The Collision Of Civilisations

The Collision Of Civilisations
2007.01.01 21:45

When I saw The Last Samurai, there was a scene American army advisor Nathan Algren told Japanese last samurai about the Battle of Thermopylae, August 480 BC, in which King Leonidas fought with Persian counterpart Xerxes only by 300 well trained Spartans. The number of Persian army was over 100 thousand. Probably this battle was familiar to Americans, though, I had no idea what the Battle of Thermopylae was like.
Thereafter the Battle of Salamis was fought in September 480 BC. This battle is famous, many people know that. Greeks made strong navy and won the battle dramatically. The number of ships Greeks prepared was one-thirds of that of Persians.
Greeks were unable to win the Battle of Thermopylae, but won the Battle of Salamis. In comparison with the size of soldiers, equipment, the area of country itself, Persia ought to be superior to Greeks in every respect, yet they were unable to win.
Later Alexander the Great crossed the border with Persia and conquered it in the end. In cultural perspective Greeks not only defended their cultures -Western civilisation but started prevailing their value to the rest of the world. War is not only just the battle between two countries but the collision of two different civilisations.