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Battle of Thermopylae
Despite their defeat by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, the
Persians were not finished with their determination to conquer mainland Greece. For the
Persians, Marathon barely registered; the Persians after all controlled almost the entire
world: Asia Minor, Lydia, Judah, Mesopotamia, and Egypt.
The loss at Marathon was no more than an irritation to the Persians. Darius was
unable to respond immediately to his defeat because of rebellions on the other end of his
empire. While he was quelling these, he was killed in battle.
King Xerxes, son of Darius, ascended to the throne of Persia after his father's death in
486 BC. After securing his throne, Xerxes began to muster forces to once again invade
Greece. He was determined to avenge his father's defeat. By 480 BC, Xerxes had built up
an enormous army of some one hundred fifty thousand men and a navy of six hundred
ships. Peoples from many little-known nations in the vast empire of Xerxes joined in the
army of the Great King to invade little Greece. Following the chariot of Or'muzd are
soldiers from India, Thrace, Chal'y-be'a and both Ethiopias.
The Greeks heard of Xerxes army amassing and were better prepared for the
invasion than in the first Persian War (the Battle of Marathon). Athenians and Spartans
combined with about 29 other city-states, under the leadership of Sparta to oppose this
powerful army and the Athenians contributed a fleet of 200 triremines for their navy.
Themistocles, an Athenian general, convinced the Athenians that the battle would
be won at sea and that the profits from a newly discovered silver mine should be used to
build a navy. He knew that the Persian army could only succeed if it were successfully
supported by supplies and communications provided by the fleet.
Travel by sea was perilous; armies always traveled by land when possible. Xerxes
decided to cross the Bosporus and travel by way of Thrace, Macedonia and Thessaly. To
cross the Bosporus, he had a boat bridge built with each boat connected to the other with
planks. This bridge would be over a mile long and required a perfectly calm sea. On
several attempts winds and rough seas broke it apart. Frustrated and enraged, Xerxes
ordered that the Bosporus receive three hundred lashes with a chain. Properly chastened,
the sea remained calm and the bridge was completed.
Some Greek city-states in the north submitted to the Persians rather than face
destruction. One reason was because the stronger city-states in the south, such as Athens,
Sparta and Thebes, had decided not to meet Xerxes in the north. Thus these latter citystates stood alone against the Persian giant. The Greeks together had three hundred ships
and ten thousand men, with the ability to raise about fifty thousand. They were led by
King Leonidas of Sparta who brought with him three hundred Spartans. The small
turnout of Sparta resulted from a disagreement as to where best to meet the Persians.
Sparta wanted to fight at the Isthmus of Corinth, others wanted to fight further north and
Athens still insisted that the war would be won or lost at sea.
The Greeks realized that it was imperative that Xerxes be delayed as long as
possible so that the Athenians could desperately build up their navy. They decided to
send an expeditionary force north to meet Xerxes, to fight the Persians at hopeless odds,
and to sacrifice themselves in order to improve the chances of ultimate victory. They
decided to take this stand at Thermopylae.
The Greek army, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, was about ten thousand strong
and in position at Thermopylae, when the Persians arrived. Xerxes was incredulous that
they would take a stand against his immense army. After impatiently waiting four days
while warning them to surrender, he launched a massive attack. The Greeks, as at the
Battle of Marathon, initially retreated drawing the Persian army into the narrow pass.
Then they turned and waged a furious battle against the limited number of Persian who
had entered the pass, thoroughly routing them. Time and again the attacking Persians,
including the elite immortals, were unable to get through.
Unfortunately, a Greek traitor named Ephialtes told Xerxes of an alternate route
around the pass. He led a large part of the Persian army to attack the Greek forces from
the rear. Leonidas learned of this treachery and decided to evacuate the Greek army while
holding the pass with only three hundred other Spartans long enough for the army to
make an organized retreat. The battle at Thermopylae ended with every last Spartan
fighting until they were killed. This distraction gave enough time for the rest of the Greek
army to retreat into southern Greece. Ephilates expected to be rewarded by the Persians
but this came to nothing when they were defeated at the Battle of Salamis. He then fled
to Thessaly with a bounty on his head. According to Herodotus he was killed for an
apparently unrelated reason by Athenades of Trachis around 479 B.C.
After this battle, the Persian army advanced into central Greece and marched into
Athens burning and sacking it late in the summer of 480 BC. However, the Athenians had
already evacuated to the city of Salamis on an island west of Athens where the Greek
naval fleet was also positioned and prepared for a last stance against the Persian
powerhouse. This fight would be known as the Battle of Salamis.
Questions: Answer on a separate sheet of paper
1. What happen at the battle of Marathon?
2. Name the areas of the world the Persian Empire controlled.
3. Why could not King Darius immediately attend to the
Greeks after his defeat?
4. What year did King Xerxes ascend to the throne?
5. After he became king what did Xerxes begin to do?
6. What did the Greeks do ounce they learned of Xerxes
invasion plan?
7. Who was Themistocles? What did he believe?
8. Who was King Leonidas? What was his job for the Greek
army?
9. Why did Leonidas only bring 300 Spartans with him?
10. Who was Ephialtes? What did he do?
Essay: Answer in one (1) paragraph (5-8 sentences).
1. Describe how Leonidas was able to hold the much larger Persian
army at the battle of Thermopylae.