This is a neat comparison I saw while watching episode 6 of season 7. Martin draws heavily on history for his books, so why can the show? Hope I portray my thoughts clearly.
So somehow I, [Bran the Builder|http://aminoapps.com/p/kez0sx] have managed to do a blog two days in a row, and of course this one does not touch the other fifteen ideas bouncing around up there. Oh well, they will come when they come.
Back on point, of course I watched the episode when it leaked on Tuesday/Wednesday. To be completely honest it was the only episode I cared to watch this seasons, having read the leaked scripts. While kicking back watching, it felt like I knew this "story," that I had heard it before.
Just before all hell breaks loose, Jon has a moment of clarity. He sends Gendry running to Eastwatch By The Sea. This was my epiphany moment. I realized I had heard a similar story, so began to pay attention.
I'm gonna stop here for a second for a public service announcement. This is loosely based. For obvious reasons, it can't play out perfectly. This is my interpretation and how I relate it. This is in no way confirmed by the show, or even the only possibility. Correlations are based on my limited knowledge alone.
OK that out of the way let's dive right in. When Gendry took off high stepping it to Eastwatch it obviously shifted my mind to the runner of Marathon legend. Then as the events played out, it became obvious to me the episode was loosely based on the Battle of Marathon.
According to Herodotus, an Athenian runner named Pheidippides, was sent To Sparta to request aid. He supposedly ran I distance of nearly 140 miles(225 kilometers), yet he arrived the day after he set out. After the battle the Athenian army marched the 25 miles (40 kilometers) back to Athens at a high rate of speed to catch and turn the Persian Army solidifying the victory. Somewhere through time, the events got mixed up and this became the birth of the modern marathon race. You can easily see how I compared the two.
The Persian Army was massive. Depending on who's account you believe, numbers range from 100,000 to 600,000 just in Infantry. That doesn't include calvary. Compare that To Athenian estimates of 10,000 including allies you can see how the undead army and the suicide squad are comparable, albeit in an extreme fashion.
Now the Athenians managed to block the Persians in. I know this is backwards to what we see, and to that all I can say is loosely based. That being said, a fan on Reddit, and I do not know who, worked out the math. From his calculations, he estimated that they were on the ice for 5 days. That's according to ice formation and the distance traveled in hypothetical flight. So 5 days the suicide squad stood looking at the face of danger. In a stalemate, not being able to move. During the Battle of Marathon after the Persians were blocked, the Athenians waited. It was 5 days before battle commenced. Only theories justify as to why, because every day waited brought the Spartans closer.
If we take Herodotus' numbers of casualties as accurate, you see that the Persians lost a total of 6,400 men along with 7 ships. Now that's not a huge number when taking into account the possible troop size, but had it's desired effect. It put the Persians into a state of hysteria, a mass panic allowing the Athenians the upper hand. In contrast, Herodotus says Athens only lost 192 men along with 11 allies. A total of 203. You can see how it could be an extreme case of inspiration for the Game of Thrones episode.
Next may need a little squinting to see the comparison, buts it's all in how you interpret it so bare with me. The Greek military was famed in its time. It was considered second to none during the classical Greek period. Everyone knows the story of Leonidas, the 300 Spartans, and the Battle of Thermopylae. A common military approach used by the Greeks was the hoplite phalanx. Basically, they would interlace shields and the lines behind would provide spear tips over allowing for many lines to attack at once instead of just the front. This formation proved devastating to the Persians, who were more accustomed to distance fighting. Shooting projectiles from afar, which I might add, is how the Night King took down Viserion. #ForViserion
I relate this to the dragons. The dragons are basically a weapon of mass destruction in the setting of our story. Few things could stand a chance against them. In a sense, they were the livings equivalent of a devastating formation.
Finally, the Battle of Marathon had major implications. It was the first time in Greek history that showed the Persians could be defeated. They were just human beings like the Athenians, and nothing supernatural about them. This ushered in the first Greco-Persian War and eventually the classic Greek period. Comparatively, I like to think this is really the moment Jon and company know they have a chance. That there is an light at the end of the tunnel, if they come together in their own phalanx formation. They lost men but it was also a decisive victory, because they achieved their goal. They captured the wight and can hopefully have reinforcements coming into play now.
This isn't conclusively, a reenactment of the Battle of Marathon. In fact, there may be more accurate accounts of other battles that I am unaware of that are more in tune. If you know of any, please share so I can read up about it. I think I have presented enough evidence to at least consider the possibility that the film crew decided this particular battle would be efficient basis, even if a few minor things were changed. And i could be completely off base. Forcing details to make sense to relate our story to one I know. One never knows, do one?
Check out our dual release. My blog with his video!!!!
[Behind the Wall Vs Battle of Marathon|
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-Bran the Builder
