The battle of Thermopylae and the 300 Spartans of Leonidas

Battle of Thermopylae

(1814) Leonidas at Thermopylae. Jacques Louis David [The Gallery Collection/Corbis]

The Battle of Thermopylae is one of the most popular battles today of the classical world. It is true that the cinema has collaborated in it, but why is it so interesting?

This is not a battle, it is the story in which a handful of men held off a vastly superior army for three days to save Greece.

Situation before the Battle of Thermopylae

At the end of the century VI BC we are at a time when the Persian Empire included a very extensive territory: the regions between the Aegean Sea and the Indus River, as well as Upper Egypt and the Aran Sea.

The Ionian rebellion began, when the Greek cities of Asia Minor rose up against the authority of King Darius. The son of him the king Xerxes decides to avenge his father and move towards Athens in the spring of 480 BC. C. with the largest army assembled up to now and with an impressive fleet.

When news reaches sparta, Leonidas, one of their kings, decides to give his life and that of his men to hold back the invading army at the Thermopylae pass, place of natural entry into Greece.

The decision of the Spartans that begins the battle of Thermopylae

The Greek cities that decided to face the army of Xerxes, met in the temple of Poseidon in Corinth and formulated an oath that would be the beginning of what would be known as the Hellenic League. It seemed logical to wait for the Persians in one of the mountain passes that they had to climb and thus they could face them with some chance of victory.

This is how Leonidas ordered it, however he found himself faced with an impediment. The cities did not want to interrupt the carneous festivities dedicated to the God Apollo Carneo, so they were not going to participate. The Spartan king, at least, was able to get a special dispensation to take his personal guard with him: 300 men.

It is said that the Oracle of Delphi prophesied that one of the Spartan kings would have to die if they wanted to prevent the Persians from occupying the territory. After that, Leonidas made sure that he was the one who had the honor of being the chosen king. It was decided: he and his 300 men would face them.

The organization of the resistance

Analyzing the lands that Xerxes and his army had to cross, it became visible that the most suitable place to face the Persians would be the passage of Thermopylae. A place composed of a gorge of about 1300 meters and a width between 15 and 20 meters which would be an advantage when facing a large army. So the invading army could not spread.

To this advantageous situation, it should be added that there was a cliff on one flank and a large mountain on the other, which would help prevent the rearguard from being reached of Leonidas' army to ambush them.

Once the plan was devised, it remained to gather the 300 men who would accompany Leonidas in search of eternal glory.

Election of the 300 men

The Spartan Kings Guard It consisted of 300 carefully chosen men, ranging in age from 20 and 29 years old and had to prove their worth in an intense competitiontion. They had to be brave, demonstrate good skill with weapons, and have physical stamina.

Besides all this, the 300 who would participate in the battle of Thermopylae had one more characteristic: they were aware that they would not win and they were going straight to their death. From an early age, the Spartans were taught that there was nothing more shameful than being considered a coward and that would happen if you returned alive from a lost battle. Survivors of lost battles were singled out and repudiated for life.

Because this army was on its way to death, Leonidas He only chose those men who had at least one male child to perpetuate their lineage.

Towards the battle of Thermopylae

Accompanied by 1.000 perioecs and 1.000 non-combatant helots, Leonidas and his men began the march. First they crossed the Peloponnese where 4.000 more warriors joined and little by little in their advance towards Thermopylae another 2.000 more men would join. In total, a number of about 7.000 men accompanied Leonidas who had to face an army of almost 200.000. It was not going to be an easy task.

Arriving at Thermopylae, they camped to wait for Xerxes' troops. while they waited for the king Xerxes sent a message to Leonidas demanding that he surrender his weapons. Leonidas told him that he should go for them..

The battle begins

Xerxes began by launching troops towards the Greeks and It was reflected that the Spartans were not going to surrender easily. Xerxes' fallen men were replaced by others and others. In this it could be seen that the king had many combatants but few of them were well-trained soldiers like those who accompanied Leonidas.

Thermopylae

Movie fragment: 300

Lastly, it would be King Xerxes' own guard "the immortals" who would come to battle. The greater length of the Greek spears would give them the advantage. Exhausted from the land battle, Xerxes ordered the Athenians and Aeginetans to attack Cape Artemisius with the intention of disembarking in the rear of the Greeks.

It happened that just before the start of the battle, Xerxes' ships had suffered extensive damage from the storm and they were not yet prepared to carry out that attack, is what led to a battle without a clear winner.

At that moment the second day of combat ended.

The last day of the Battle of Thermopylae

When Xerxes was already desperate, a villager would betray his people and tell the king how to surround the army of Leonidas.

Realizing this, the king Leonidas exposed to all the men under his hand that they were soon to perish and that none was obliged to stay there with him to wait for that future. There are those who consider that this decision would also be a strategy that would allow these men to prepare a future battle in their cities to defend them.

Together with the Spartan king his 3 men would remain, at least those who were still alive, which were the majority, would also remain the helots, the periecos and the boeotian warriors. 

It was early morning on the third day of the battle at Thermopylae.

Herodotus, Greek chronicler, tells us how When this moment arrived and they found themselves surrounded by the army of Xerxes, Leonidas's men drew all the energies they had left. Even with their spears broken, they continued to fight with their swords. In the heat of battle Leonidas would fall.

At that moment the battle changed, the target was the body of the king. The Greeks managed to push back Xerxes' troops up to four times to prevent them from taking him away.

When none of Leonidas's men were left standing, Xerxes went down to the battlefield. and ordered to cut off the head of Leonidas to put it on a nailed stick.

battle of thermopylae

snippet from the movie 300

The after the battle of Thermopylae.

A group of Spartans went to Thermopylae when the Persian troops had already left and They decided to bury the remains of Leonidas right there. 

Time after, his bones would be transferred to his city to honor Leonidas with a state funeral. A stele was placed in his tomb with his name and that of his 300 men.

Leonidas would come to be worshiped as a semi-divine hero, who waged that inspiring battle and for which, a year later, they would completely eliminate the Persians from the Greek lands.


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