Best Leonidas Poems
THE BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE - A SPARTAN DEATH WISH - 480 BC
300 Spartans or hoplites , the truly heroic
The loyal and totally patriotic,
Were ordered to fight to the death,
And To their very last breathe!
King Leonidas had to stop the Persian
Army and King Xerxes from capitulating
Athens, but these 300 strong
Were hopelessly outmatched, so wrong.
In addition, a traitor was lurking around,
Ephialtes knew he could find common ground
With Persia’s King Xerxes, Ephialtes wanted money
King Xerxes a conclusive win, a thought that wasn’t sunny!
Ephialtes, a Judas, told the Persians about the pass
To go around the mountain and surprise
The Greeks from the back.
Ephalites led them for he had the knack!
King Xerxes sent his 10000 “immortals” on this mission,
Xerxes himself put this mission into commission!
Puzzling however, is that King Leonidas knew,
The Persians were coming, yet ordered the hoplites to stay,
And the supporting army to go away,
Was this a deliberate act of self sacrifice, for an oracle
Appeared, which confirmed that should King Leonidas die,
And his honest, loyal soul soar to the sky,
Sparta would not be destroyed, and another interpretation
Was that King Leonidas wanted to give them time to escape,
Which they did. The 300 Spartans left fought
Bravely until each one dropped and they became naught!
And what happened to our notorious,
Traitor, Ephialtes – in Greek his name
Means nightmare,
Welcome nowhere, surely that’s fair!
The Battle of Thermopylae, the bravery of King Leonidas
Together with his 300, brave, strong and determined
Hoplites have contributed to a beautiful and rich history,
But the mystery
Remains, why did they choose to stay and die, instead of
Getting up to leave,
Abandoning families that would surely grieve.
The battle of Thermopylae took place in August 480 BC,
A great historical era, to which only the Spartans had the key!
Thermopylae, Thermopylae
King Leonidas at
Thermopylae
Chocolate Indulgences (20150129)
If I really had no choice but to divulge,
In mountains of chocolate I would indulge.
I'm not just taking about Snickers,
Reese's peanut butter cups, Butterfingers,
Or other grocery store sweeties.
I'm talking about the expensive stuff, most from oversea:
Fruit and nut bars from British Cadbury,
Milk molasses chips from local Mrs. See's,
Fudge Easter Eggs from domestic Helen Grace,
Belgian praline Sea Shells from Leonidas,
Belgian Cote D'Or bouche pralines,
And from Germany's Ritter Sport--EVERYTHING!
Wallowing in glorious chocolate, I'd be so pathetic,
If not for the fact, that I'm a diabetic.
An Epic Woman
Woman tell me your thoughts
Shall I be the fool and you the teacher?
Am I your Adonis, or do you see a toad.
Chivalry demands that I am your knight without reward,
For my kin is that of Beowulf and Lancelot,
Dragon slayers, so command me.
I am woman I need no gesture, for wisdom lies in,
Raindrops hung out to dry on silken cobwebs.
And in the beggar who is happy, while his king sleeps in fear
For my kin, blessed me with a rare beauty,
For my reflection rivals that of the queen Of Sheba
My thoughts entwined with the warrior queen Boudicea,
My tenderness lies in queen Amyitis and her Hanging gardens of Babylon
My passion is that of Cleopatra for Mark Anthony,
And my faith equals that of Mary
So beware young Jason, speak from the heart,
Or you will summon queen Kriemhides in me,
For she killed Attila the Hun for less,
This Woman will send you to phineas
A slave for the harpies, if you lie,
My lady, I have slain the sirens with Lyre music,
For my love for you was greater,
Alexander wept when there were no more worlds to conquer
Achilles killed Hector for Helen,
And King Leonidas defeated the Persian Empire
One glance from you and their deeds fade into oblivion,
Medea the Sorcerer, My mother,
Gave birth to me, for this moment.
Woman take my hand and show me your love
Jason of Argo, look into my eyes
For I see the soul of a man
Your shield is heavy to stop you running away.
Your Hero Achilles was slain by a true suitor Paris,
His love for Helen, was true.
You deceive all women.
Your Friend the Goddess Hera
Was killed by you,
It is my enslavement you seek, not love.
I send you to the Eighth Circle for Eternity to be whipped by Devils. For the Harpies deserve better.
And Remember, these words
The Wisdom of King Arthur,
When a Woman you seek, be honest at all times,
No matter what the cost.
And defend her faith, her home,
And her country with your life.
For these are the Thoughts of all Women.
From Heracles immortal line sprang Kings of Agiad
The blood of Gods and heroes in mortal flesh thus clad
And such was Leonidas, half brother to the King
Cleomenes of Sparta, of whom the poets sing
When came the call to Athens aid when none would take the stand
Leonidas Spartan stood, three hundred by his hand
‘We will take and hold the field against the Persian hordes
At Thermopylae prepared to die, we greet them with the sword.’
Thespian and Theban heard and rallied to the call
Their phalanx in the narrow pass an impenetrable wall.
Xerxes watched the waves of men diffuse against the might,
as Grecian stalwart heroes held, until the loss of light.
For two full days the Pass they held, whilst facing fearful odds,
until undone by Ephialtes, betrayer of the Gods.
Across the hills by mountain path were the valiant undone
And Leonidas understood the rearguard shield was gone
He called the valiant to his side and marked his standing stone
Let thespians and Thebans turn, here Sparta stands alone
Three hundred stood in scarlet lines their valiant death to wait
and leave the field upon their shields as every Spartans fate
Thus fell Leonidas King, who stood when none else dared
Defending Athens and all Greece lest dishonour ensnared
Remembered in the halls of Zeus with victors laurels bound
Three hundred stood three hundred fell and sanctified the ground
And thus the Delphic Oracle’s foretelling came to pass
That all of Sparta be destroyed or else King Leonidas
One year upon Plataea’s fields, with the final battle won
Remembered every Grecian heart this noble Spartan son
Eyes like the Aegean Sea,
Burn with a passion for life.
Like underwater volcanoes that erupt and make the sea rage.
Poseidon striking the sea floor.
With the intensity for experience,
Like the fire that smolders deep within your essence;
As if Hephaestus, God of Fire placed this potency within your heart.
Raven tresses frame the noble gentleman
Traveling along his journey like a silent Spartan: King Leonidas.
With Themis and Dike protecting him in battle; guiding his sword and shield.
Appointing him to be the leader of justice for mankind.
Like the regal Lion that sits upon his golden throne high in the Heavens for all to
see. Forever etched in the memories of men: so are you--endless;
Sitting with Hercules on Mount Olympus.
Celestial orbs safeguard the one whose utterances are as vast as the
mountainous landscape.
And whose songs are as boundless as the sea itself.
Form:
I can hear Thermopylae beckoning me upon my return
Leonidas’ voice calls me forward to battle with hardened pride
Time’s grains shifting bellowing out the past I have lived
And I am of that past…I can touch the echoes of who I was
I remember the summers heat as we marched to battle
Laughing in the parching dusts as brothers-in-arms often do
Praying to the gods for a cool Aegean zephyr
To dissolve my fears of the impending battle…death
But why now does my ancient king demand of me?
Why do the hoplites summon me by banging shield and spear?
I hold at the moment of entering that mountain pass
Marveling upon these memories of someone past…of me
Stepping forward I can see the army of Xerxes pride
In the shadow of King Leonidas crying “Molon Labe!”
Do I allow this ancient knowledge to lead me forward?
Or file it away dismissing it as incidence or moments chance
A moment’s time I see the battle unfold as waves of Persians push
Washing over and falling back over my fallen broken brothers
I bid goodbye to retreating men as they go to rally the Pelleponese
Leaving we…the 300 champions to perish in honored glory
As I trace the steps I have trodden in centuries long forgotten
I am a part of all things divinely made by the god’s hands
Weeping for my brothers whose tender faces I don’t recall
I stand in the grandeur of Thermopylae.
Historical Note:
The battle of Thermopylae (also know as The Hot Gates) was pivotal in the
worlds history. The group of Spartans, Theban, and allies held off the Armies of
Persian King Xerxes long enough for Greece to rally an army of its own and
defeat the persians. Those who went to Thermopylae knew it was a suicide
mission. Also, the words "MOLON LABE", were the words King Leonidas of
Sparta replied, when Xerxes demanded their arms in surrender...it
means "Come and
take them".
It appeared on the doorpost as a Cyclops' smiley face
For some Cyclops WhatsApp icon, but red-themed application
Yes gruesome red, in contrast to the expectation
You would get from a smiley face, even for a Cyclops.
It quizzed my curiosity and I dug further on Google’s interface.
It appeared on the search page as the queen Isis,
Long told in Hieroglyphics, Cyrillic and Roman alphabet,
Patroness, mother, queen, blessings with love met,
But unlike these grim Arabic script in an ominous logo,
And tales of death, pain littered with deeper crises
It told of “nuun”, 14th letter of a blessed script
In which many beautiful and wise thoughts found life,
A letter which told of blessing and not of strife
Being in a position multiple of seven, a number blessed
By God Himself when he Earth and Heaven in 7 breaths whipped
It told of the Magen David, a shining star, which should be a good thing
Only that it brings memories of gaunt bodies piled in trucks
And human experimentation, and as history at our door knocks
And Isis or Isil opens to let in what we dread most
“Nuun” is stuck in my iris with pain and scary sting.
For I have seen the blank stare of heads painting in red drips the pickets
And Leonidas’ 300-style gore re-enacted in modern city streets
As heads are divorced from bodies and all around are scared heartbeats
For even bloodied child clothes cover head-less bodies,
As Christians are beheaded like one would roast crickets.
It brings back memories of my ancestors up in the Samba regions,
Fleeing the harsh choice given to them by the jihadists:
To adorn the village picket or join the cause of the Islamist,
Forced to create a third choice, which was to leave their homes,
Friends and family to pseudo-Islam or lurid lethal lesions.
Is it that time again for Iraqi Christians?
Shall the world once again watch the Red Indians’,Tutsis’, and Jews’
Story take gruesome form and hack through human sinews?
How many litres of innocent blood, and kilogrammes of hacked Christian flesh
Are needed to realise the vanity in the life of *****sapiens?
(c) Nyonglema
King Leonidas 300 and Counting
It was 480 BC
King Leonidas with 300 Spartan warriors held Thermopylae Pass
Fought against the vast immortals horde of Persian forces
Lasted and endured the Xerxes army
3 days with 4,000 allied strong for Greece
Resisting the first 2 days in mighty battle
With only 1500 strong
The third and final day belonged to Xerxes
Leonidas lost 299 of his men to battle
His allies also perished
In the Persian wave of death that day
The Gate Awaits
Derivatives of angled forces bent on destiny
Armored warriors spears and shields in hand
In V shape lined to face the demon foe
With swords extended confront a morbid horde
Certain death to follow
They stream upon their vile inhumanity
Through history and to this very mortal day
Nourished ground with noble blood
To spring our civilization forth
That which flows through time forever in our veins
For freedom…. never sleeps…but pulses toward the light
That final perfect design which defines us
They are the souls of history
300 marched and died there in the sands
Xerxes in his promise to erase all memories of Greece’s fame
To destroy all poetry and poets (for that alone he should die)
Now sleeps, the demon that he is, forever
In an unknown grave
And even I cannot pronounce or spell his name
What the Spartans of
each country need is
their own legendary
hero Leonidas.
Volodymyr Knyr
2014
He might as well be Xerxes
The most dominant in history
Towering twelve feet taller than his foes
The Spartans take position
But one of them is missing
Where Leonidas is it seems nobody knows
Though an improbable season
Spartans are all but beaten
When Xerxes comes the battle's good as won
A secret plan is brewing
That will be Persia's undoing
A mighty blow they'll not recover from
Emerging from his hiding
Battered but still fighting
Leonidas finally steps up to the plate
They stare down each other
The boldest boys of summer
A rivalry placed in the hands of fate
Leonidas takes a beating
On this October evening
It won't be good enough to reach a draw
But our hero is relentless
He swings for the fences
Now no one can believe what they just saw
March 31, 2017
Spartan's courageous men standing,
Shoulder to shoulder on the battlefield.
Immortal warriors of the past
With King Leonidas by their side
A hero born for this day.
As proclaimed by the gods.
With their shields burning fiercely
with flames of fire.
Reaching out to embrace the enemy,
And their weapons honed on blood and bones.
From eternal battles,
hardening their hearts to stone.
Tempering their souls into cold steel.
Grinding their heels deeply into the ground.
Relentlessly united in defending their cultural ideals.
Or to die and be carried back to Sparta upon their shields
Bold King Leonidas and his band of brave men,
Marched forth to meet their fate at Thermopylae's glen.
The Persian army, vast and fierce,
Hailed arrows down with deadly pierce.
But Leonidas stood tall and firm,
A Spartan king with a heart that burned.
He fought with might and with great skill,
And led his men with iron will.
Their shields held strong against the foe,
As they struck back with a mighty blow.
For three long days they held the line,
Against the odds, they fought divine.
Though outnumbered and outmatched,
The Spartans fought with valour unmatched.
Their bravery and sacrifice,
Became a legend that would never die.
Spartans courageous men standing,
Shoulder to shoulder on the battlefield.
Immortal warriors of the past
With King Leonidas by their side
A hero born for this day.
As proclaimed by the gods.
With their shields burning fiercely with flames of fire.
Reaching out to embrace the enemy,
And their weapons honed on blood and bones.
From eternal battles, hardening their hearts to stone.
Tempering their souls into cold steel.
Grinding their heels deeply into the ground.
Relentlessly united in defending their cultural ideals.
Or to die and be carried back to Sparta upon their shields. I demand a critic.
Blame not the gale, or the inhospitable sea-gulf, or friends’ tardiness,
mariner! Just man’s foolhardiness.
—Leonidas of Tarentum, translation by Michael R. Burch