20 Thermopylae

“So it is with the Spartans; fighting singly, they are as good as any, but fighting together they are the best soldiers in the world. They are free – yes – but not entirely free; for they have a master, and that master is law, which they fear much more than your subjects fear you”.

Demaratus to Xerxes in Herodotus’ Histories

Introduction:

Hello, I’m Mark Selleck and welcome back to casting through ancient Greece, Episode 20 The Battle of Thermopylae.

In our previous two episodes we have covered the preparations that the Persians had made to launch their second invasion of Greece, continuing what is known as the Greco-Persian wars. Then we saw the Greek response and how they prepared to meet this threat of the largest invading force to have marched on Greece before.

The events surrounding the opening battles of this second invasion would reportedly take place around the same time. These would be the battles of Thermopylae and Artemision, with the former taking place on land and the latter a naval engagement. I have decided to break both of these engagements up into their own episodes so that I can cover them in detail. We just need to keep in mind that both were unfolding roughly around the same time. Both battles depended on one another and we will look, once we have finished with Artemision at the consequences of the invasion based on both of the outcomes.    

In todays episode we will be looking at the engagement at the pass of Thermopylae, covering both armies arrivals at the pass and the 3 days of fighting that would take place. After that we will have a brief look at the aftermath, before we then pick up the naval battle of Artemisium. Though, before dealing with Artemisium I have decided to do an episode looking at the popular movie, 300 in relations to the sources, but more on that at the end of the episode.

(Arrival, Coalition of defenders, the battlefield) 

In early In July or August of 480BC, Leonidas set out with his 300 Spartan warriors on route to Thermopylae. Along their march from Sparta their numbers would swell as other Greek city states also sent their contingent’s to the pass in the north, while others met them there. In all around 7000 Greeks had assembled at Thermopylae to defend against the Persians march into the heart of the Greek lands. According to Herodotus, as well as the Spartan Hoplites marching to the pass, nearly another thousand Lacedaemonians and Perioeci accompanied Leonidas, while a total of another 3000 Peloponnesians were also sent on the march north. Closer to Thermopylae the city states of Thespis, Phocis, Locris and Thebes also provided troops. On the issue of Thebes, Sparta is supposed to have insisted that they provide troops that would march with Leonidas and his 300 to prove their loyalty to the Greek cause. They were suspected of having Persian sympathies, if this was the case, the troops they provided would most likely have come from factions within Thebes that were in opposition to the pro Persian policy. Though how accurate this story was we are not sure, as it could have well been invented in hindsight after future actions by Thebes a generation after the Battle.  

With the Greeks assembled at Thermopylae, word reached them of the Persians advance toward their position. It seems accounts of the vast size of the Persian army were once again starting to sow the seeds of doubt into the Greek defenders. A conference was held by the Greeks to outline their best course of action with many of the Peloponnesians proposing they should fall back and mount their defence at the Isthmus of Corinth. Leonidas though, much to the relief of the non Peloponnesians voted that the army would stay and defend the pass at Thermopylae, while also sending an appeal back to the league members for reinforcements. Herodotus really seems to be stressing this invasion was unlike anything the Greeks had encountered before and the size of the Persian army had to be seen to be believed. This being the second time the Greek defenders looked to retreat from a position in the face of the Persian advance. 

Now that they had committed to defend the pass, the Greeks now needed to put in place a plan on how to hold their ground in the face of the Persian force. Today the pass at Thermopylae lays some 18 km inland from the Gulf of Malia but in ancient times the water came right up to the hills, creating a narrow trail between them and the sea. At points known as gates along the trail it was scarcely wide enough for two chariots to pass each other. This is where sections of the mountains were sheer cliffs, blocking any movement from spreading out into the mountainous areas. It was at one of these gates, the middle gate, that the Greeks would mount their defence. This would see that only a tiny part of the Persian army could engage the Greeks in battle at any one time, helping with the state of them being hopelessly outnumbered. The Greeks would also be able to rotate their forces out so that the Hoplite contingents could stay relatively fresh. The point here would also see one of the strongest arms of the Persian army nullified, the cavalry, it would be a battle of foot units, This would play into the Greek style of warfare, as all that the Persians would be able to engage was the front of the Greek tightly packed phalanx. Their spears bristling out in front of their position and protected by their wall of bronze shields and armour.   

Also, in the pass at Thermopylae was an old wall which had fallen into ruin. In the past it had served as a defensive structure built by the Phocians in fear of an invasion from Thessaly. Now Leonidas ordered for the wall to be rebuilt to provide another obstacle for the Persians to deal with. Though, one of the biggest considerations that had to dealt with was only learnt of when the Greeks arrived at the pass from the locals in the area. Like at the pass at Tempe there was the risk of being outflanked due to a track that led through the mountains on the Greeks left. The knowledge of this path may have also gone someway into the proposal that the Greeks fall back to Corinth. At Tempe though, the risk of being outflanked was much grater, as two other passes were in the area that an army could march on. The path in the mountain at Thermopylae was more of a goat track that would have been unsuitable for the march of an army but did still pose a risk to the Greek position. After considering what had been learnt from the locals, Leonidas decided to send the Phocian contingent of 1000 men into the mountains to defend this track from being used as an outflanking route.  

Xerxes Arrives      

Xerxes and his army now closed onto the Greek position at Thermopylae, they marched through Thessaly who being left to their fate after the Greek retreat from Tempe, had no choice but to medize. Here the land army and fleet parted from their parallel march with the fleet beaching at Aphetai near the gulf of Pagasai in Thessaly. The land forces then marched into Malia which was the region just before the pass at Thermopylae; they followed the gulf of Malia into a large open plain in the region of the city of Trachis. The area was enclosed by a mountain range and had a number of rivers flowing through it into the gulf. Xerxes had sent out scouts ahead of the army and was well aware of the Greek position in the pass. He decided that the plains before Thermopylae would be ideal to set up camp for the army and prepare to engage the Greeks or allow them time to come to their senses and pull back or submit.

Persian Scouts

Herodotus relays to us a story about some of these scouts that had gone ahead that reported on the Greek position. While then having Xerxes and the ex Spartan King Dematus discussing the report brought back to them.

A Persian scout rode up to the Greek position near the reconstructed wall, where the Spartan contingent was currently posted. Many were out in the open stripped naked and exercising, while others were combing their long hair. The rest of the Greek force was well behind the wall and out of sight of the scout, who must have been bewildered at the sight of a hand full of men engaging in these activities in the face of such a large force. The scout was left alone by the Spartans to go about his mission to where he was able to return to the Persian camp and make his report.

Xerxes, when given the report thought the actions of the Greeks were absurd and sent for Demaratus to explain this behaviour. On a number of occasions previously Herodotus uses Demaratus to warn Xerxes of the Spartans and not to write them off. Here again he reinforces his earlier warnings when he says,

 “These men have come to fight us for possession of the pass, and for that struggle they are preparing. It is the custom of the Spartans to pay carful attention to their hair when they are about to risk their lives. But I assure you that if you can defeat these men and the rest of the Spartans who are still at home, there is no other people in the world who will dare to stand firm or lift a hand against you. You have now to deal with the finest kingdom in Greece, and with the bravest men”.

Xerxes pressed Demaratus further as he could not believe that such a small force would even attempt to do battle with his army. No matter what he was told, Xerxes remained unconvinced of the prowess of the Spartan warrior and would need to witness it for himself.

As you may remember, Demaratus was the Spartan king who Cleomones had deposed which we saw some episodes ago. He had fled to Persia where he had now become of use to the Persian court. He is supposed to have accompanied Xerxes on the campaign acting as an advisor. Herodotus using him in his account to act as the wise advisor to Xerxes, especially on Spartan matters.  

The Stand off:    

Both armies were now in camp at their respective positions, but the fighting did not break out just yet. Maybe Xerxes thinking there was no way such a small force would oppose his army waited for the Greeks resolve to dissipate. He gave to Greeks four days to abandon their positions which would have then allowed his army to march unopposed south into Greece through the pass. Here, perhaps, on the fourth or fifth day, Xerxes gave the Greeks one last chance. We hear from Plutarch that messages had been delivered trying to entice Leonidas to side with him, with the final message saying “Deliver up your arms”, Leonidas replied with the famous “Molan Labe” or “Come and take them. Now it had been five days since arriving before Thermopylae and Xerxes patients had finally run out, he could not understand why the Greeks would still stand before his force. Plus the issue of supply might have been on his mind, with his army all amassed in camp in one region for the last four days they would have been consuming large amounts of the regions resources. It was now time to act and remove the Greeks from the pass so he could once again get his army on the move.

The First Day: 

Xerxes now ordered up his first lot of contingents to enter the pass. Though, he still seems to be under the impression that the Greeks would come to their senses. Troops of the Medes and Cissians were sent forward with orders to bring the Greek before him alive so he could question their actions himself. So, the first of the Persian troops went into action against the Greeks and suffered badly. The Greeks that they were to first encounter were that of the Spartans who employed a cleaver tactic against them. The Spartans being well drilled and disciplined would faint a retreat in the face of the approaching Medes. On seeing this, the Medes would lose all cohesion, breaking ranks to chase down the fleeing Spartans. Then without warning the Spartans would quite their retreat, reform and would then engage the unprepared Medes who were cut down in droves, now disorganised after being so egar to chase the Spartans down. The Medes though did not give up after suffering their initial losses, they would regroup while reinforcements would move up to replace their losses before moving again into the pass. Xerxes, after witnessing from his position the failed attempts at subduing the Spartans and many casualties suffered by the Medes he had them withdrawn. It was time to finish this nonsense, so he called forward Hydarnes the commander of the Immortals.  

The Immortals were a corps in the Persian army that consisted of 10,000 men and were the elite force within the army made up of ethnic Persians and Medes. Of this 10,000 force were 1000 hand picked men, considered the bravest and most loyal who were known as the King’s spear bearers who acted as Xerxes personal body guard. It is also thought that these troops would have been taken from the most noble families in the Persian Empire. The Greeks referred to this corps as the Immortals as they believed that their ranks would always stay at 10,000 with the fallen or sick instantly replaced.

It doesn’t seem like the entire corps would have been thrown in against the Greeks as Herodotus tells us their commander Hydarnes was sent in with his picked men, suggesting he selected a portion of the corps for the attack. Also, one wouldn’t have thought that Xerxes would have sent his own personal body guard.

So, the Immortals were sent against the Greeks in the pass. Although, they were greater in number than the defenders at the gates, they were unable to dislodge them from their position. The pass had nullified the Immortals advantage in numbers and it was now the Greeks who had the advantage. The Persians were advancing onto the front of a bronze wall, the Greeks spears able to strike them before they could get into position to use their own shorter spears. The fighting at the pass continued on, but the Immortals were faring no better than the troops sent in earlier in the day. With the Persian casualties piling up and only a few of the Greeks falling, Xerxes recalled his troops back to camp as the day was coming to a close.     

The Second Day

The next day the Persian camp would have been a hive of activity, with the troop’s readying themselves for another day of fighting. The contingents to first go into battle forming up in the plains just outside the pass. The Greeks to would have welcomed the night, with the chance to rest and treat any wounds suffered in the days fighting. With the sun rising though, they would be back in position ready to defend the pass once again. Xerxes had decided to send in his formations in much the same manner as the previous day. His reasoning, the Greeks would be tired and surly would be brushed aside this time. If his forces had suffered high casualties, the Greeks must be hurting from theirs too. 

The Greeks though, on this second day would implement their system of rotation where they could cycle out the hoplites at the front ranks which allowed everyone who fought time to recover and be ready for when they would be next called upon.

Xerxes ordered his forces forward to finish off, in his opinion what must be the remanets of the Greeks. As the Persians came forward though, they once again met the well disciplined hoplite shield wall, suffering greatly as they clashed with the Greeks. As the Persian formations took casualties they would fall back to regroup or allow fresh formations to take up the attack. The Greeks, in these opportune moments would rotate out the front lines, putting fresh forces in place. As the day continued on all of the Greek contingents would take their place in the front defending the pass. The Persians continued to throw themselves, formation after formation at the Greeks but to no avail, the Greeks still held firm and the Persian dead continued to pile up. Xerxes at the end of another days fighting must have realised that the Greeks were not suffering as his army was in the pass. Not only this but his entire army had now spent nearly a week in camp on the plains just north of Thermopylae, supplies and resources must be starting to run low. Xerxes needed to get his army on the move again but throwing his troops against this bronze wall was not working, another way needed to be found.  

The Traitor   

Xerxes had severely underestimated the tenacity of the Greeks in the pass at Thermopylae. Maybe the words of Demaratus were now coming back to haunt him. On the advance into Greece Xerxes had sought advice on the Spartans where Demaratus commented on their fighting ability, “ …fighting singly, they are as good as any, but fighting together they are the best soldiers in the world”. They were not simply going to melt away in the face of his army, as attested to by the serve losses his troops had taken and many from some of his best formations. As the second day of battle was coming to a close Xerxes would learn of another way of engaging the Greeks this time avoiding their strengths. A Greek by the name of Ephialtes, a local in the region, the Persians had set up camp in, came to seek an audience with the great king to share some local knowledge and we are told in the hope for a great reward. Surely though, Xerxes would have men out combing the local population, trying to entice Greeks with local knowledge to come forward.

Ephialtes, revealed to Xerxes a track that ran up into the hills that would bypass the position the Greeks held in the pass and effectively outflank them. The track was not suitable for his entire army to travel, the cavalry and cart driven supplies would not be able to use this route. Though, a sizable infantry strike force could navigate the track and appear in sufficient numbers to threaten the Greek position. Ephialtes is the man told to us by Herodotus who would was responsible for betraying the Greeks at the pass, though he was aware of other stories. He found this to be most creditable account as, in his time it was well known that Ephialtes had been exiled from his city for this crime after the war and found refuge in Thessaly for a time. This track was known to most in the region as it had served a similar function during a war between Phocis and Thessaly, where the Malians revealed it to the Thessalians. So, it isn’t surprising that the Persians would eventually learn of the pass as both were assisting the Persians by this stage. Ephialtes, being from the region may well have revealed the pass or he may be a scape goat for the crime after the war, whatever the truth, it is interesting that the name Ephialtes has the meaning of nightmare or cause of nightmare attached to it. His information would lead to a nightmare for the men in the pass as well as the rest of Greece who anticipated the Greek force to hold out until potentially a larger army was ready to march. 

That evening as Xerxes troops were returning into the camp to tend to their wounds and recover from the day’s fighting, he sent for Hydarnes once again. He ordered for him to assemble the men under his command and prepare for a night march. Remembering here Hydarnes was the commander of the Immortals. Xerxes briefed him on the track that had been revealed to him and Hydarnes mission to outflank the Greek position, with Ephialtes to join them as their guide. It is unclear if the entire force of 10,000 was sent, or just a portion of them.

The Third Day

The force of Immortals had been marching all night through the hills along the newly discovered track, when as the sun rose, they were surprised to see a contingent of Greeks up ahead defending the way. This was the 1000 strong force of Phocians that had been sent up in the mountains to defend this outflanking path. The Persians formed up ready to do battle and sent a volley of arrows into the Phocians ranks. The Phocians, thinking that they were the intended target of this force retreated further up to a peak to prepare for a last stand. Haydarnes seeing this, now ordered his troops to start descending the mountain now that the Greeks were no longer blocking their path. It would seem that a sizable force was sent into the mountains if not the full force of 10,000. As the 1000 strong Phocian force was threatened enough to retreat from their defensive position and ready themselves for a last stand. It would seem the Persians were able to fix the Phocians in place and have the rest of their force continue on. 

Back in the pass the Greeks had been informed by some deserters during the night that a Persian force had started making its way through the mountain track. Leonidas would have been hoping that the Phocians would be able to prevent the Persians advance along this route. Though, once dawn arrived the Greek lookouts were able to confirm the fears of the defenders, the Persians had gotten through and nothing stood between them and the Persians now. With this news the Greeks converged to discuss the best course of action now that their position was under threat. The decision on what to do was divided with some of the contingents advising to pull back out of the pass, with the others wanting to stand their ground. In the end those wanting to flee, left the pass with many making their way back to their respective cities. Leonidas and his 300 Spartans remained though with the other contingents that had argued to stay put. The defenders were now in a more dire position as their numbers had been severally reduced and moral would have surely taken a hit. Seeing this Leonidas decided to send all the remaining contingents away except his own, he likely saw that given their current state their moral would not hold up to continued attacks from the Persians. He and his Spartans stayed to provide a rear guard against the Persians, helping cement the Spartans reputation for standing their ground, as the rest of the Greeks left. Perhaps also, the oracle given to the Spartans was in his mind and surly the Spartans would be eventually overrun, with Leonidas death securing the safety of Sparta. All up there were at least 1400 men left in the pass, Leonidas would not allow the Thebans to leave and the Thespians refused to abandon the Spartans. It is unclear if the other Lacedemonians and Perioci remained, if so, this would have seen over 2000 in the pass. Further to this we know that Helots had also accompanied the Spartans, who assisted them during the campaign, but it is unclear if they also took up arms in this last battle. With some accounts hinting that they may well have. So, as we can see this become a little more than the last stand of the 300 as depicted by Hollywood.

The Final battle

Xerxes didn’t send his forces into the pass right away on the third day, he allowed enough time for the outflanking force to come down from the mountains behind the Greek positions. Once enough time had passed, he sent in his troops for a final attack. This time though the Greeks did not hold the narrow gate, but came out much further where they could form up in greater numbers while also avoiding for the moment the Persians in their rear. The Persians came on at the Greeks who met their advance. The Greeks knowing that their fate was sealed, fought with great tenacity and many of the Persians were pushed from the cliffs into the sea, while others were trampled in the melee. Herodotus paints a picture of the carnage in his writing to where the number of fallen were so great that it was impossible to count. As the struggle dragged on the spears of the Greeks were breaking and most were now fighting with the butt spike from the broken spear or their short swords. At this stage the Greeks had lost their major advantage over the Persians and were now fighting more like the times of past, picking out an individual enemy to engage. More of the Greeks were now starting to fall without the protection of their shield wall and the reach advantage of their spears. During the confused melee, King Leonidas is reported to have fallen and those seeing this rallied around his body to prevent the Persians carrying it off. The struggle was desperate, echoing some of the scenes from the Iliad. The Greeks managed to fight off the Persians on four occasions before they were able to rescue Leonidas body and drag him back from the thick of the fighting. 

With many of the Greeks having now fallen and the Immortals now getting into position in the rear after descending the mountains, a call went out to fall back into the pass. Here the surviving Spartans and Thespians took up separate positions on small hills and prepared for their last stand. The Thebans are supposed to have surrendered to the Persians as the rest of the Greeks fell back. The Persians continued to come on into the pass, charging at the compact body of Greeks, who were now defending themselves with what ever they had left, we are told some were fighting with their hands and teeth. Many would have fallen on both sides with the continued melee, now also coming from their rear. It is unclear exactly how the last phase of the battle played out but from what we have it seems once Xerxes or the commanders up front were aware of the Greeks situation, they called back their troops to prevent further needless casualties. The Greeks now left stranded on their small mountain islands surrounded by the Persians were completely defenceless as the Persian arches prepared to deal with the last stand. Days earlier a Spartan solider had been told that the Persian archers were so numerous that their arrows would block out the sun. He is then meant to have replied “good we shall have our battle in the shade”. Under a hail of arrows from their front and rear the Greek defenders of the pass were wiped out, falling where they stood. After 3 long days of fighting and 7 days in camp, Xerxes was finally in control of the pass. 

Off of the coast of Thermopylae was a man named Abronichus who was in command of a small 30 oared scout ship. He had witnessed the action up in the pass over the last few days. It was his job to maintain a line of communication with the Greeks at Thermopylae and the fleet at Artemisium. Now having seen the demise of the Greeks at the pass he ordered that his crew now make their way to the Greek fleet to pass on what had unfolded on land.  

Xerxes, now that the fighting was over took a tour of the battlefield. There were bodies strewn all the way from the opening of the pass to deep within. Along the tour a corps was pointed out to Xerxes, this was the fallen King Leonidas who had been the man behind the week long halt his army way forced to take. The Persian rulers had a reputation for treating fairly, their defeated enemies, especially those who distinguished themselves in war. Xerxes though, allowed his anger and frustration get the better of him he ordered that Leonidas’ head be cut off and placed on a stake for all to see.

The battle of Thermopylae has been popularised in our times as the last stand of the 300, granted Herodotus account focuses mainly on Leonidas and his 300 Spartans but he doesn’t hide the fact that there were over 6000 other Greeks present, and perhaps unto as many as 2000 at the final days battle. Our popular culture seems to have ignored or pushed aside those parts of his account. Though technically there were only 299 or maybe 298 Spartans that were part of the last stand. Herodotus tells us of 2 Spartans who were sent from the pass, either to recover from an eye infection or to carry a message, perhaps to seek those reinforcement rather sooner than later. What ever the reason one of the Spartans was able to return to the pass to take part in the battle while the other did not. Either he returned to Sparta due to his infection, while his partner chose to join the men at the pass. Or on his return journey after delivering the message, he was in no rush to get back to the pass although his partner was able to make it back. This Spartans name was Aristodemus and he would be ostracised, not in the same sense as Athenian ostracism but outraised socially within Spartan life. For a Spartan this would have been the ultimate shame, but we will meet Aristodemus again in our Episode on the battle of Platea, where he would be desperate to regain his honour.

We also hear of another Spartan who would not be present at the final stand in a story that Herodotus had heard. Pantites was supposed to have been sent on a mission into Thessaly to deliver a message but would fail to return in time to the pass before all of his fellow Spartans were wiped out on the third day of battle. He had returned to Sparta where he would also be labelled a trembler and shunned by his people. Eventually the shame and dishonour would take its toll for not having died with his King and comrades and he would hang himself. 

Conclusion:

The pass at Thermopylae had fallen and although, much to Xerxes frustration it had taken him a week to clear the pass. It had fallen much sooner than the Greeks had hoped for as they had not had the required time for the current festivals in progress to run their course and allow for the forming of a larger army to march out and meet the Persians. Though the Greek sacrifice would not all be in vain, as their stand there would quickly become legend and an idea that many others would rally around to defend Greece. Eventually the fallen at the pass were buried where they had been killed, it seemed the Persians left them where they lay to rot. Over the burial site of the Spartans was the epitaph composed by Simonides  “Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie.” 

But for now, the path into the heart of Greece was open, no other armies stood in their way. Although they would be able to ravage the country side for now, the Persians needed to link back up with their fleet to sustain their invasion. The fleet though, had its own obstacles to overcome. During the week that Xerxes and his forces were at the pass of Thermopylae the Persian fleet was contending with Mother Nature as well as a Greek naval force at Artemisium. 

In our next episode though before we move on to see the events at Artemisium, I want to stick with Thermopylae. This time though, I am going to look at the 2006 movie, 300 directed by Zack Snyder. After some conversations with other podcasters and friends I felt like focusing on this movie might be some benefit, as for a lot of people it is their main connection to Greek history. So I hope I can show if and how accurate the movie is to those with a limited understanding of the history. But like wise, in the process, also show to those who perhaps dismiss the movie out of hand, due to some fanciful elements, the actual historical connections that are there in the movie. My focus will be on the movie 300 but will also be keeping in mind the graphic novel that inspired the film by Frank Miller. I will then be comparing it against the ancient Greek sources that we have of the battle today, with the main focuses on Herodotus and Plutarch. Instead of going through the entire movie I wanted to focus on certain topics and themes throughout the movie. This I had put out to my listeners and asked what they would like to see explored. The episode has been driven and written based around what people wanted to see discussed. so I hope you will enjoy our look at Hollywood meets the historians of ancient times.  

Once we have finished with our look at 300 we will then head back to our narrative and switch our focus to the same point in time as the battle of Thermopylae, but we will be looking at the events that were taking place at sea. The invasion had two main elements to it, the land force who as we have seen, now had access into Greece. Though the navy was also essential to the campaign and needed to eliminate the Greek fleet so as to continue their advance. A little further north around the coast from Thermopylae a Greek fleet had stationed themselves at a place called Artemisium where they would challenge the Persian fleets advance.

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I hope you can join me next time for episode 21, 300 Against the Sources.