The Battle of Thermopylae was an ancient clash between Greece and Persia.The battle was fought in 480 BC. It was at the pass of Thermopylae that the great Persian Army was brought to an abrupt halt by a small Greek force.A small but marvelously memorable spec in the Greco-Persian Wars, the Battle of Thermopylae is a fascinating story about how betrayal changed the entire history of Greece.The origin of the war dates back to the reign of Darius the Great, the third Persian King to lead the Achaemenid Empire. He wanted to extend Persian rule and authority to Greece, and so a group of Persian envoys, bearing this message for the Greek world to accept, had been sent to several Greek cities. This struck a chord in the Greeks’ pride; they did not like it. Greek cities of Athena and Sparta had been very open in their feelings against the Persian proposal, for the people of these cities had tossed the Persian heralds into a pit in the former and a well in the latter.Then came Xerxes I, son of Darius the Great. He wanted to accomplish what had only been his predecessor’s incomplete dream. Aware of how the Athenians and Spartans had responded the first time, Xerxes made sure to avoid approaching them. There were three ways in which the Persian King had been received regarding his demanding wishes. Some of the Greeks remained neutral. Some even joined him directly.Then there were those who resisted in a fashion that led to a fascinating chapter in ancient history that remains a fine example of how Greece defended its honor.If you find this article interesting, you can read about the battle of Gallipoli and the battle of France.Who won the Battle of Thermopylae?The Battle of Thermopylae resulted in Persian victory.Up until Mountain Thermopylae, the Persian invasion of Greece had been fairly easy. People had coordinated without much of a fight, but there was still a small part of the country that refused to give up to Persian authority. The Greeks fought bravely throughout the three-day battle, and the additional four days were spent resisting just as marvelously. But, there had been a traitor amidst this brave alliance, someone who wanted more than freedom for his nation.A man named Ephialtes had informed the Persian side of this fight about the second passage that would lead them right where they wanted to be. This betrayal changed the course of the Greco-Persian Wars. This greatly favored the Persians, for they had the upper hand in the battle now that they could charge at the Greek Navy and Army unseen. King Leonidas had ordered for a portion of the Greek troops to be stationed at the Anopaia path where the Persians were expected to launch an assault from, but that troop realized that it would be fresh bullseye to the enemy and took measures accordingly. Thereby, the Greek army knew that its destiny had been rewritten by one of their own. King Leonidas commanded his forces to withdraw from a battle that now seemed hopelessly lost to them.Still, a small but strong majority of his army stayed back, refusing to abandon what they had spent so long protecting. Leonidas ordered a new formation for his army, all of them standing guard for what was the last time to delay the Persian invasion or even for larger aid to come to their rescue. But it did not go to plan. The Persians attacked from both ends: the narrow pass and the Anopaia path. It was a fight that the Greeks took on rather remarkably even with their smaller numbers. But, in combat, while leading his people, the Spartan King fell. The Greek army still did not back down; they kept going to honor their King until the last of their vigor ran out. Those who gave their lives to avenge King Leonidas’s death were honored with a stone lion that the Greeks built.Thus, even though it was Persia that emerged victorious, Greece’s defeat had been far more glorious.Who fought in the battle of Thermopylae?The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between the Persian Army and the Greek allies.Several city-states of Greece had gotten together to resist the Persian Army and their deadly advance. They were the people who refused to give in to the aggressive force of a foreign land that went against the laws that they greatly respected, violently demanding their freedom in return for slavery. It was a small force, with no more than 7,800 people willing to form a Greek Force of their own to battle against the approaching Persians. It was an Athenian General named Themistocles that suggested the idea for the Greek alliance to block the only path that the Persian troops had to take to get to the Southside of Greece. He even laid out a plan for the Greek fleet to stand as a wedge to greet the Persian Navy at the Straits of Artemisium. They all agreed, and at the very front of this Greek army stood the Spartan King, Leonidas I, leading Spartans reinforced with people from all over his native country to a battle that they were greatly outnumbered in.Xerxes the Great got to Thermopylae with the Persian Cavalry right behind him while the Persian fleet followed its course. There, however, the Persian King had not expected to be greeted by the Spartan King and the Greek forces, willing to take every one of their Persian arrows if it meant keeping them out. When Xerxes urged King Leonidas to surrender both his arms, the latter challenged him to come and get them for himself.The Battle of Thermopylae commenced.Battle Of Thermopylae LocationThe famous Battle of Thermopylae was fought on the lands of the Thermopylae Mountain pass in Greece.Xerxes’s Persian invasion targeted northern Greece first, his only motive being to conquer Greece and enslave it under Persian authority. He succeeded in capturing most of northern Greece. People had either complied and joined him or remained neutral throughout. However, there was still a pack of Greeks that were willing to stand up against the authoritative rule of the Persian Empire and chose to fight for their honor and beliefs. This pack, the Greek rearguard, stood in the narrow pass of Thermopylae, waiting for the Persian forces to show up. This narrow setting allowed their lesser numbers to fight the crammed-up forces of Persia favorably.The only way for the Persian infantry to get to and conquer Southern Greece was by crossing the Thermopylae pass, the very path that was being blocked by the Greek alliance that stood together as one, daring the Persian advances. The Greek forces were greatly outnumbered by the Persian soldiers, but that did not puncture their strength or purpose. The Greek army was a collective troop of people from several Greek city-states who, despite the difference in the regulations of their regions, had joined hands as one to defend their freedom by resisting the Persian Empire. This signified how the Greeks led a battle of their own to shield and stand by the laws and customs that they so deeply respected.How long did the Battle of Thermopylae last? While the Battle of Thermopylae lasted for about three days, the Greek armies managed to keep the Persians from passing the mountains for four additional days, making the struggle a week-long.The ancient world recognizes the Greeks to be rather beautifully trained in a fashion that remains unrivaled. It was their excellent combat that sent back over three of Persia’s best troops, a failure that rattled and surprised the Persian Empire. The Greek strategy was to masquerade repeated retreats, a trick that every Persian soldier fell for, before turning back around in the Greek phalanx formation and striking with a blow that the Persians were unready for. While Greek hoplites made Greece so special, Persia was known for its preference for archery. The undetectable mobility and stealth of the Greek lines awed even the Persian arrows. Thus, the first two days of the battle were not in favor of any Persian warrior, for not a single soldier had been capable enough to break past the Greek rearguard.On the third day of the Persian war with the remnants of loyal, fierce Greeks, Ephialtes, fighting in the Greek Army, had turned the fate of the battle around, giving the upper hand to Persia. He became the greatest traitor in the history of Thermopylae, marching off from the battlefield to reveal the secret that the Greeks had been concealing behind their guard. Desiring rewards from the Persian King, Ephialtes approached the Persian Army and told them all about the second passage that led around the mountain.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked reading about the Battle of Thermopylae, then why not take a look at our articles on the Battle of Jutland or the Battle of Chancellorsville.
The Battle of Thermopylae was an ancient clash between Greece and Persia.
