Battle of Thermopylae

Battle of Thermopylae
Part of the Greco-Persian Wars
Leonidas at Thermopylae (1814) by Jacques-Louis David
Date 21–23 July,[1] 20 August,[2] or 8–10 September[3] 480 BC Location Thermopylae, Greece 38°47′45″N 22°32′13″E / 38.79583°N 22.53694°E / 38.79583; 22.53694 Result Persian victory[a][6] Territorial changes Persia gains control of Phocis, Boeotia, and Attica[7]
Belligerents
Greek city-states  • Sparta  • Thespiae  • Thebes  • Others	Achaemenid Empire
Commanders and leaders
Leonidas I of Sparta † Demophilus of Thespiae † Leontiades of Thebes	Xerxes I Mardonius Hydarnes Artapanus[8]
Units involved
Spartan army Helots Other Greek forces	Persian army
Strength
7,000[9][10]	120,000–300,000[11][b][12]
Casualties and losses
4,000 (Herodotus)[13]	c. 20,000 (Herodotus)[9]
Thermopylae class=notpageimage| Location within modern Greece Show map of Greece Thermopylae class=notpageimage| Location within Europe Show map of Europe

The Battle of Thermopylae (/θərˈmɒpɪliː/ thər-MOP-i-lee; Greek: Μάχη τῶν Θερμοπυλῶν Máchē tōn Thermopylōn; Persian: نبرد ترموپیل Nâbārd-e Ṭermopīl) took place during the second Persian invasion of Greece. Occurring in July, August, or September 480 BC, it was one of the most prominent military engagements of the Greco-Persian Wars. Seeking to halt the Persian army's offensive into Greece, an alliance of Greek city-states was led by Sparta to block off Thermopylae. After three days of fighting, the Spartan king Leonidas I was killed and the rest of the Greeks were outflanked and annihilated, enabling the Achaemenid Empire to take control of Phocis, Boeotia, and Attica.

A decade earlier, during the first Persian invasion of Greece, the Persian king Darius I had found himself unable to further expand the Achaemenid Empire's territory after Athens led a Greek coalition to defeat him in the Battle of Marathon. Consequently, the second Persian invasion was mounted as a direct response by his successor Xerxes I, who had greatly expanded the Persian army and navy. Faced with Xerxes' massive offensive by land and sea, the Athenian general Themistocles proposed that the Greek coalition block the Persian army at Thermopylae while simultaneously blocking the Persian navy at Artemisium. Like at Thermopylae, the Persians were temporarily held off in the Battle of Artemisium, but ultimately overwhelmed the Greeks and took control of Euboea.

Leonidas had marched north with a Greek force of approximately 7,000 men. The Persian army was significantly larger: estimates by ancient authors assert that it numbered in the millions, but the consensus among modern scholars is that this figure is exaggerated and that it realistically consisted of between 120,000 and 300,000 men. For the first two days, the Greeks blocked the only road by which the Persians could traverse the narrow pass. After the second day, however, the Greek renegade Ephialtes showed the Persian troops a path that went behind the Greek lines. Having learned of Ephialtes' betrayal and witnessing the Persians outflanking him, Leonidas dismissed the bulk of the Greek army and remained to guard their retreat along with 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians. It has been reported that other Greek troops also remained, including up to 900 helots and 400 Thebans. With the exception of the Thebans, most of whom reportedly surrendered, the Greeks fought the Persians to the death in one of history's most famous last stands.^[14]

Themistocles was commanding the Greek navy at Artemisium when he received news that the Persian army had taken the pass at Thermopylae. Since the Greek defensive strategy had required both Thermopylae and Artemisium to be held at the same time, the decision was made to withdraw to Salamis Island. The Persians soon captured and destroyed Athens, though not before it had been evacuated. In late 480 BC, the Greek fleet secured a decisive victory over the invading Persian armada in the Battle of Salamis. Wary of being trapped in Europe, Xerxes withdrew with much of the Persian army to Asia, leaving behind the Persian military commander Mardonius to continue the campaign with a large group of elite troops. A year later, the allied Greeks claimed a key victory in the Battle of Plataea, killing Mardonius and ending the second Persian invasion.

Ancient and modern writers alike have cited the Battle of Thermopylae as a flagship example of the power of an army defending against an invading force. Likewise, the performance of Greek soldiers at Thermopylae and in the wider Greco-Persian Wars is often used as an example of the advantages of training, equipment, and use of terrain as force multipliers.

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