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

• Leonidas: Welcome, visitor, to Thermopylai.

("Who are you?")

• Leonidas: My name is Leonidas. I am a king of Sparta, but do not think me some idle aristocrat softened by luxury. When Spartans go to war, I stand alongside them shield to shield, and my spear tastes the same blood as those of my men.

("What do you think of this place?")

• Leonidas: Thermopylai stirs many feelings in my heart. Rage at the Persians' arrogance. Regret that I could not do more. But mostly, I feel proud. Proud of my city, and of my men, who fought to protect the very soul of the Spartan people. For those few fateful days, they were my brothers. I miss them all.

("Let's begin the tour.")

• Leonidas: Thermopylai was where a courageous group of Spartans stood amongst other Greek soldiers and held off the forces of King Xerxes, the Persian. When you're done, find me, and we'll speak more.

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.

Bronze statuette of a shepherd / 525-500 BCE (Archaic Greece)

The Persians seemed poised to be held at Thermopylai indefinitely until an inhabitant from the region came forward with information.

He told the Persians of another route which could take them around Thermopylai.

A Persian contingent was sent to verify the information.

While there were Greek soldiers stationed to guard the route, they were forced to flee from the Persians.

Thus, on the third day of the battle, the Greeks were surrounded by their enemy.

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Demaratos was a Spartan king who exiled himself to Persia, where he was welcomed into Xerxes' entourage.

When Xerxes' forces were still in Asia Minor, the Persian king asked Demaratos if the Greeks would dare resist his massive army. To Xerxes' surprise, Demaratos told him that while Greece was a poor country, it was just, wise, and courageous. He also commented that the Spartans specifically would never flee and fight until they died.

Upon hearing this, Xerxes erupted into laughter. However, Demaratos' words would be proven true at Thermopylai.

Red-figure calpis depicting the arms of an hoplite: helmet, shield, sword and cuirass / 500-475 BCE (Classical Greece)

With the Persians both in front of and behind them, the Greek forces at Thermopylai realized they had two choices:

Flee to live another day, or stand and fight till their last breath.

Most of the Greeks chose the former option, but some stayed, including Leonidas and his 300 Spartans.

For the Spartans, dying a glorious death was one of the highest honors they could achieve.

The few members of Leonidas' Spartans who did not participate in the last stand at Thermopylai felt that they had missed an opportunity for honor, and either committed suicide or living under the mockery and disgust of their fellow citizens.

The Spartans' last stand was not only for glory, though.

Had they not held off the Persians, the Greeks' retreating forces would probably have been cut down by enemy horsemen.

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While the fighting went on at Thermopylai, a Greek fleet held off more Persians in a naval battle north of Euboea.

The fleet used small boats to maintain a connection with the land forces at Thermopylai. The battle started out in the Greeks' favor, mostly because a violent storm destroyed a large number of Persian ships.

However, after hearing the news of the defeat at Thermopylai, the Greek fleet withdrew to Attika.

Funerary statue of a lion in Amphipolis / 4th cent. BCE (Classical Greece)

On the morning of the third day, King Xerxes was assured of his victory.

However, the victory did not come easy.

King Leonidas himself fell in battle, and a furious fight broke out around his body.

The Spartans fought to the last man, and when they had all been slain, Leonidas' body was brought before Xerxes.

According to Herodotos, Persians usually honored "the most courageous warriors", even if they were enemies.

However, Xerxes was so consumed by rage at the Spartans' resistance that instead, he cut off Leonidas' head and ordered it impaled on a stake.

A statue of a lion was later erected on the hill of the Spartan' last stand, in honor of Leonidas' bravery.

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The Greeks would often consult the Oracle at Delphi before major events. The Oracle's prophecies were usually written afterwards in verse, although it's extremely unlikely she actually spoke in such a manner when delivering them.

Regardless, the following is what the oracle is said to have told the Spartans on the even of the Persian invasion:

"For you, inhabitants of wide-wayed Sparta,
Either your great and glorious city must be wasted by Persian men,
Or if not that, then the bound of Lakedaimon must mourn a dead king, from Herakles' line..."

The quote suggests that the Spartans believed Leonidas' death saved their city.

Red-figure amphora depicting a warrior fighting against Persian archer / 480-470 BCE (Classical Greece)

Though they were victorious, the Battle of Thermopylai shook the morale of the Persian army.

They had lost thousands of men, while Greek casualties only numbered in the hundreds, and due to the sacrifice of the Spartans, the rest of the Greek army had been able to successfully retreat and regroup.

As a result, even as Xerxes set up camp at the foot of Athens' Akropolis, ready to get revenge for his father's humiliating defeat at Marathon, the Persians were more anxious than confident.

They were more aware than ever that the Greeks did not fear them, and were ready to die defending their land.

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For the Greeks, Thermopylai was a defeat, but it was a loss that inspired hope.

Persian propaganda proclaimed that the Greeks were doomed to be enslaved and killed. However, Thermopylai showed the Greeks that with clever tactics, well-trained troops, and high morale, the Persians could be beaten despite their numerical superiority.

Stater of Delphi issued by the Amphictyony depicting Demeter on obverse, and Apollo seated on the omphalos on reverse / 336-334 BCE (Classical Greece)

In the end, the Battle of Thermopylai was still a loss for the Greeks.

However, the battle gave the Greeks a boost in morale that carried them all the way to their decisive victory over the Persians in the Battle of Plataia in 479 BCE.

With the war against the Persians finally won, the Greeks were able to honor the sacrifice of Leonidas and his Spartans with memorials and poems, forever solidifying the glory of Sparta's military prowess.

The newfound respect for Sparta was noteworthy, because before the war, the city was seen as no more than a bully who forced itself into the affairs of others.

Thermopylai changed opinions of Sparta for the better, and gave them a legitimate claim to be one of Greece's most powerful and influential cities.

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After the Battle of Thermopylai, a monumental stele was placed on the ground where the Spartans were buried. According to Herodotos, the stele featured the following inscription:

"Foreigner, go tell the Spartans that we lie here obedient to their commands".

The inscription served to remind passing visitors of the Spartans' heroic sacrifice.

• Leonidas: You've finished. I hope you understand the magnitude of the sacrifices made at Thermopylai. Without them, the Greek people would have surely ended as a footnote in a Persian history. Is there something else you'd like to do?

("I'm ready for the quiz.") ("Take on the next suggested tour.") ("Take me on a random tour.") ([LEAVE] "That's all for now.")

• Leonidas: Farewell, visitor.

Gallery

• File:Assassin's Creed Discovery Tour Thermopylae Ep. 5 Ubisoft NA