Tours: Thermopylai

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Stand with the Spartans in the famous Battle of Thermopylai.

Opening RemarksThe Battle of ThermopylaiThe Persians ArriveFirst EncountersTreacheryThe Greek Army's RetreatFinal MomentsThe Legacy of ThermopylaiThe Glory of SpartaClosing Remarks

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Leonidas at Thermopylai, oil painting by Jacques Louis David (1748-1825) / 1814

The Persian king Darius' cries of rage echoed for years after his humiliating defeat at Marathon.

Even after Darius' death, his son Xerxes continued to seek vengeance against the Greeks.

According to Aischylos, "Asia (was) emptied of all of its men".

Greek spies brought the news of Xerxes' imminent invasion back to their homeland. Afterwards, many discussions were had on the best place to mount of a defense.

In the end, the Greeks decided on Thermpoylai. The area featured a narrow pass that could act as a bottleneck for the Persian army, negating their numerical superiority.

It also offered naval advantages, offering the Greek fleets opportunities for flanking.

5,000 Peloponnesian Greeks set up at a fort near the entrance of the narrow passage, otherwise known as the "Hot Gates".

Leading them was Leonidas, a Spartan king who prided himself on supposedly being a direct descendant of Herakles.

Leonidas was accompanied by several elite soldiers who together made up the famous 300 Spartans.

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The Battle of Marathon during the first Persian invasion of Greece taught the Greeks that they were stronger when unitied. With Xerxes' forces fast approaching, many cities gathered in Korinth, where they decided – for the first time in their history – to unite and form a common army.

View of the Thermopylai and Lamia Plain taken from the Oeta mountain, heliogravure by Frédéric Boissonnas (1858-1946) / 1910

The Persian army arrived in the summer of 480 BCE, preceded by a flood of rumours regarding their strength and numbers.

It was claimed they consumed 6,000 tons of wheat every day, and that they dried every river and brook they passed to quench their near-insatiable thirst.

During their march to Thermopylai, the Persians faced no opposition, and in fact increased their numbers further by recruiting more soldiers from other Greek cities and places like Thrace.

According to Herodotos, the last count of the Persian fleet was numbered at 1,207 boats mounted by approximately 240,000 men.

He estimates the land army, meanwhile, was made up of more than one million men.

The Greek forces at Thermopylai were heavily outnumbered.

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According to Herodotos, the main weaknesses of the Persian army were that they lacked superior defensive equipment, and were not as well-trained as the Greeks.

The Persians excelled at fighting on vast, flat terrain, but were less effective in mountainous and wooded regions. The Greek strategists used this to their advantage, trying to lure the Persians to fight on unfavorable terrain.

Frieze of polychrome glazed brick showing men carrying spears, bows and quivers, thought to be "The Immortals", the royal guards of Darius I / 6th-5th cent. BCE (Achaemenid Period)

Xerxes believed that at the sight of his massive army, the Greeks at Thermopylai would flee in terror.

Instead, they deliberated. The majority of the Peloponnesians wanted to engage the Persians on the Isthmus of Korinth.

Leonidas, meanwhile, believed it was wiser to stay put in Thermopylai.

While the Greek forces debated, a Persian horseman was sent to spy on the enemy.

He returned to Xerxes with surprising news:

Not only were the Greeks not fleeing, but the Spartans guarding the fort were exercising and combing their hair - a far cry from the fearful soldiers Xerxes expected.

To increase the pressure on the Greeks, Xerxes waited four more days, then attacked on the fifth.

The Persians faced heavy resistance and suffered many losses, and Herodotos says Xerxes "leaped three times from his chair, seized with fear for his army."

The following day proved to be just as difficult for the Persian forces, and the Greeks continued to stand their ground.

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Xerxes was the son of Darius, the king who ordered the first Persian invasion of Greece - an invasion that proved unsucessful.

Xerxes himself became king around 486 BCE. Shortly after, he stopped revolts in both Egypt and Babylon, consolidating his power.

With his subjects now in line, Xerxes set out to invade Greece, presumably to avenge the humiliation his father had suffered at the hands of the Greeks.

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