Thermopylai
Thermopylai
Written by Wednesday, 02 September 2009 00:00
"In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.” Michelangelo
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Thermopylai (The 'Hot Gates') The Battle of Thermopylae (Greek: Θερμοπύλαι) took place over three days during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It was simultaneous with the naval battle at Artemisium, in August or September 480 BC. The Greek army, led by the Spartans, confronted the army of the Persian Empire of Xerxes I. Both ancient and modern writers have used the Battle of Thermopylae as an example of the strenght and endurance of a patriotic army of freemen defending native soil. The performance of the defenders at the battle of Thermopylae is also used as an example of the advantages of training, equipment, and good use of terrain as force multipliers and has become a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds. Thermopylae is arguably the most famous battle in European ancient history, repeatedly referenced in ancient, recent and contemporary literature; the Greeks are lauded for their performance in battle. The allied Greek army fought to the last man when it became apparent they would lose the battle due to treason. Leonidas, the Spartan king leading the army, and his men achieved their goal. They delayed the Persian army enough to allow the Athenians to complete preparations of the navy. In the subsequent naval battle of Salamina the Persian navy got obliterated; the Greeks maintained their freedom. In honour of the Spartans who fell in battle Simonides composed a well-known epigram which is cited by Herodotus: "Ὦ ξεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι." (Go tell the Spartans, thou who passest by, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie.) This epitaph was engraved on a commemorative stone placed on top of their burial mound at Thermopylae. Though the original commemorative stone has not been preserved, visitors can still read the epigram, engraved on a plaque and placed on the hill where the last of the defenders fell in 1955. In addition to the plaque visitors can see the "Leonidas Monument", a bronze statue of the Spartan king. A sign, under the statue, reads simply: "Μολών λαβέ" ("Come and get them!"), the legendary response of Leonidas to the representatives of the Persian king when they asked him to hand over his weapons as a sign of submission. The metope below the statue depicts battle scenes. The two marble statues on the left and the right of the monument represent, respectively, the river Eurotas and Mount Taygetos, famous landmarks of Sparta. In 1997 a second monument was officially unveiled by the Greek government, dedicated to the 700 Thespians who fought with the Spartans. It is a statue of god Eros, who was worshiped in ancient Thespiae. Under the statue a sign reads "In memory of the seven hundred Thespians". A plate below the statue explains its symbolism:
The monument to the Thespians is placed beside the one to the Spartans. While driving to Pelion for our summer holidays, we stopped at Thermopylai to pay our respects to our ancestors. The site was quite busy with tourists; this made photography a bit more difficult. In some cases (especially in the case of the Thespian statue) it was impossible to get a clear shot because of people admiring it or being photographed in front of it. The background was distracting too, mainly due to the electricity pylons and wires. We decided to shoot the statue of Leonidas from different angles, either from the side (using ultrawide angle lenses to the statue of Leonidas and those of Taygetos and Eurotas in the same frame) or from behind using wideangles and mid-range telephoto lenses, to emphasize the power of the scene, with the warrior king pointing his spear at his enemies. A straight shot from the front would result in a statue surrounded by wires and pylons. The Thespian statue was even more difficult to shoot, since the wires were visible from three sides of the statue, only leaving us the right side, which shows the mountains in the background. We decided to include a photo which shows only the statue, against the mountains surrounding the battlefield. It was a dull day with lots of clouds which resulted in subtle colors on the ground. Most of our shots are taken from the sea side. This, apart from any other technical reasons, was done on purpose; the mountains' side has remained the same during the last 2500 years, while the coastline has moved significantly since then. Photos by Marina Parha and George J. Reclos Shooting data: 1. Camera: Nikon D700 6. Camera: Nikon D700 |
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