The Battle of Thermopylae
The Valiant Last Stand of the Allied Greek Forces at Thermopylae
Led by the Spartan King Leonidas, between 6,400 - 6,700 Greeks from all city-states resisted the onslaught of a vast Persian army under the command of Xerxes 1 of Persia. The Greeks chose the Pass of Thermopylae at which to make their stand.
The Pass of Thermopylae
In 480 BC, the pass was only 100 metres wide from the mountains on the southern side to the waters of the Gulf of Malis. The only road between Thessaly and Greece passed through the defile and thus it was a natural choice for halting the Persian advance. Thermopylae means hot gates - the pass was so named because of the natural hot springs in the region.
The Battle of Thermopylae
Xerxes waited 4 days for the Greeks to depart before launching his attack. Accounts of the size of Xerxes force vary enormously, but most modern estimates agree at roughly a quarter of a million assorted Persians and subjects. The Greeks drew up their forces in phalanx formation, the volunteers from each city-state fighting in their own units. Successive Persian assaults were repulsed with heavy loss of life.
On the 2nd day, Xerxes spearheaded the Persian assault with his personal guard, the 10,000 strong contingent of Immortals. In total, it is believed the Greeks resisted as much as 50,000 Persians on the 2nd day. Persian archery was largely negated by heavy Greek armour and their numbers counted for little in the narrow bottleneck of the pass.
Once locked in melee, the Persians suffered terribly from their lack of protective armour and wicker-work shields. The Greek hoplites that defended the pass were in their element - Greek warfare revolved around close-combat and the average hoplite was far better equipped and trained for hand-to-hand fighting than his Persian adversary.
His failure to dislodge the Greeks threw Xerxes into a terrible rage and he had some of his commanders executed. It was then that a Malian Greek traitor named Ephialtes informed the Persians of the existence of a goat path over the mountains that guarded the Greek left flank. Xerxes wasted no time and despatched one of his Commanders, Hydarnes, to outflank the Greeks in a night march.
Leonidas had left 1000 Phocian volunteers to guard the Greek rear but the first hint these men had of the Persian threat were incoming volleys of Persian arrows in the cold light of dawn. Taken by surprise and with no stomach for the fight, they fled.
Despite the hopelessness of his position, Leonidas resolved to continue his defence of the pass. Most of the Greeks left - it is unclear whether Leonidas sent them away or if they left of their own accord. Amongst those that remained were 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians, 400 Thebans ( who had been pressed into service) and 900 helots ( the slave caste of Sparta - they would possibly have faced death anyway if they had fled.)
The Last Stand
Knowing he had no hope of winning, Leonidas advanced his phalanx further out into the pass. The Greeks fought until their spears were broken before using their swords and even rocks, bare hands and their teeth. Leonidas was killed in this attack and a savage struggle ensued as the Greeks and Persians fought over his body.
It was at this point that the Thebans surrendered whilst the surviving Spartans, Thespians and Helots withdrew to nearby Kolonos hill. The Persians brought up their archers and rained arrows onto the Greek position. The few survivors were eventually overwhelmed in a final squalid slaughter. The body of Leonidas was beheaded and crucified - his bones would not return to Sparta for many years.
Although they failed to halt the Persian advance entirely, the Greek warriors who fell at Thermopylae bought valuable time for the other Greek city states to gather the military strength required to inflict a decisive defeat on the Persian army. Those who fell were honoured by a stone lion which was erected on the battlefield, although most of the glory went to the Spartans.
Sources
Shadows in the Desert - Ancient Persia at War, Dr Kaveh Farrokh
2007, Osprey
Warfare in the Classical World - An Iluustrated Encyclopaedia of Weapons, Warriors and Warfare in the Ancient Civilizations of Greece and Rome, Warry, John 1995 (University of Oklahoma Press)
Thermopylae 480 BC - Last stand of the 300 , Nic Fields
2007, Osprey
