The Battle of Thermopylae

The Battle of Thermopylae was fought in 480 BCE between the Greek city-states led by Athens and Sparta against the Persian Empire of Xerxes I. It was one of the last battles fought during the Greco-Persian Wars, and is considered by some to be one of the most significant battles in history.

The Persians invaded the Greek city-states in mid-August 480 BCE, and the Greeks were immediately thrown into a state of panic, as they realized that they were outnumbered by their larger, more powerful enemies. Rather than surrendering, as they had in the past, the Greeks decided to take matters into their own hands. Several Greek city-states, including Athens and Sparta, formed an alliance and sent a joint force of hoplites to the Sarantaporo strait in the vale of Tempe, where the Persians were first encountered.

After a short delay, Xerxes swept down the Sarantaporo strait into the vale of Thessaly and attacked the nearby Greek army under the command of the Athenian general Euanetus and his Spartan partner Themistocles. The resulting bloodbath resulted in the capture of the Athenian capital, Athens, and the evacuation of the city’s population to the island of Salamis.

Herodotus, a fifth-century BCE historian, estimates that the Persian army at Thermopylae was over 2.5 million men. This is a massive number, though modern historians are wary of the accuracy of this figure.

According to Herodotus, Xerxes’s army was made up of many different units from across the Persian empire. Among them was an elite corps of archers, dubbed “the Immortals” because they were able to replace casualties almost immediately.

These soldiers were highly trained and skilled, largely due to their close ties to the Dorian conquerors who once ruled Greece. They were armed with bronze helmets, breastplates, and long bronze-tipped spears.

When Xerxes reached the pass at Thermopylae, he was greeted by a spirited, if reluctant, resistance that had been prepared for his arrival. King Leonidas of Sparta, who led the allied forces, had devised an audacious plan to hold off the advancing Persians at the narrow pass, which would act as a force multiplier for an army of inferior size.

As the battle progressed, the Greeks were pushed back by Xerxes’s soldiers and eventually his elite Immortals, who were able to outflank the weakened Greek force. Xerxes’s men were also unable to use their cavalry to cut down the Greek warriors, who resisted with ferocity.

Despite the overwhelming odds against them, the Spartan king and his troops were able to resist for two days of intense combat at Thermopylae. The Greeks killed 20,000 Persians, while the Persians lost just over 4,000.

The battle was a significant turning point in the Greco-Persian War, and it is remembered as one of the most heroic last stands in history. Today, it is celebrated as a symbol of courage and perseverance against seemingly impossible odds.

The Greeks lost the battle, but it was a victory for freedom over tyranny and fear. It was a defining moment of the Greco-Persian wars and is still studied and commemorated today.