discussion of primary sources
Herodotus:Herodotus is the key primary source that I have been using to aid my study of this battle. These sources have typically been excerpts and quotes from the 7th volume of the Histories, which in part narrate the second Persian War of 480 BCE of which Thermopylae was part of. While these sources are helpful in understanding an Ancient Greek view of such conflicts, they are also unreliable due to Herodotus’ tendency for over-exaggeration and due to the fact a lot of information was gathered from secondary sources that may have been biased. Examples of such are Herodotus claiming nearly 5 million Persians were against the Greeks when really there was only an estimated 100,000-200,000 men for Xerxes, and the fact he claimed the God King sent a prayer to Zeus when the first arrow was shot into the sky. As the Persians didn't even follow Greek paganism this is undoubtedly a false statement. So, as previously stated, while Herodotus is very helpful in acquiring an understanding of the Greek attitudes following the battle and war, it would be foolish to rely only on Herodotus as a source.
Visual Depictions:
In spite of my inclusion of a sketch and a photograph of a vase from the era it was very difficult to find any visual representations of the battle, largely due to the fact a lot of art, architecture and historical records about Ancient Greece. This is largely due to the destruction and pillaging of the majority of Greek city-states following and during the collapse of the civilization. Due to this, I have discovered a limitation in the primary sources available to me but I have tried to overcome this and provided as many sources as I found relevant.
Visual Depictions:
In spite of my inclusion of a sketch and a photograph of a vase from the era it was very difficult to find any visual representations of the battle, largely due to the fact a lot of art, architecture and historical records about Ancient Greece. This is largely due to the destruction and pillaging of the majority of Greek city-states following and during the collapse of the civilization. Due to this, I have discovered a limitation in the primary sources available to me but I have tried to overcome this and provided as many sources as I found relevant.