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" Eumenes " is a magazine which doesn't aim to profit , and it's published in Athens - Hellas by the Wargames Club " Strategikon " ( Athens , Hellas ) . In this magazine the reader can find articles about wargames and historical events and also information about the facts that are taking place in the club . The originality of the published articles is based on the personal contribution and work of the writer . We hope that this effort will be successfull and that the readers and the wargamers from all over the world will help us to improve this attempt ! ... Thank you ... | |||||||||||||||||||
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1st issue EL - CID Rodriguo Diaz , as was El - Cid's real name , was born in Medieval Spain , in Burgos of Castille in the year 1040 AD and died in Valenthia in the year 1099 AD. His title was " count of Bivare " . He made war with the Fanatic Berbers , he took the largest part of Islamic Spain and he remained well known , because he was a general who won a battle while he was dead . 2nd issue MENANDER THE GREAT | |||||||||||||||||||
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1st issue 1. " O stranger , tell the Thespians that we died here , showing fidelity to freedom ! " INTRODUCTION The city of Thespiai was one of the most ancient cities of Boiotia . It was south of the current " Erimokastro " and south of the torrent that was called " Thespios " . The city's port in the Corinthian gulf was Kreusa ( or Kreuse ) . The boiotic cities of Askre ( the home city of Hesiod ) , Boiotic Polichnes , Leuctra , Kreuse and Keressos were under Thespian rule . Keressos was the akropolis and it was well fortified , because of its natural position . Thespiai , according to tradition , were named after the Nymphe Thespia , daughter of The Assopus river , or after the legendary king Thespios , who came from Erechtheus ( the king of Attica ) and went to Thespiai from Athens . According to one view this was the reason of the close friendship that the Thespians and the Athenaeans had . About the origin of the natives the most popular oppinion - even from the ancient times - was that the first inhabitants of the area around mount Elikon - and so the first residents of Thespiai - were the Thrakes Pieres . This view was based on the fact that mount Elikon was dedicated to the Mousai at that time , as was mount Pieros of south Macedonia , and also that in Thespiai Dionysos was worshiped , who according to Stravon was at first an ancient god from Thrace . The emblem of the ancient Thespians was the crescent moon of Aphrodite Melainis . THE THESPIANS IN THE PAN-HELLENIC FIGHT AGAINST THE PERSIANS The Thespians played an active role during the Persian Wars . A Thespian representative took part in the national meeting in Korinth , in 481 B.C. in the temple of Poseidon ( Neptune ) in the Isthmus . In 480 B.C. in Thermopylai 700 Thespian hoplites under Demofilos of Diadromou sacrificed themselves with the 300 Spartans under Leonidas . After the battle of Thermopylai Xerxis burned Thespiai to the ground , but the inhabitants fled to Peloponnesos . In 479 B.C. 1800 Thespian psiloi fought in Plataea . THE ULTIMATE MOMENT OF GRANDEUR Without doubt the ultimate moment of the Thespians was the self-sacrifice of their 700 hoplites in Thermopylai . Their alacrity is mentioned in Herodotus ( Book 7 ) . There Herodotus says that the Thespians , even though they were free to go , decided not to leave the Spartans and Leonidas . The bravest of all the Thespians was Dithyrambos of Armatidis . THOUGHTS Anyone objective observer of that self - sacrifice , even though there was a way out , would think : " Why did the 700 Thespians stay in Thermopylai ? " . One would think that they had no secure place to go to . After Thermopylai the way to Thespiai was open for the Persians . So , the Thespians chose to fight there , because they understood that their state was going to be destroyed in a few days - at the most - and because Thermopylai was the ideal place for defence . But , the same reasons for fight there had the inhabitants of Plataea , who decided to fortify their city . So , why did the Thespians stay , even though Leonidas let them go and Thespiai was allied to Athens for many years ? The answer is simple . As the 300 Spartans did , the 700 Thespians of Demofilos risked their lives because of their belief in the ideal of faith , in the ideal of country , in the ideal of family and the ideal of freedom and they subdued their personal will to the will of their leader . The Spartans and the Thespians chose to fight and die rather than to leave and save themselves . Thus , they managed to avoid the defamation and to keep the pan - Hellenic fight going at the cost of their lives . In the end , in a very short time , when they were expecting to win with glory and not to loose , they died ... So , the final conclusion is that the 700 Thespians of Demofilos tried , as hard as they could , to keep their oath , like the most of the other Hellines of that time : " I'll not shame my sacred weapons , and I'll not abandon my fellow soldier , regardless who he is . I'll fight for sacred and holly believes alone and with many . I'll not pass on my country less , but I'll pass my country on larger and better than it was passed on to me . And I'll obey always to the judges and I'll obey to the constitutions that existed before , and to the others that the demos will create without thinking . And if someone does not obey the constitutions or lodges them I'll not allow . I'll defend them alone and with many . And I'll honor the sacred paternals . My whitnesses of these are the gods Aglauros , Enyalios , Zeus , Auxo , Thallo , Hegemone . " EPILOG So , the Thespians are also one of the eternal models that we must have . The thoughts of Alexandrinos K. Kavaphis make us think a lot : " We must honor those who in their lives specified and guarded 'Thermopylai' . Never feeling obligated to do so ... And we must honor them more when there is a prediction ( by many ) that Ephialtes will come in the end and that the Medoi in the end will pass ... " BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Connolly Peter , Greece and Rome at War , p.24 , London , 1981 . 2. Garoufalis Demetrios , The battle of Thermopylai : the grandeur of the undefeated hellenic soul , Stratiotike Istoria ( Military History ) , issue 18 , pp. 6 - 15 , Athens , Hellas . 3. Herodotos , Book 7 , 198 - 228 . 4. History of the Hellenic Nation , B ( Archaic Hellenism ) , pp. 315/316/320/325/327/331 , Athenian Publishing House , Athens , Hellas ,1970 . 5. Liakou I. Ch. , Thespiai then and now , issue 1 , pp. 10 - 11 , Thespiai , Hellas . 6. Sekunda Nicholas Victor - McBride Angus , Elite Series , 7 , The Ancient Greeks , p. 46 , Sussex , 1993 . 7. Sides Peter , Ancient Historical Battles , 1479 BC - 378 AD , p. 10 , London , 1992 . 8. Warry John , Warfare in the Classical World , p. 29 , London , 1981 . SCRIPTOR : Krakras Socratis . 2nd issue 1. "10 Golden Rules for DBM" a. Know the rules and how to best use them. b. Exploit the enemy weaknesses. Know your enemy. c. Have a plan. Think in advance how you' re going to deploy and fight. d. Use terrain to your advantage. e. Take the initiative and control the situation. f. Never rely only on one part of your army to win, but always support it. g. Concetrate on demoralising one enemy command at a time. h. Keep strategic and tactical reserves. i. Have a contingency plan. If things go badly, be ready to disengage. j. Never give up! SCRIPTOR: Papadopoulos Panos. For information about the running campaigns and other news see favorite links below | |||||||||||||||||||
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