Battle of Thermopylae 480 BC

          The battle of Thermopylae was fought between the Greek city states and the Persian Empire. The Greek City States were led by King Leonidus and the Persian Empire was led by  Emperor Xerxes. Xerxes raised a force of around 300,000 men. This was the second invasion of Greece as the first led Xerxes father Darius an usurper. They were defeated by the Athenians at the battle of Marathon which ended the fist invasion.

          Themistocles proposed that the Spartans hold the narrow pass called Thermopylae while the Athenian navy defends the straits of Artemisium. King Leonidus led 7,000 Greeks including 300 Spartans north to the ''hot gates''. Leonidus deployed his troops in a phalanx twelve men deep. Thermopylae was a very narrow pass and it protected Leonidus's flanks. This meant that the Persians would have to face them infantry against infantry. Leonidus was aware of a narrow pass which would led the Persians behind the Greeks and left a detachment of Phoenician infantry defending it.

          Xerxes ordered 5,000 archers to fire upon the Greeks. This was ineffective as the Greeks hard large bronze shields and good quality helmets. The Greeks performed a phalanx across the narrowest part of the 'hot gates'. Xerxes sent waves of 10,000 men to combat the Greek shield wall. As the Greeks had long sarissas and short swords. It was said that after the first waves that the Persians were cut to ribbons with only two or three Spartans dying. The tactics of the Greek phalanx was that the first line was pushed from behind by the second line which was pushed by the third line and so on. They would trample over the lightly armoured Persians and kill them with their short swords.

Xerxes sent waves and waves of men at the Greeks. A Greek traitor called Ephialtes showed the Persians a route through the mountain which led behind the Greek's lines. When Leonidus found out about the Persians were on the mountain pass He sent back his whole army except for the 300 Spartans and 700 Thebians which would hold the pass so that the rest of the Greeks could retreat safely. The whole rearguard was annilated. In total 2,000 Greeks were killed.

Movie taken from 300 and photo taken from Rome Total War.