The Battle of Thermopylae is the art of strategy in warfare, as well as an indicator of courage and bravery. This courage was shown by several hundred Spartans, now we know that the Battle of Thermopylae is the greatest event in military history. This was the period of the Greco-Persian wars, which were frequent in antiquity. The battle at Thermopylae is a heroic feat of the Spartans, who sought to keep the Persians out of Greece.

For two whole days a small army held back the attacks of the Persian army. This story is very famous now, there are many works written about it, films are also made. But how did the battle at Thermopylae actually take place, we will try to figure it out in this article. The story itself was really heroic, let's try to tell about it without embellishment and fiction.

Background of the Battle of Thermopylae

480 is the period of the second stage of the Greco-Persian wars. In 490 the Persians lost the Battle of Marathon. After that, they carefully began to prepare for new attacks from the Persians. By 480, the king of Persia, Xerxes, gathered a huge army and moved towards Greece. His army included not only the Persians, but also warriors from the lands subject to the Persians and some other armies of the Greek territories who betrayed their homeland.

The Persians themselves were primarily interested in the new battle. They wanted to avenge their humiliating defeat at the Battle of Marathon. In addition, they sought to completely subjugate Hellas and Athens, gain a foothold in the Balkan Peninsula and introduce their own system of government there.

The Greeks, in turn, also began to prepare for a future clash. In 480 they began to pursue an active diplomatic policy. In Athens, at a general Greek congress, tactics were developed to fight the Persians. The main ones here were two large states of Greece - Sparta and Athens. It was they who planned all further developments on the part of the Greek city-states.

Interestingly, the relationship between Sparta and Athens was not friendly. At this congress they also constantly argued. During the battle, both Sparta and Athens expected to take over the hegemony by command of the army, but the rivals resisted. The choice of army leaders depended on the rest of the city-states of Greece. Sparta managed to win over some cities to its side and thus they were elected commanders. Together with the Peloponnese, they formed the Peloponnesian Union, after which they won the elections.

Greek Tactics at the Battle of Thermopylae

The tactic of the Greeks was in the place where they were going to meet the Persians. Several options were considered. You could meet them on the borders of Greece, you could launch them into the territory. Hellas. Sparta offered its own version, which turned out to be the most profitable one. The Spartans offered to meet the Persians in a narrow passage between Thessaly and central Greece called Thermopylae. This was very beneficial for the Greeks. The Persians, because of the narrowness of the passage, would have been forced to pass with the whole army for a very long time. It was here that Sparta offered to attack them and give them a fight.

The Persians, on their way to Greece, did not doubt their victory. Their army was strong and very numerous. In addition, the army was led by the great commander and king of kings Xerxes I. Ancient sources describe Xerxes as a sluggish person who was subject to foreign influence. But at the same time he was very vain self-confident. But the eastern sources saw in Xerxes a completely different person. In their opinion, he was a wise statesman and an experienced military leader.

Whatever he really was, one can easily assume that he was definitely interested in the conquest of Hellas. Prior to that, he conquered Egypt, eliminated local resistance and eliminated the existence of the Babylonian kingdom. From now on, he was considered the king of these lands. He prepared very carefully and thoroughly for the battle with the Greeks.

But they didn't consider where the Greeks were going to make the first attack on them. Indeed, the passage at Thermopylae was so narrow that it was difficult for the Persians to deploy the full power of their army there. The king of Sparta, Leonidas, suggested organizing a meeting in Thermopylae. But it was necessary that the Persians still refused to bypass the opening through the mountains. For this, the mountain paths were blocked by detachments of the Greeks, defensive towers were built there. That is, the Persians had nowhere else to go.

Before reaching Thermopylae, the Persians traveled a long distance through the Helispont Strait (Dardanelles). It was a difficult test, the Persians crossed the strait for 7 days and nights, while there was a terrible storm. Several dozen Persian warriors drowned and the ships were damaged. This angered Xerxes even more, and he was eager to beat the Greeks in battle.

Beginning of the Battle of Thermopylae

King Leonidas decided to cover up Thermopylae and she would put up a worthy resistance to the Persians and subsequently defeat them. For this, a detachment of 300 Spartans was created, they were also joined by 1000 ordinary rural inhabitants and 4000 allies of the Spartans from the Peloponnesian Union. Such unity and a large number of allies in Sparta suggests that everyone was afraid of the seizure of the territory of Greece by the Persian state. If this happened, then the Greeks would lose their freedoms and privileges in their policies. And this could not be allowed.

The number of Greeks in the opening of Thermopylae was significant, but in an open battle the Persians would have utterly defeated them. But in relation to this area, the battle could be won. Thus, the Spartans developed a successful battle tactic, which, as it turned out later, brought them a resounding success. The Thermopylae passage protected the road to Central Greece, by the way, it was the main road. So, by blocking it, the Greeks blocked the main route for the Persians to Attica and further to the Peloponnese.

Xerxes, being a renowned commander and endowed with a strategic mind, understood the idea of ​​the Greeks. Seeing the place at Thermopylae, it became clear that it would not be possible to pass here just like that. Of course, it was possible to use the services of the highlanders - these are local residents. However, not many wanted to show the Greeks bypass roads. Yes, it was hard for the Persians to go to the mountains.

The king of the Achaemenids sends his negotiator to the camp of the Spartans, he invites the Greeks to surrender. At the same time, the ambassador stressed that there was no need for Leonid and the rest of the Greeks to resist the Persians. Because it will end badly for them anyway. To this, Leonidas firmly said - if Xerxes wants to defeat us in battle, then let him come and smash. The ambassador replied that the Spartans did not understand what they would have to face. If the Persians fired their arrows at once, they would eclipse the sun, to which the Greeks simply laughed. Well, so much the better, they are ready to fight in the dark. The ambassador returned to the Persians with nothing.

The course of the Battle of Thermopylae

After negotiations, Xerxes waited 4 days. He hoped that the Spartans would come to their senses and retreat. But that did not happen. Then the Persian king gave the command to start the battle. The Persians attacked immediately, and for the next 2 days the Spartans and their allies fought off the Persians. They managed to hold the passage at Thermopylae. Leonid relied on strict discipline in the army and it worked. The Spartans were divided into 4 squads and attacked the Persians in turn. It was very difficult for them to fight back, there was no free space, so the exits of these detachments were successful. The Persians suffered heavy losses.

Xerxes realized that he would not be able to overcome the Thermopylae Gorge so quickly. Then he went the other way. The locals of Thessaly were always against the Spartans, the king of the Persians found a man among them who showed them a detour. Soon the entire Persian army began to break through the mountain paths to the rear. Leonid found out about it. He released the allies of the Spartans and ordered those who remained to repulse the enemy. The Spartans themselves could retreat, but they were brought up from childhood in such a way that if you retreated, then you lost. They just didn't have the right to do it. They stayed. 300 Spartans took the fight against the many times their superior Persian army. Thus, Leonidas showed not only courage, but also prudently defended those who retreated. After all, if the Persians are not detained, then their cavalry will catch up with the Greeks and destroy them.

Herodotus noted the courage of the Greeks. The great historian in his work wrote that the Greeks defended themselves with their hands and feet until the Persians buried them under arrows. From this it follows that all the defenders of Thermopylae perished. They fought to the end, but never gave up their positions. Xerxes was angered by the great losses of his troops, and he was also angry with the courage of the Spartans. He ordered to find the body of Leonid and crucify his dead body on the cross.

Significance of the Battle of Thermopylae

The Spartans accepted the battle with the Persians, but the outcome of the battle turned out to be fatal for them ... Leonid himself died, many Greeks died. But even those who gave battle to the Persians fought with dignity. The Spartans tried to stop the Persians at Thermopylae. A lot of them died. This played a great role in further battles for the Greeks.

The feat of the Spartans showed that the Greeks were capable of waging a good fight against an army superior to them. He showed the courage of the Spartan spirit. He showed that the upbringing that the Spartans had in childhood made them real warriors. This battle became a good psychological tone for the Greeks in their further confrontation against the Persians.

The ruthless horde's heavy step,
Still heard in the audacious Thermopylae,
Since the mocking enemy has tested,
Spartan remarkable strength.

Dry shrubs died in the dust of the roads,
And Man held himself above death,
An inquisitive wanderer, despite the long term,
Read the message in the stone envelope.

"Go, raise to Lacedaemon,
That with honor we said goodbye to the white light.
In the hope that there will be no enemy throne,
Here to rule at the expense of the holy precepts.
Mkhitaryan Eduard

In the spring of 480 BC. e. The Persian army crossed the Hellespont (Dardanelles) from Asia to Europe. Xerxes personally led a new invasion of Hellas. The ruler of the Achaemenid Empire managed to gather huge forces for this purpose.
The hordes of Xerxes flooded Thrace, Macedonia and invaded Greek Thessaly. The Thessalian cities overwhelmingly surrendered voluntarily to the Persians.
The time has come for the Greek policies - members of the Hellenic Union to immediately occupy defensive lines. The original plan was to contain the onslaught of the Persians in the Tempe Gorge (in the north of Thessaly). However, this plan had to be abandoned due to the pro-Persian position of the Thessalians. The Thermopylae Pass, which was a natural border between Northern and Central Greece, was chosen as a new place for a defensive line.
Here is the testimony of Herodotus: "King Xerxes pitched his camp at Trachin in the Malian land, while the Hellenes - in the passage. Most of the Hellenes call this place Thermopylae, and the locals and neighbors call it Pyla. So, both troops stood against each other in these places " .
The Persian camp was located in the Trachinian plain. For 2500 years, the relief has changed a lot due to the alluvial sediments of the rivers. Now the width of the Thermopylae passage is from 1.5 to 5 km. In ancient times, the distance between the mountains and the sea was about 60 paces. In the place where the battle of 300 Spartans took place, the width did not exceed 16-20 meters.

Of course, there were not 300 warriors, but more than 7500 Greeks under the command of King Leonidas. However, this was a grain of sand for the Persian army of 250 thousand soldiers. The Greek army was quite motley in composition. King Leonid selected 300 selected Spartan warriors who already had children, so that not a single Spartan family would be interrupted in the event of the death of a warrior. When Leonid was persuaded to take about 1,000 soldiers with him, he said: “300 soldiers are enough to die, and 1,000 soldiers are not enough to win.”
Leonidas at Thermopylae. Painting by J. L. David 1814

At the narrowest point of the gorge they erected their fortifications. King Leonid knew about a secret path that could bring enemies here from the Trachinian plain. He left 1000 of his soldiers there to guard this territory. The main part of the Greek army occupied the narrowest place of the Thermopylae Gorge.
The Persian king Xerxes, having arrived here, first of all sends horse reconnaissance. The Persian scout literally drove into the Greek camp and was surprised that no one paid attention to him. A small number of the Spartans he saw continued to engage in daily activities: some sharpened weapons on stones, others performed gymnastic exercises, others combed their long hair, which they did not cut after the important victory for the Spartans in 495 BC.
When the scout returned, he told the king about the small number of Greeks. At that time, the former Spartan king Demarat served as an adviser to the Persian king. Once he was expelled from Sparta thanks to the slander of the brother of King Leonidas, allegedly King Demaratus was illegitimate. Out of resentment, he left Sparta and went over to the side of the Persians. So, he warned King Xerxes not to relax, for the scout saw the strongest and most courageous warriors throughout Greece. A few days later, King Xerxes offers the Greeks to surrender on the condition that everyone be left alive. To which King Leonid responds with his famous phrase: “Come and take it yourself” - (Μολὼν λαβέ).
One of the residents of a nearby town tells the Spartans that there are so many Persians that if they shoot all the arrows at the same time, these arrows will eclipse the sun. One of the Spartans utters the historical phrase: “Well, our friend from Trakhin brought us great news. If the arrows fired by the barbarians eclipse the sun, then we will fight in the shade when it's so hot all around." It was the month of August. Thermopylae (hot gate) is one of the hottest places in Greece due to the heat and two thermal springs located at the foot of the mountain.

The first attack failed, Demarat's warning was confirmed. The Greeks defended a narrow passage where it was impossible to deploy neither cavalry, nor chariots, nor archers, for which the Persians were famous. The Greek ranks in such a narrow passage were irresistible. By the end of the first day, the Persians suffered great losses, the loss of the Spartans amounted to 3 people. The second day also did not bring success to the Persians, although selected units of the "immortals" - the personal guard of King Xerxes - were thrown into battle.

Moreover, the Spartans on the second day used non-standard retreat tactics. When they retreated through the narrow space of the Thermopylae passage back, very closely closing their shields, the Persians had to stretch their soldiers in pursuit of the Greeks.

The Greeks attacked and massacred a huge number of Persians. King Xerxes became sad and thought it was time to retreat, but chance helped. A man from Thessaly appears in the Persian camp. Thessaly is known to be opposed to the southern Greeks. He points out to the king the secret Anapaean path, which leads directly to the rear of Tsar Leonid. Delighted, Xerxes sends a corps of "immortals", and at the dawn of the third day of the battle they encounter a detachment of Greeks who were guarding the passages from the Anapeia trail. Since the Persians were warned that the path was not guarded by the Spartans, they easily threw them off the mountain and sent messengers to King Leonidas, who reported that the position at Thermopylae was practically lost. However, King Leonidas decides to stay with the Spartans who survived by the third day of the battles, and he orders the rest of the soldiers to leave. A message is sent to the Greek fleet as well, so that they withdraw, since Thermopylae is practically lost. Several parts of the Greek army did not obey the order of the king, remained with the Spartans and took the last battle. All the Spartans and many other warriors were destroyed when the last demand for surrender was rejected. The Thebans raised their hands and surrendered, were subsequently enslaved. The fallen Hellenes were buried on the same hill where they took the last battle. A stone with the epitaph of the poet Simonides of Ceos was placed on the grave:
"Traveler, go erect to our citizens in Lacedaemon,
That, keeping their covenants, here we perished with bones.

Even before the start of the war, the Delphic oracle predicted that either all of Sparta or one of its kings would die during the war:
“Now I will speak to you, O inhabitants of vast Sparta:
Either your great and glorious city through the Perseid men
Will be cast into dust, otherwise - from the Heracles kind
Tears for the death of the king will shed Lacedaemon region "
2500 years later, with the help of archaeological excavations, it was possible to establish the similarities of the battle.
This is what the battlefield looks like now.

A monument dedicated to the feat of 300 Spartans was erected at the site of the battle.

King Leonidas holds a spear with an upper grip, as they held a spear in a combat position before a battle in a tight formation, which is called a phalanx.

Left and right - marble figures symbolically depict the Taygetus mountain range and the Evrotas river, symbolizing the Spartan state.

The letter on the shield of King Leonid means "Spartan state".

The relief depicts the Battle of Thermopylae, and the names of the participants in the battle are on the wreaths.

This monument was erected in honor of 700 Thespians who also participated in the Battle of Thermopylae.

Defending themselves, they died along with 300 Spartans and shared their fate. The naked male torso is an image of the God Eros. He was worshiped in the city of Thespia, which put up 700 warriors to participate in the battle.

The left wing is a symbol of the feat accomplished by the Thespians, the right broken wing is a symbol of the tragedy of the feat. The absence of a head is a symbol of the namelessness and obscurity of this feat: everyone knows about 300 Spartans, but no one remembers about 700 Thespians.

Now a valley opens from this place, which was formed due to alluvial sediments, and only in the distance is the blue stripe of the Malian Gulf of the Aegean Sea visible.
This monument reflects the significance of this battle, which is still studied in military academies, as a textbook example of when a convenient position can be successfully held for a long time by small forces against an enemy who has an overwhelming numerical advantage.
After the battle, King Xerxes ordered that Leonid's head be cut off and his body nailed to the deck of his ship. 40 years after the death of King Leonidas, his remains were reburied on the territory of Sparta. And 600 years after his death, the traveler of the 2nd century AD Pausanias tells about those games that were held in Sparta in honor of King Leonidas. The memory of this hero did not die throughout the ancient era, including during the era of the Roman conquest.
As for King Xerxes, such an act with the body of King Leonidas was non-standard. The Persians knew how to appreciate the valor and courage of others. However, the loss of 20,000 soldiers and the death of two Xerxes brothers in the battle against 2-4 thousand dead Greeks are the reasons that literally enraged the king and forced him to take such a low and blasphemous act.
Although the battle of Thermopylae was lost and the Persians captured Athens, the very example of using the advantage of the landscape in defense gave the Greeks self-confidence. And the victory was not long in coming. 3 weeks after the Battle of Thermopylae, the Greeks won a victory at Salomina. A year later, the Greeks will win a decisive victory over the Persians at Plataea.
331 BC is the end of the existence of the Persian Empire, the eternal enemy of the Hellenic culture.
In continuation of our acquaintance with ancient Greece, our path lay to Delphi.

New Delphi is located high in the mountains, at an altitude of 700 meters above sea level, on the outskirts of ancient Delphi.
The largest olive plantation in Greece - 5 million trees - is located in the area of ​​the town of Amfisa.

In total, about 120 million grow in Greece. A year ago, a fire raged here and destroyed several tens of thousands of olive trees. The population of the town does not exceed 18 thousand people, many of whom leave in winter to earn extra money.
In the spring of 338 BC, the inhabitants of this city plowed up the territories that belonged to the Delphic oracle. In those days, this kind of act was regarded as the most cruel sacrilege. The Delphic oracle is the largest religious center and sacred place in ancient Greece. This Delphic union of Greek cities and tribes existed from the 8th century BC. 12 cities of Greece and southern Thessaly united to protect this religious sanctuary. This was the first attempt of the fragmented Greek tribes to gather into some kind of supranational formation. The Greek nation throughout its history has been fragmented. Even today, the Greeks are diverse in their ideological and political beliefs. In ancient times, this was even more emphasized. Each one is "to his own Socrates". By creating alliances on a religious and cultural basis, all differences were overcome.
The growth of Macedonian influence in the Greek world at that time was significant. The main defender of the sacred Delphi was the Macedonian king Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great. As a result, the city was attacked for this offense, was destroyed, its possessions were divided among other cities, part was given to the Delphic religious center. Philip II did not stop there, he captured some cities of southern Greece. An anti-Macedonian coalition is formed against Philip, which as a result was defeated by Philip 2. Thus, Philip 2 for the first time in history manages to unite Macedonia and Thessaly into a single supranational entity. These were the long-term consequences of the fourth holy war. Wars were declared in case of violation of the parity of ancient Delphi. The first Holy War began in the 6th century BC against the city of Chris.
This small town is located on the way to Delphi at the foot of the mountain.

The inhabitants of this city decided to take taxes from all the pilgrims who come to Delphi for predictions. This was the reason for the war, given that, at times, quite rich caravans passed. For example, in 547 BC, King Croesus sent envoys to Delphi to find out if he should start military operations against the Persian Empire, which at that time was gaining strength. Between the two warring armies was the river Halys as a border, and the question of Croesus was whether it was worth crossing this river.
To receive the prophecy, he sends a large caravan of camels loaded with gold to Delphi. One of the many items is a huge golden lion figure on a white gold podium. Only the figure of a lion made of pure gold weighed 250 kg. The prophecy that Croesus received was as follows: "If you cross the Halys River, you will destroy the Great Kingdom." However, the Delphic oracle did not specify what kind of kingdom would be destroyed. And this great kingdom turned out to be the kingdom of Croesus himself. Accordingly, the war he started became disastrous for him. And his kingdom became part of the Persian Empire.
So, the war was completed by 585 BC, the city of Chris was destroyed, the territories were divided, and the Crissian plain was given to the Delphic religious center. In honor of the victory in the First Sacred War, sports competitions of the Delphic Games were established, which were held in Delphi in honor of the God Apollo. At first, only competitions were held in the art of singing to the accompaniment of the cithara, one of the sacred instruments of the God Apollo. After the First Holy War, sports competitions in wrestling and fisticuffs are introduced. And on the territory of the Crissey Plain, horse races were held. The first games of this kind were held in 592 BC.
This area is crossed by the water supply sector, which has been supplying water to the city of Athens since 1979. The capital of Greece has always suffered from a lack of life-giving moisture. The river Mornes flows in the west of Greece. First, an artificial lake with an area of ​​15.5 square kilometers was created. by diversion from the river. The length of the water pipeline, which was carried out, is 188 km, 15 tunnels have a length of 75 km. The technical solution of this water pipeline is unique in that in some areas the water flows under the pressure created from the bottom up.
New Delphi is such a tiny town that the bus barely fit to drop us off. And we needed two hotels.

The next morning we will meet with the Delphic oracle! I invite you too.

Probably the legend 300 spartans, who courageously resisted the numerically superior enemy army to the last breath, everyone heard. Hollywood films dedicated to this story made a lot of noise, although one should not expect historical accuracy from them. How did the legendary battle of thermopylae?

The Battle of Thermopylae took place in 480 BC. e. during the Greco-Persian War. Persia at that time was a young aggressive superpower, seeking to expand its borders. Xerxes was a ruler endowed with great power, despotic and ambitious - he aspired to power over the world. He was feared, but not deified, as shown in the Hollywood movie. His appearance is also surprising - the king with piercings, hung with chains, looks, to put it mildly, strange.

The army of the attacking Persians was many times superior to the forces of the Greeks. According to various estimates, the number of Persians was from 80 to 250 thousand soldiers, the Greeks were from 5 to 7 thousand. Despite unequal forces, in the first two days the Greeks repulsed the attacks of the Persians in the Thermopylae gorge, but on the third day the course of the battle was broken. According to one version, the local resident Ephialtes told the Persians about the presence of a mountain bypass and showed him for a monetary reward, according to another, the Persians themselves discovered this path. Be that as it may, on the third day they were able to enter from the rear. The messenger warned the Spartans about this. Understanding the unsuccessful outcome of events, Leonid himself suggested that the Greeks disperse to their cities. He himself and his 300 Spartans remained.

If we abandon the excessive romanticization and glorification of this decision, it becomes clear that Leonid had no other choice. Sparta had very strict laws - no one had the right to retreat from the battlefield without an order. If this happens, the Spartan will lose his civil rights, he will face shame and exile. Leonid understood that everyone would die, but he had no choice, retreat was impossible. The Spartan warrior was obliged to fight to the death, otherwise he would become an outcast in society, and he himself would wish for death, so as not to endure eternal insults and contempt.

Most of the questions are the size of the Greek army. Herodotus says the following about this: “The Hellenic forces that were waiting for the Persian king in this area consisted of 300 Spartan hoplites, 1000 Tegeans and Mantineans (500 of each); further, 120 people from Orchomenus in Arcadia and 1000 from the rest of Arcadia. There were so many Arcadians. Then from Corinth 400, from Phlius 200 and 80 from Mycenae. These people came from the Peloponnese. From Boeotia there were 700 Thespians and 400 Thebans. In addition, the Hellenes called to the aid of the Opuntian Locrians with all their militia and 1000 Phocians. That is, only 5200 soldiers. In addition, they had servants with them - helots.

There were indeed 300 Spartans - the number of soldiers in the guard was constant, if one died, another took his place. But besides the Spartans, there were hundreds of Greeks from other city-states, totaling up to 5,000, and in the first two days of the battle they fought together at Thermopylae. But about 1000 Greeks, in particular the Thespians, remained of their own free will and after the order of Leonidas to return home. No one detracts from the merits and courage of the Spartans, but not only they died in an unequal battle that day. The losses of the Greeks in three days amounted to about 4,000 people, the Persians - 5 times more.

There were many legends about the state of ideal warriors.

Traveling for 14 days along the coast of the Pagasean Gulf, it reached the city of Galos. Three days later, having crossed Otrid, it descended into the wide valley of Spercheus, all the tribes of which had already expressed their obedience by sending earth and water to the Persian king. All the way to this valley, the Persians did not encounter obstacles, but they met them in the south of it: there, between the city of Anfeloy, where the most ancient amphiktyony gathered in the temple dedicated to Demeter, and the Locrian town of Alpenami, the path goes along a very narrow strip of seaside and, in the so-called “warm gates” (Thermopylae), it narrows twice so that it barely has the width of a cart. Here stood the allied Greek army, under the command of the Spartan king Leonidas. It occupied both those very narrow places, and its position at Thermopylae was impenetrable, so long as its communications with the sea remained free and as long as the road through the narrow gorge through Mount Callidrom was not occupied by the enemy in its rear; 1000 Phocians were posted on this road to guard it. The Greeks believed that this detachment was sufficient for the defense of the Thermopylae Gorge.

Persian Warriors. Palace bas-relief in Persepolis

When the Greeks saw the first Persian horsemen and heard about how innumerable the forces of the enemies that filled the valley of Sperhei, they lost heart. The Peloponnesians said that it was necessary to retreat; they wanted to stop for defense only on the isthmus of Isthme. This plan was opposed by the Locrians and Phocians, whose regions were given over defenseless to the prey of enemies if they were left without the defense of Thermopylae. Their opinion was joined by the Spartans with their brave king. It seemed to the Spartans that it would be an eternal shame for them if they gave into the hands of the barbarians that place, which is so much spoken of in the myth of Hercules, the ancestor of their kings: here at the warm springs was his altar, here stood the city of Trakhina, where he made his last labors of Hercules; here the stream of Diras flowed, trying in vain to fill the blazing fire on which Hercules was dying, here was the oldest meeting place of the Delphic amphiktyony. The voice of the Spartans decided the matter. It was decided to defend Thermopylae, and in order to encourage his detachment, Leonidas sent a request to the council of the union that met on Isthma to send reinforcements.

Xerxes he was surprised to hear from the scout that the soldiers assigned to guard Thermopylae were engaged in wrestling and other gymnastic exercises and were combing their hair. The former Spartan king Demaratus, who was in the Persian army, explained to him that this was a sign of their determination to fight; It is customary for Spartans to comb their hair before a battle. Xerxes delayed the attack on Thermopylae for four days in the hope that they would withdraw without a fight, or in anticipation of the Persian fleet. Tradition says that he sent a demand to them that they give up their weapons, and received a laconic answer: “come and take it!” According to another legend, one of the citizens of Trakhina wanted to frighten the Greeks with the words that the arrows of the enemies would obscure the sun, so countless were the enemies; then the Spartan Dienek answered him: "so much the better, we will fight in the shadows." But the fleet still did not appear on the fifth day, as it fought with the Greeks at Artemisia; then the king moved troops to Leonidas. He sent the Medes and the Susian Kissians. Their attack was unsuccessful: high shields covered the Greeks from countless arrows, and their long spears overthrew many enemies. Xerxes, who was watching the battle of Thermopylae from a hill near Trakhina, ordered Hydarnes to lead a detachment of 10,000 immortals into battle, of which he was the head. Leonid moved against this detachment of his bravest warriors, the Spartans. They swiftly attacked the Persians and killed very many. Then they pretended to take flight, and when the barbarians, as they expected, rushed after them with a loud cry, they suddenly rushed forward again and drove the Persians back with great loss. So the brave Spartans fought and showed that they were skillful warriors. Three times the Persian king got up from his seat, peering at the battle of Thermopylae.

Map of the Greco-Persian Wars showing the site of the Battle of Thermopylae

The next day it resumed and was also unsuccessful for the Persians. The firm courage of Leonid inspired the whole army. The Greeks went into battle with their tribal bands in orderly order; there was no wavering in their ranks. Xerxes was confused; but the betrayal of the greedy Greek gave him a success that his archers and spearmen could not achieve. Before evening, the Malian Ephialtes came to the king and offered to show the Persians a path through the mountain. He hoped for a big reward. Xerxes happily accepted his offer and ordered Gidarn to follow him with a detachment of immortals. At nightfall, the detachment left the camp and by dawn reached the pass through the mountain. The rustle of leaves in the dense oak forest in the quiet hour of dawn was heard by the Phocians standing there; they realized that the enemy had approached them, quickly jumped up and grabbed their weapons. Hydarn was surprised to find warriors here; he feared that these were the Spartans, whose courage he had already tested at the battle of Thermopylae. But, having heard from Ephialtes that these were not Spartans, he led his army into battle. The Phocians could not stand the arrows that the Persians showered on them: careless, taken by surprise, they timidly fled to the height of Eta. The Persians, not pursuing them, went down the southern gorge of the mountain in order to attack the Greeks from the rear, when at the agreed time, around noon, the mass of the army resumed the attack from the front.

The fleeing guards brought news to the Spartan king at dawn that the Persians were beginning to descend from the mountain. A council of war hastily met to decide what to do now, when destruction threatens.

There would still be time to save ourselves by a quick retreat from Thermopylae, and there were people who said that this must be done. But Leonidas would have dishonored himself if he had left the dangerous post entrusted to his guard by the Spartan government. He could not return to Sparta having fled from the enemy; the Spartan custom was not like that. The Delphic oracle announced to the Spartans that either their country would be devastated, or one of their kings would be killed; he predicted to them that the power of the "lion" would not stop the enemies. This clearly showed Leonid what decision he must make; he knew what the Spartan government expected from him, sending him to the front line with a few and already elderly warriors and leaving him without reinforcements.

Leonid understood his destiny and thought about death without fear. But he did not want to involve the soldiers of other states in his death. Therefore, he released the allies from Thermopylae - while the retreat route through Scarfea and Tronion to the south was still free. He left to die with him at the battle of Thermopylae only the Spartans, Perieci, and Helots, who still survived, and the Theban hoplites, whom he took with him as hostages. The Locrian and Peloponnesian warriors willingly obeyed his order to leave. But the Thespians, who were here 700 people, under the command of the brave Demophilus, firmly said that they would not leave. They voluntarily chose their death in the battle of Thermopylae in order to save the honor of the Boeotian name.

The number of hoplites left with Leonidas was probably about 1200; in the morning he led them forward from the northern gorge, to the last battle. At breakfast before leaving the Thermopylae camp, according to legend, he told them that they would dine in the underworld. - They found the enemy already ready for battle: Xerxes made a sacrifice early in the morning, put the troops in battle order, and waited for the agreed signal from Hydarnes to quickly move them to the Greeks. They were surprised to see that the Greeks themselves were coming towards them. With the courage of lions, the Greeks fought in the battle of Thermopylae against the innumerable forces of the enemy. The Persians fell in heaps from the spears and swords of the hoplites, drowned in the swamp, crowded by them; the guards drove the back ranks forward with whips, the onslaught overturned those who fought in front, and those driven by the whips trampled on the lying comrades. The Greeks, who condemned themselves to death, performed miracles of courage: they went forward, fought so that their spears broke and their swords were dulled. Among the killed Persians were two sons Darius. But fewer and fewer Greeks remained. Leonidas, "the most praiseworthy man," as Herodotus calls him, fell stricken with a mortal wound in the chest. Persians and Greeks fought over possession of his body.

Four times the Greeks fought off the enemies who rushed at them. Finally, they received news that the Persians, whom Ephialtes had transferred over the mountain, were already entering their rear; then they, tired, retreated behind the wall built by the Phocians across the second gorge; it was fortified with a moat, along which the Phocians led the Warm Springs. The Greeks locked its gates, and defended themselves with bent, broken weapons, bare hands, and teeth from the barbarians who stormed the wall. The Persians finally climbed the wall, broke through it, and surrounded the Greeks. The last few, the Lacedaemonians and Thespians, who were still alive, sat on the hill and calmly awaited death. The Persians killed them all. The Thebans, who had retreated from the other Greeks, laid their helmets and shields on the ground, and, holding out their hands, shouted that they were friends of the Persians, that they went into battle only under duress. But before the Persians could understand their cry, many of them were killed; Xerxes sent an order to spare the surviving Thebans, but ordered the brand of the royal slaves to be burnt on both their boss Leontiade and all of them; with this shameful brand he sent them home.

The last battle of 300 Spartans is the Battle of Thermopylae. Video

The number of Greeks killed at the Battle of Thermopylae probably reached 4,000; the number of Persians killed was five times that number. Of the Spartans, two survived who were not in the camp on the last day; they were declared dishonorable because they were suspected of not going to battle out of timidity. One of them killed himself. The other restored his honor the following year by a heroic death at the Battle of Plataea. The Spartans glorified Leonidas and his 300 warriors with songs and legends, making holidays and games in honor of them. In the place where the heroes of the battle of Thermopylae fell, a copper lion was placed, the inscription on which told the traveler that Leonidas and his companions died, fulfilling the orders of Sparta. They brilliantly proved the justice of the words spoken by Demaratus to Xerxes, that the Spartans would do everything that honor and laws would require of them.

End of the Battle of Thermopylae

Meanwhile, at Thermopylae, the second day of the battle was drawing to a close. Leonid sent messenger after messenger to the south with requests for reinforcements, but it was already clear that no one would come. The Spartans were alone, and their notions of honor swept away any thought of leaving their post. Shortly after their arrival, Xerxes and his advisors learned of the existence of a path across the mountain that could be used to bypass the Spartans in the pass. Mount Callidromon is dotted with different paths - from narrow and steep goat paths to quite wide paths. The difficulty was that it was abundantly overgrown with forest and it was almost impossible to cross the Callidromon without a guide. Even in our time, when this forest has become much rarer, it is still easy to get lost there even in daylight. Finally, the Persians found a local peasant named Ephialtes, who told them that there was one path, called the Anopean Way, and agreed to lead them for a reasonable price. That same evening, as soon as it got dark, Guidarn led his "immortals" out of the camp and began to climb the mountain. Ephialtes showed them the way. All night long the Persians clambered with difficulty along the winding path, until the sky in the east began to grow gray and the earth leveled off. They stepped onto a small plateau thickly overgrown with oaks. The Persians made their way under the shade of oaks. Leaves crunched underfoot. Suddenly, a noise was heard ahead of the detachment, human voices broke the silence, and then the Persian soldiers saw Greek hoplites hastily putting on armor. Hydarnes asked apprehensively, "Are these the Spartans?" In fact, it was the same thousand Phokians whom Leonidas had appointed to guard the mountain path. When Hydarnes found out who they were, he formed his warriors into battle formation and began to shower arrows on the Phokians. The Phokians, forgetting about the task assigned to them, decided that they had become the main target of the strike of the "immortals". They fled to the top of the mountain and prepared to sell their lives dearly. However, as soon as they cleared the passage, the Persians hastily began their descent, paying no attention to the Phokians. The question of where exactly the “immortals” went has generated a lot of controversy. More recently, V. K. Pritchet has studied the terrain in that area in detail and has proposed a path that fits pretty well by most criteria. Herodotus says that Hydarn took with him those people whom he commanded - ten thousand "immortals". There is no reason to doubt this. Then, if the road were a narrow goat-path, which could only be followed by column one at a time, the detachment would stretch for more than ten kilometers. This is no good, and Pritchet came to the conclusion that a wide path should be sought, along which three or four people could walk in a row. There is one place in the topography of Herodotus that is easy to find. He writes about this road: "It starts from the river Asop, flowing through a mountain gorge." The location of the Asop Gorge is difficult to dispute. Further, Herodotus writes that the Persians crossed the Asop before they began to rise. This information allows us to conclude that they were on the eastern side of the gorge. About a kilometer east of the gorge is a very convenient climb into the mountains. This is the shortest and easiest way to the mountains from the Lamian plain. It follows the Halkomat stream to the village of Eleuferochori, where you can still see the remains of an ancient fortress at the start of the trail. This proves that the trail was used many centuries ago. Herodotus says that the Persians walked all night, and the Eteya mountains towered to their right, and the Trakhinsky mountains to their left. This makes it impossible to agree with any of the proposed routes through the mountains, especially since the Persians crossed Asop before they began to climb. The fact is that both Trakhin and Mount Eta are located to the west of the Asop Gorge. However, since Thermopylae proper is located in the territory of Trachinos, and Mount Eta can no doubt be included in the Etaean Mountains, we can assume that the Trachinian Mountains included the northern part of the Callidromon range. The explanation is rather clumsy, but there is simply nothing else left for us, especially if we recall the words of Herodotus that the Persians walked between these mountains “all night”. If this explanation is correct, then it turns out that the detachment moved in a southerly direction along the western slope of Mount Callidromon.

The Nevropol plain south of the Liafitsa-Kallidromon pass. It is located where the road to the passage and the road leading to Phokis join. Most likely this is the place where the Fokians stood.

Herodotus writes that the path went along a mountain range. This is a fairly accurate description of the path from Eleuferochori through the Nevropol plain to the passage between the peaks of Liafitz and Kallidromon. This road goes along a plateau just below the crest of the mountain, to the south of it. According to Herodotus, the Phocians positioned themselves in such a way as to protect both the mountain path and the path to their native land. Such a place could only be the Nevropol plain, which is located about two kilometers from the highest point of the trail. There is a small lake, which today dries up in summer, but in ancient times could remain filled with water all year round. In addition, there is a spring there, quite capable of supplying a thousand hoplites with drinking water. At this point, the road leading to Phokis and the Anopia trail meet. If the Phokians had settled closer to the pass, they would have been cut off from the road to Phokis. Moreover, any path through the passage between Liafitz and Callidromon had to pass here. Both Bern and Pritchet agree that the Phocians took their "last stand" on Mount Liathitsa, north of the trail, which is quite consistent with Herodotus' description of the events. The Persians must have reached the top of the pass three-quarters of an hour later, around half-past seven in the morning. First, Leonidas received word that the Persians had crossed the mountains from defectors who had arrived under cover of night. Then, at dawn, it was confirmed by observers stationed on nearby peaks. The Greek military leaders immediately began to hold a council. Most were of the opinion that it was necessary to retreat before it was too late, and Leonidas, seeing the fear in their hearts, sent them away. He himself, a Spartan, would never have left his post. Together with the Lacedaemonians, 700 Thespians and 400 Thebans remained. Herodotus believes that Leonidas forced the Thebans to stay, and points out that they all defected to the Persians before the last battle. They say that when they all ate together for the last time before the start of the battle, Leonidas said: “Let your breakfast be plentiful, men, for we will dine in Hades!” The descent from the mountain was supposed to take the Persians several hours, and the Spartans intended to make the enemy pay well for their death. The Persians reached the top of the mountain and began their descent. Herodotus writes that the Anopean path descends into the passage at the Alpen. With a fair degree of certainty, we can say that this city was located on a ledge of a mountain protruding towards the swamps, about 3 km from the Phocian wall, next to the eastern passage. It is easy to descend into the Alpen if you follow behind Mount Zastano and further down through Drakospilia. Such a path, about 12 km long, could take the Persians from three to four hours. Xerxes delayed his speech until mid-morning. When the Spartans saw that his troops had entered the passage, they no longer tried to defend the wall. Instead, the Lacedaemonians went out to the widest part of the passage and formed up there in the usual phalanx. Lightly armed helots covered them from the flanks. Here they took the fight, fighting with reckless fury. The Persians, who are said to have been driven into battle with whips, had to climb mountains of corpses in order to reach the Greeks. Soon most of the Greek spears broke, and the hoplites drew their swords and moved closer, cutting into the sea of ​​faces in front of them. Leonidas fell, and a particularly fierce battle unfolded over him, as both Persians and Greeks sought to take possession of his body. Four times it was captured by the Persians and four times the Greeks recaptured the corpse of Leonidas. The battle continued until the news came from the posts that the "immortals" had reached the end of the trail. Then the Greeks closed ranks and began to retreat behind the wall. They passed the gate and fortified themselves on a low (about 15 m) hill that towered over the swampy plain. There they lined up in a circle and prepared for death. The Persians poured over the wall and tried to climb the hill, but they were driven back. At first, the Greeks defended themselves with swords, and then, when the last swords broke, with their hands and teeth. They continued the fight until the Persians buried them under a hail of arrows. By midday all was quiet.

The place of the "last frontier" of the Spartans. The hill itself, which rises about 15 m above the battlefield, was accurately identified shortly before the Second World War - hundreds of Persian arrowheads were found during excavations there.

Herodotus tells of two Spartans who, by the time of the last battle, were sick and lay in the Alpen, suffering from an eye ailment. The first of them, named Eurytus, having learned that the Persians bypassed the mountain, demanded his armor. Then, since he could not see anything, Eurytus ordered his helot to lead him into the thick of the battle. Another, named Aristodemus, was frightened and retreated along with the allies. Upon his return to Sparta, Aristodemus expected dishonor and disgrace. Only the desperate courage that he showed the following year at the Battle of Plataea removed the accusation of cowardice from him.

On the last day of the battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas and all that remained of his tiny army stepped out into the open space in front of the wall, intending to sell their lives dearly. A desperate battle unfolded over the body of the slain Leonidas.

As for Ephialtes, a monetary reward was placed on his head. He fled to Thessaly, fearing that the Spartans would hunt him down. Many years later, he returned to his homeland, to Anticyra, where he was killed by a man who had personal accounts with him. The latter, however, demanded his reward. About the time that the last Spartan fell at Thermopylae, the entire Persian fleet, enraged by the evening attack, put to sea and crossed the strait. The Greeks, who intended to maintain contact with their camp, lined up in shallow water, just off the coast. The Persians built their ships in an arc and tried to encircle the small Greek fleet compared to them. Then the Greeks came forward again, ramming the sides of the lighter Persian ships. They were badly damaged in the ensuing skirmish, but were able to inflict even more serious damage on the enemy. The Persians retreated, finding they had achieved little. Although no enemy could tell who won, the Greeks were well-worn out; the Athenians alone had 80 triremes damaged. Shortly after the battle, a thirty-oared ship, which maintained communication between the fleet and the Greek land forces, brought the tragic news of the Battle of Thermopylae. The hearts of the sailors trembled at the news of the death of Leonid. Now it made no sense for them to remain in place, and they weighed anchors and set off through the strait towards Eurypus. The ships followed in a predetermined order: the Corinthians sailed in front, and the Athenians brought up the rear. The battered Greek fleet trudged south, passing first Eurypus, then the place of the former Athenian victory at Marathon, and, rounding Cape Sounion, arrived at Athens. The Persians did not notice the flight of the Greeks until the next morning - their movements were again covered by a haze hanging over the sea.

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