Now that we have some background on Sparta’s leader and the kind of city-state he ran, we can get more into the conflict that came about when the Persians began to invade Greece. Firstly, it wasn’t only Leonidas and his men fighting the war with the Persians. It was a war where the several hundred city-states worked together to defend from foreign attack, with Athens and Sparta being the most powerful. These city-states would often fight one another for land and resources, but in cases like this, they would work together to defeat the common enemy, and in this case this enemy was Persia.
The Persians actually made two attempts at invading Greece, the first of which was led by King Darius, but the unified Greek forces made them turn back and then, after ten years, Darius’s son Xerxes launched another invasion. Xerxes brought an army that outnumbered the Greeks and he made large preparations all the way to the borders of Greece. At the time, the Greek historian Herodotus claimed that Xerxes army was made up of millions of men, but the modern estimate is actually 300,000 men (2).
Under Xerxes’s commands, the Persians advanced, working their way to Attica, the region controlled by Athens, but to get there, they had to go through the pass of Thermopylae, the location of the most famous battle of the second Persian invasion of Greece. The Greeks chose to hold the Persians here because the narrow path neutralized the advantage the Persians had in numbers (3). Though the 300 Spartans are the most well known in this battle, they were also joined by 80 Mycenaeans, 500 Tegeans, 700 Thespians, totalling for 4,900, which was still much smaller than the Persian forces (4). Leonidas himself chose these 300 Spartans, and he was convinced that in order to save his city, he had to die in this battle (5). A big reason that the 300 Spartans are thought of before the other Greeks in this battle is because Leonidas put them ahead of the other groups. Knowing they were heavily outnumbered, the goal of the Spartans was to hold the Persian forces there for as long as possible.
The Persians made camp just a short distance from Thermopylae, but on August 17, 480 B.C., Xerxes sent his first wave of troops and likely underestimated the Greeks due to their much lower numbers (6). However, they retreated with heavy casualties and after this loss, Xerxes sent his Immortals, which included 10,000 men and whose main job is to protect Persia’s rulers, but they too were defeated. A major reason that the Persian had such issue was that they favored to fighting on horseback and using bows, but neither was any good in this fight (7). The second day of fighting turned out to be the same as the first, with the Greeks holding back the Persians and only suffering small losses.
Though Leonidas’s plan of holding the Persians at Thermopylae lasted for a while, there was one flaw to the battle location. To the west of Thermopylae, there was a route over the mountains that would let the enemy to get past the Greek fortifications (8). The local Greek Shepherd known as Ephialtes went to Xerxes and informed him of the route in the hopes of gaining a reward. Only the Phocians guarded the path, but they were a small force (9). This gave Persia a perfect window of opportunity to get behind the major Greek forces, and with this secret route discovered by the enemy, Leonidas ordered most of his Greek forces to withdraw while they had the chance. However, Leonidas and his Spartans, along with some other Greeks such as the Thespians and Thebans, stayed behind at Thermopylae in the hope that it would give the retreating forces a chance to fight another day (10).
Xerxes was able to attack from both sides and Leonidas moved the troops to the widest part of the path to utilize as many of his troops as possible, but when the two forces clashed, Leonidas was killed and the Spartans fought to recover their king’s body, but the Persians seized it (11). Any Greek warriors left after this assault were killed by storms of arrows. The Spartan’s role in this battle became a mythical tale and they were remembered for sacrificing themselves to defend the Greek ways of life from foreign invaders (12). HistoryNet says “In the end, the battle’s value lay not in land gained or lost or in men killed or captured, but in inspiration. The Spartans and Thespians had taught Greece and the world an enduring lesson about courage in the face of impossible odds” (13).
The Persians actually made two attempts at invading Greece, the first of which was led by King Darius, but the unified Greek forces made them turn back and then, after ten years, Darius’s son Xerxes launched another invasion. Xerxes brought an army that outnumbered the Greeks and he made large preparations all the way to the borders of Greece. At the time, the Greek historian Herodotus claimed that Xerxes army was made up of millions of men, but the modern estimate is actually 300,000 men (2).
Under Xerxes’s commands, the Persians advanced, working their way to Attica, the region controlled by Athens, but to get there, they had to go through the pass of Thermopylae, the location of the most famous battle of the second Persian invasion of Greece. The Greeks chose to hold the Persians here because the narrow path neutralized the advantage the Persians had in numbers (3). Though the 300 Spartans are the most well known in this battle, they were also joined by 80 Mycenaeans, 500 Tegeans, 700 Thespians, totalling for 4,900, which was still much smaller than the Persian forces (4). Leonidas himself chose these 300 Spartans, and he was convinced that in order to save his city, he had to die in this battle (5). A big reason that the 300 Spartans are thought of before the other Greeks in this battle is because Leonidas put them ahead of the other groups. Knowing they were heavily outnumbered, the goal of the Spartans was to hold the Persian forces there for as long as possible.
The Persians made camp just a short distance from Thermopylae, but on August 17, 480 B.C., Xerxes sent his first wave of troops and likely underestimated the Greeks due to their much lower numbers (6). However, they retreated with heavy casualties and after this loss, Xerxes sent his Immortals, which included 10,000 men and whose main job is to protect Persia’s rulers, but they too were defeated. A major reason that the Persian had such issue was that they favored to fighting on horseback and using bows, but neither was any good in this fight (7). The second day of fighting turned out to be the same as the first, with the Greeks holding back the Persians and only suffering small losses.
Though Leonidas’s plan of holding the Persians at Thermopylae lasted for a while, there was one flaw to the battle location. To the west of Thermopylae, there was a route over the mountains that would let the enemy to get past the Greek fortifications (8). The local Greek Shepherd known as Ephialtes went to Xerxes and informed him of the route in the hopes of gaining a reward. Only the Phocians guarded the path, but they were a small force (9). This gave Persia a perfect window of opportunity to get behind the major Greek forces, and with this secret route discovered by the enemy, Leonidas ordered most of his Greek forces to withdraw while they had the chance. However, Leonidas and his Spartans, along with some other Greeks such as the Thespians and Thebans, stayed behind at Thermopylae in the hope that it would give the retreating forces a chance to fight another day (10).
Xerxes was able to attack from both sides and Leonidas moved the troops to the widest part of the path to utilize as many of his troops as possible, but when the two forces clashed, Leonidas was killed and the Spartans fought to recover their king’s body, but the Persians seized it (11). Any Greek warriors left after this assault were killed by storms of arrows. The Spartan’s role in this battle became a mythical tale and they were remembered for sacrificing themselves to defend the Greek ways of life from foreign invaders (12). HistoryNet says “In the end, the battle’s value lay not in land gained or lost or in men killed or captured, but in inspiration. The Spartans and Thespians had taught Greece and the world an enduring lesson about courage in the face of impossible odds” (13).