The Greco-Persian Wars - PART IV: Artemisium, Thermopylae and the Struggle for the Soul of Greece

It is the year 480 BC and the massive army and navy of the Great King of Persia, Xerxes, is on the move. The Great King himself is personally leading the campaign and eager to witness his armed forces' triumph as they advance through northern and central Greece.

Two battles, fought on land and sea, will test the resolve of a fragile but determined anti-Persian Greek alliance hastily formed to check the Great King's advance. Despite deep rivalries and a history of conflict among themselves, this group of Greeks unite against overwhelming odds in an effort to defend their homeland.

At Thermopylae, a narrow pass between mountain and sea becomes the stage for one of history’s most iconic last stands. At Artemisium, Greek triremes clash with the vast Persian fleet in a desperate attempt to hold the line.

But these battles were more than tactical delays—they were symbolic declarations. Against the might of the largest invasion force the ancient world had seen, a few city-states stood their ground not for conquest or glory, but for something deeper: identity, freedom, and the soul of Greece itself.

Contents:

00:00 Xerxes in Greece
11:46 The Pythia Speaks
14:53 Themistocles
39:33 Leonidas
52:12 Thermopylae: Day 1
57:31 Artemisium: Day 1
58:31 Artemisium: Day 2
01:00:45 Thermopylae: Day 2
01:06:02 The Last Stand of Leonidas and the 300
01:19:05 Thank You and Patrons

Special thanks to Farya Faraji for the following musical compositions featured throughout the program:

"Aima"
"March of Achaemenes"
"Shirin and Khosrow"
"To Phrygia"
"Mater"
"Fratres"
"Legends of Sparta"
"In Pythagoras' Mind"
"Apranik's Charge"
"Achaemenes"
"Lament for Leonidas"
"In Sappho's Mind"
"Alexander's Symphony"

Check out more of his work that spans across many countries, cultures and time periods:
   / @faryafaraji  

You can also find them on the albums:

Songs of Old Iran Vols. I & II
Voices of the Ancients Vols. I & II

Additional Music:

Epidemic Sound

"High Treason"
"The Sewers"
"Inverted"
"Deer Hunt"
"Close Quarters"
"Ancient Saga"
"On the Lookout"
"Interstate 895"

Also thanks to Malay Archer for helping with some of the machinimas using the Total War: Rome 2 Divide et Impera, Cyrus the Great campaign

Check out more of his work here:

   / @malayarcher  

Related Videos:

Greco-Persian Wars Playlist
   • Greco-Persian Wars  

The Greco-Persian Wars - PART III: Eve of the Great Invasion (490-480 BC)
   • The Greco-Persian Wars - PART III: Eve of ...  

The Greco-Persian Wars - PART II: The Aegean Campaigns and the Battle of Marathon (492-490 BC)
   • The Greco-Persian Wars - PART II: The Aege...  

The Greco-Persian Wars - PART I: The Rise of Persia and the Ionian Revolt (550-493 BC)
   • The Greco-Persian Wars - PART I: The Rise ...  

Darius the Great: The Life and Times of the Great King of Persia in his Own Words
   • Darius the Great: The Life and Times of th...  

Sources and Suggested Reading:

The Landmark Herodotus - Herodotus, Edited by Robert B. Strassler, translated by Andrea L. Purvis
The Histories (Penguin Classics) - Herodotus, Edited by John M. Marincola, translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt
The Greco-Persian Wars - Peter Green
The Persian War in Herodotus and Other Ancient Voices - William Shepherd
The Greek Plays: Sixteen Plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides - Ed. Mary Lefkowitz and James Romm
The Battle of Marathon - Peter Krentz
Battles and Battlefields of Ancient Greece: A Guide to their History, Topography and Archaeology - C. Jacob Butera and Matthew A. Sears
First Clash: The Miraculous Victory at Marathon and its Impact on Western Civilization - Jim Lacey
From Cyrus the Alexander – Pierre Briant
The Greco-Persian Wars: A Short History with Documents - Erik Jensen
Thermopylae: The Battle that Changed the World - Paul Cartledge
Ancient Persia: A Concise History of the Achaemenid Empire, 550–330 BCE - Matt Waters
The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period - Amélie Kuhrt
Plutarch's Lives - Plutarch, translated by John Dryden
Library of History - Diodorus Siculus
A History of Greece: 1300-30 BC - Victor Parker
Ancient Greece: A Political, Social and Cultural History - Edited by Sarah B. Pomeroy
The Complete History of Ancient Greece - Edited by Don Nardo
A History of Ancient Persia - The Achaemenid Empire (Blackwell History of the Ancient World) - Maria Brosius
History of the Persian Empire - A.T. Olmstead
The Iranian Expanse – Matthew P. Canepa
The Persians - Jim Hicks

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