The battle that defined our world

Source: Leónidas en las Termópilas, por Jacques-Louis David, 1814 Wikipedia contributors. (2024o, juli 14). Battle of Thermopylae. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae

"This is SPARTA!" is the most iconic line from the movie "300," a film based on Frank Miller's comic, which in turn is inspired by the Battle of Thermopylae. This legendary battle during the classical Greek period saw the Greek city-states fighting against the enormous Persian army. The movie, of course, presents a heavily romanticized version of the battle. But what really happened during the Battle of Thermopylae? In this post, I will discuss what occurred during the battle, and in the next post, I will explore the differences between the movie and the actual events.

The movie follows the basic outline of the Battle of Thermopylae reasonably well. Persian King Xerxes wanted to invade the Greek city-states after his father failed to conquer them a generation before. The Greeks, particularly Athens, had supported uprisings within the Persian Empire, prompting Xerxes' father to attempt to conquer Athens to stop these revolts. However, Athens won an unlikely victory. Xerxes swore to burn down Athens and gathered his mighty army to conquer the Greek city-states.

At that time, Greece was not a single country or even a unified entity. It consisted of small city-states with somewhat similar languages and shared gods. Some of these city-states were technically at war with each other when the Persians invaded. However, 30 of these city-states decided to unite to resist absorption into the Persian Empire.

The two leading city-states were Sparta and Athens. Athens and its allies would focus on destroying the Persian fleet, while Sparta and its allies would hold back the Persian army for as long as possible. Seven thousand Greek soldiers marched to stop the Persian advance, despite facing at least 120,000 Persian soldiers. The Greeks had several strategies to level the playing field.

First, they chose to confront the Persians at a narrow passage near the sea, nicknamed the "Hot Gates." Here, Xerxes' numerical superiority would be less effective as only a handful of soldiers could fight at a time. Second, the Greeks used a formation that allowed them to rotate lines of soldiers, ensuring that the frontline fighters were always well-rested. Third, Greek soldiers were better armored than the Persians. While the Persian army wore light armor suitable for the flat deserts of the Middle East, the mountainous terrain of Greece negated this advantage. The Greeks' heavy armor and large shields were perfect for blocking arrows and withstanding Persian attacks.

The Phallanx formation, the formation that was used during the battle by the Greekd Greek phalanx: stockfoto‘s en -afbeeldingen - 180 afbeeldingen | Shutterstock. (z.d.). Shutterstock. https://www.shutterstock.com/nl/search/greek-phallanx

On the first and second days of the battle, Xerxes sent thousands of his best soldiers against the Greeks, but they were massacred due to the Greeks' superior armor and tactics suited to the terrain. This frustrated Xerxes as he saw thousands of his troops being wasted. However, he received a stroke of luck when a Greek traitor revealed a secret mountain passage that could be used to flank the Greeks.

Greek hoplite vs an Persian solider Immortals (Achaemenid Empire) - Alchetron, the free social encyclopedia. (2023, 25 oktober). Alchetron.com. https://alchetron.com/Immortals-(Achaemenid-Empire)

On the third day, Xerxes ordered a few thousand of his troops to use this mountain pass to attack the Greeks from the rear. King Leonidas of Sparta, who led the Greek coalition, ordered most of the Greek soldiers to retreat while he and his 300 Spartans held off the Persians for as long as possible. Around 1,100 other Greek soldiers chose to stay and make a final stand with the Spartans. This last stand was ferocious; the Greeks fought until their spears broke, their swords went blunt, and their knuckles were bloody. In the end, Xerxes ordered his archers to finish off the Greeks with a volley of arrows.

Even though the Greeks lost the battle and Xerxes burned Athens, they held off the Persians long enough for Athens to evacuate its citizens, meaning Xerxes entered an empty city. This, along with Athens' ability to stalemate the Persian navy and the end of the Spartan religious festival allowing the Spartans to deploy the bulk of their army, led to the Persians being expelled from Greece a year later.

More importantly, the Battle of Thermopylae laid the groundwork for a Greek identity, where the city-states began to see the value of unity. This fostered not only a sense of Greek identity but also laid the foundation for Western culture as a whole. Modern concepts of Western culture, society, and the values of democracy can trace their origins back to a few brave Greek soldiers fighting against an unstoppable Persian army.

In the end, around 4,000 Greeks and approximately 20,000 Persians died during the Battle of Thermopylae.

Statue of Leonidas at Thermopylae (Afbeeldingen Over Leonidas Greece – Blader in Stockfoto’s, Vectoren en Video’s Over 9, z.d.)