The picture above is of The actual place the sparatan wrote the passage "tell the spartan passing by, that here obidient to their laws we lie,"
book seven: page 318- "Let the raid succeed or fail. it does not matter. Just send men out. And if the Gods have truly taken part in cause, well... Dithyrambos grinned, and clasped my masters hand in farewell."
This passage struck me because it reminded me a lot of gambling. However they were gambling their lives. Though what struck me the most is that no matter what they want the Gods will in what happens. If they die they will not regret sending out men because it was the Gods who wanted them dead or the Persian King alive. They must have truly believed that the Gods are real because they have so much confidence in them. I can relate to this because I am a Christian and sometimes its easier just to let God take control and let fate happen. I have seen a lot of religious figures take risks and it reminds me of the risks that these Spartans are taking. I think that the author does a very good job at displaying the point that these Spartans don't live for themselves but for others. As Dienekes says in book 2 "This body does not belong to me, if it did I would be scared shitless" [or something like that]. These Spartans truly believe that a higher power is guiding them. I think it is their lack of doubt that keeps them alive so long!
book seven: page 333- "the opposite of fear is love."
This passage made me really think. At first I would have guessed that the opposite of fear is courage. And in some ways it is. However courage really originates from love. If you don't have a reason or love that compels you to be courageous then you have no reason to act with bravery. The Spartan men were not courageous just because they were born like that. Over the years they had developed a love for their families, fellow warriors, their town, squires, freedom, and they even loved the flat out title of being brave. All of these reasons to strive and fight for their country was what made them brave. Their love overruled their fear. It makes me think about a story I heard a few years ago about a man who fell onto train tracks while having a seizure and a complete stranger jumped on top of him to hold him down and save his life. I wander what compelled this man. I wander what love he had for a perfect stranger that made him love the man more than himself.
book 8: page 360- "A king does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep while his men stand on watchout,"
When I read this passage I actually was very impressed king Leonidas and his loyalty to his men. Many kings sit from afar and watch their men die without grief, Leonidas is such a passionate king. He is so close to the men because he understands what they are going through in battle. I respect him for this. He does not look up at himself as a king, but he sees his life just as important as any one of these men. By this I believe he makes the army as a unit come very close together. If the director of battle can understand the was from a warriors point of view, perhaps he can make the best decision. His bravery is striking and his humility is more than most kiongs. I cannot relate to his decisions because I have never been a greek king who fights in the depths of the persian army upon the battlefield of thermopoly, however in more modern terms I can relate this too my project based learning school. For exaple every group has a leader when working on a project. If the leader was not involved in the work and only told people what to do, it wont motivate the team. It also is harder for a leader to direct the inside from the outside because he doesnt understand how the inside works.
book eight: page 384- "Tell the Spartan stranger passing by, that here obidient to their laws we lie."
When I first read this I was actually surprisingly sad by this line. I re-read it and I noticed that I pictured a gravestone that says this saying on it. I think I felt sad because they gave so much for their city and no one will ever know the terrible and scared feelings they went through in this passage. No one can even begin to imagine it. I like the sound of this line because it flows so well. I would definatly. Again I will never be able to closely relate to this. Especially because they are like silent martyrs. They didn't show anyone what they had suffered from. It was very graceful of them and thats one of the reasonss that their army was so respected. I definatly think that these 300 men will go down in history forever and ever, all components considered they were probably the best army in history and not because they dominated but because of their relationship. This passage definatly shows patrionism when it says 'obientdien to there laws we lie'. It really shows that these men look at life as a duty rather than a life to get what they desire.
