Battle of Thermopylae

This article is about the event. You may be looking for Leonidas' memory.

The Battle of Thermopylae was a military engagement in 480 BCE at Malis, in northern Greece, between the forces of the invading Achaemenid Empire of Xerxes I and a combined army of the free Greek states, whose supreme commander was King Leonidas I of Sparta.

The battle cost Leonidas his life and could not prevent the Persians from continuing onward to sack the city of Athens, making it a technical victory for Xerxes, but word of Leonidas' actions spread and immortalized him in legend, boosting the Greek morale and paving the way for an eventual Greek victory over the invaders.

Prelude

Following Darius I of Persia's defeat during the first Persian invasion of Greece at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, Darius' son and successor Xerxes I actively began planning a second attempt. He was backed in this by the Cult of Kosmos and the Order of the Ancients, the latter of whom had previously supported Darius and had their own reasons for wanting the Greek world defeated. Upon ascending to the throne, Xerxes spent the next several years building up his military and naval forces in preparation. Finally, in 480 BCE the Persian emperor considered himself ready and invaded Greece by crossing the Hellespont.

The Persians quickly overran Makedonia and Malis, making it as far as the Thermopylai before encountering significant resistance. This resistance took the form of a united Greek army under the command of King Leonidas I of Sparta, who had consulted the Pythia before the battle and defied the Cult's demand for him to not to go against their plans.

Battle and outcome

The Spartans bracing a Persian attack

With the Persians forced to confront the Greeks head-on in the narrow pass, the Greek phalanx managed to not only hold the pass but inflict significant losses upon the Persian invaders. It was only the betrayal of Ephialtes, who showed the Persian a way around the pass and behind the Greek army, that tipped the balance in Xerxes' favor. At this point Leonidas, sensing the fear emanating from his Greek allies, sent all but his 300 Spartan warriors home. Eventually, the Persian forces overran and exterminated the Spartan warriors holding the pass, who died to a man. Leonidas himself also perished during the battle.

Aftermath

Spartans who were stationed at Thermopylae away from the battle felt they had missed a great opportunity to die a glorious death. Many of them chose to commit suicide rather than live dishonorably. Following the battle, it was said that Xerxes, who was famous for honoring warriors who fought valiantly against the Persians, had been so infuriated by Leonidas that he cut off his head and impaled it on a pike.

The Persian invasion of Greece continued after the Thermopylae, but it was eventually halted with the Greek victory at the Battle of Plataia in 479 BCE.

Behind the scenes

Although it is widely believed that only 300 Spartans fought against the invading Persians at Thermopylae—a belief propagated in popular culture—contemporary historians placed anywhere from 5,100 (Herodotos) to 11,200 (Pausanias) Greeks at the battle. Modern estimates place 7,000 Greeks at Thermopylae. Likewise, estimates of the Persian forces' numbers vary depending on the source, with Herodotus wildly claiming in excess of 2 million soldiers taking part, while modern estimates place anywhere between 120,000 to 300,000 troops.

Gallery

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  The Persian fleet during the battle
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  Leonidas wounded
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  The infamous pass around 431 BCE
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  Leonidas at Thermopylae by Jacques-Louis David

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Initiates (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (first appearance)
• Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion (mentioned in Database entry only)
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Assassin's Creed Crossover Stories (mentioned only)
• Echoes of History – Behind the Legends (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game (indirect mention only)