Battles & Wars › Greece, Rome & Han › Greco-Persian Wars
Battle of Thermopylae
August 480 BC· Battle· Europe
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
A small Greek force led by King Leonidas of Sparta held a narrow coastal pass against Xerxes' invading army for three days.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
About 7,000 Greeks, including 300 Spartans, blocked the pass at Thermopylae ('hot gates') between mountains and sea, while the Greek fleet fought nearby at Artemisium. For two days they threw back Persian assaults, including the elite Immortals. A local man, Ephialtes, then showed the Persians a mountain path around the pass. Leonidas sent most of the army away and fought to the end with his Spartans and the Thespians.
Why it matters
A military defeat, it became the West's archetype of a last stand for freedom, and it bought time for the Greek fleet and Athens to withdraw.
How we know
Herodotus' detailed account, the epitaph for the Spartans traditionally credited to Simonides ('Go tell the Spartans...'), and Persian arrowheads found on Kolonos hill, the site of the last stand.
Still debated
Persian numbers, the Greek plan (a real attempt to hold or a delaying action) and the ancient coastline, now silted far back, are debated.
Inside this (1)
Connections (4)
▸Battle of Thermopylae delayed the Persian advance later checked at Battle of SalamisMostly agreed
The connection
Thermopylae and the naval battle at Artemisium were fought together to block Xerxes' advance. When the pass fell, the Greek fleet withdrew south and Athens was evacuated. The days gained helped the Greeks regroup their fleet at Salamis, where the Persian advance was finally checked.
When and how
Thermopylae and Artemisium, August 480 BC; Salamis about a month later; Leonidas, Themistocles and the Spartan admiral Eurybiades.
How sure are we?
Herodotus narrates the linked land and sea campaign and the Greek withdrawal from Artemisium to Salamis.
Debates and open questions
How much the delay at Thermopylae actually mattered for Salamis, given that the Persians reached Athens within weeks, is debated.
▸Battle of Thermopylae became the most famous stand of Greco-Persian WarsWell documented
The connection
Though a defeat, Thermopylae became the war's defining story. The image of Leonidas and his 300 Spartans choosing death over retreat was told by Herodotus, honored by monuments, and retold ever since, overshadowing larger battles in popular memory.
When and how
Thermopylae pass, central Greece, August 480 BC; King Leonidas I of Sparta against Xerxes I.
How we know
Herodotus' account, epitaphs at the site traditionally credited to Simonides, and its long reuse from Roman times to modern films such as 300.
Debates and open questions
How much the story was shaped by Spartan propaganda and later myth-making, rather than what happened, is debated.
▸Leonidas I and the 300 Spartans died leading the Greek rearguard at the Battle of ThermopylaeWell documented
The connection
Leonidas commanded the whole Greek force, roughly 7,000 men, at the pass. Outflanked on the third day, he kept a rearguard to block the road while the rest of the army retreated south. He was killed that day. Once news came that the pass had fallen, the Greek fleet at Artemisium withdrew.
When and how
Thermopylae, central Greece, August 480 BC, against Xerxes's army.
How we know
Herodotus gives the account; the hill of the last stand yielded many Persian arrowheads in Spyridon Marinatos's excavations of 1939.
Debates and open questions
Day-by-day details depend on Herodotus alone. He says the Thebans were kept as hostages and then surrendered; later writers such as Plutarch disputed that charge.
▸Xerxes I of Persia forced the pass at the Battle of ThermopylaeWell documented
The connection
After two days of failed frontal attacks, even by his elite Immortals, Xerxes learned of a mountain path from a local Greek, Ephialtes. He sent the Immortals around it overnight, trapping the Greek rearguard and opening the road to central Greece and Athens.
When and how
Thermopylae, August 480 BC; the Immortals under the general Hydarnes took the Anopaea path.
How we know
Herodotus tells it; the path's general route can still be traced in the mountains above the pass, though details are disputed.
Debates and open questions
Persian losses are unknown; Herodotus's figure of 20,000 is likely exaggerated. Ephialtes's betrayal may be partly legend.