8	might do similar things because you're dealing with the same constraints,
1:19.9	but as tactics evolve over time due to accumulated knowledge people do things
	...

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