Herodotus - Hail to the Home Team!

   On one hand, the bias towards the cause of the Greeks as they battled the vast Persian army is obvious in the piece. But after reading Herodotus' passage about the valient stand made by the Greeks at Thermopylae, something occured to me - this is a story of defense of a homeland. In all of human history, defense of the homeland is always a stirring tale of heroics and noble sacrifice. In turn, I realised something else - there is no honor to be gained from bloody expansionism. Conquerors are greedy, blood-thirsty, and without human decency. So many times in history, the odds are against the defenders of the homeland. When the defenders are victorious, good has truly conquered evil.
   When has a conquering power actually done something good for the people that have been crushed? I challenge the reader to name an instance of a conquered people being better off afterwards. When a people is beaten down, enslaved, and robbed of their home, it is more than just a loss of physical property or health - the very spirit of the people is destroyed. Here we are, several thousand years after the events of Thermopylae, and the story still inspires feelings of pride for the Greeks. If the early European colonists of the Americas had been soundly beaten back by the native people, we would probably not be here, but songs of praise would be sung in the present day about the bravery of the native defenders. Instead, the spirit of Native Americans has been virtually destroyed, with the current situation consisting of run-down reservations and gaming casinos that fail to give much back to their communities.
   In the end, that kind of sentiment does not really get us anywhere. The strong defeat the weak and that is all there is to it. Amazingly, one would think that the huge army of Persia would have easily crushed the small company of Greeks. But as it was written by Herodotus, "[Xerxes] had plenty of combatants ... but very few warriors." That statement proves how a huge onslaught of untrained, unorganized army cannot count on the strength of shear numbers. In the same fashion, tactics play a huge role. The Greeks utilized tactics and the knowledge of the terrain to give themselves the advantage. It reminded me of how the American revolutionists used "guerilla warfare" and sniping British officers from hiddden positions in trees to give themselves the upper hand. Although the lasting legacy of the experiment known as the United States will be argued for all of human history, there is no doubt that the actions of the revolutionists are a source of pride for millions of people.