The Battle of Thermopylae Was a warlike confrontation that took place in the first half of the fifth century BC. Between the Persians and the Greeks.
This struggle between the Persian Empire, led by the king Xerxes I , And a coalition of Greek city-states with the King Leonidas I From Sparta to the head, gave what the historians call the Second Medical War, or the second failed invasion of the Persian Empire to Greece.
Léonidas aux Thermopyles. Jacques-Louis David.
It is known as one of the most famous defensive military strategies in history. The Greeks, despite having been overwhelmingly outnumbered, managed to delay the advance of the Persian army by 7 days (4 of waiting and the last 3 of fighting).
This was achieved thanks to its location. They blocked a narrow mountain pass with ravines and cliffs leading into the sea.
The Strait of Thermopylae was the only possible way where Xerxes could cross his numerous troops to invade Greece. Its main objective was to destroy the city of Athens, as revenge delayed by the defeat of his father the king Darío I In the battle of Marathon.
On the third day of battle, the Persians succeeded in ending the Greeks and controlled the passage, but they suffered large and disproportionate losses of men compared to the Greeks.
A resident of the neighborhood, called Efialtes, betrayed the locals by revealing to Xerxes the existence of a small path leading directly behind the Greek forces. Leonidas, being surrounded, dispatched to the majority of its troops, being left with a very reduced body of combatants, which included to its famous 300 spartan warriors.
Background of the Battle of Thermopylae
In the mid-sixth century BC, the expansion of the Greek peoples reached the territories of Asia Minor. This led them to meet the Persian empire under the command of Cyrus the Great .
The collision between these two worlds began when King Cyrus conquered the region of Ionia that was inhabited by the Greeks.
It was difficult for the Persians to keep these territories full of free thinkers in check. They designated tyrannical leaders to keep up with constant revolts, but this cultural aspect proved to be the center of many problems between Greeks and Persians.
By the beginning of the fifth century, Ionia rebels against Persian control, now under the reign of Darius, succeeding in adding more Greek territories of Asia smaller than its cause.
They even managed to get support from mainland Greece, specifically from the city of Athens. According Herodotus , This fact marked the life of Darius, who swore to take revenge against the Athenians for daring to support his subjects in the rebellion.
The Persians managed to placate the uprisings and began their expansion to directly invade Greece in 492 BC. With a great army, beginning the First Medical War.
This campaign would culminate with the Persian defeat in another famous battle, that of Marathon, where the Greeks of Athens completely prevented the invasion.
Darius withdrew his troops to Asia and began to knead a new and much larger army to confront the Greeks. But it would not be him, but his son Xerxes who would inherit the responsibility of the empire and the large number of troops available for vengeance against the Athenians. Darío dies in 486 BC.
The political-cultural clash of 2 worlds
For the Greeks, the Persians were culturally inferior, effeminate, lovers of luxuries and incomparable to Greek manliness. They were considered a threat to their orderly way of life, innovative in the arts, literature, philosophy and thought detached from religion.
The Greeks had already overcome the idea that kings were figures associated with their divinities and were beginning to experience the concept of political freedom.
There was no concept of Greece as a unified nation. The territory was divided into city-states that enjoyed political autonomy, but they were in constant war between them by rivalries and resources.
Even so, when threats of foreign invasions occurred, the alliance of these peoples was normal to defend themselves against the common enemy, although sometimes they could agree to take time. At that time the largest and most influential cities were Athens and Sparta.
On the other hand, the Persians under one leadership had the strength and resources to launch major military campaigns of conquest and subdue whole societies without any effort.
Each village, or was submitted to join the empire or was razed without trace. Those who agreed to join lost all autonomy and were forced to join the army. Xerxes used to call him the emperor king of kings.
For the Greeks, Persia represented an ancient order where the belief in magic existed. Knowledge was guarded jealously by priests and by kings, idolized as gods. Even his highest subjects in the hierarchy were considered slaves.
In this context, some historians have used these differences to analyze how the personality of a despicable and arrogant king was put to the test against the courage and training of a group of extraordinary warriors.
The Road to Thermopylae
Xerxes decided to invade Greece by the north, being transported as much by land as by sea. His mobilization led him to expand the empire across Europe by taking a couple of peoples along the way, including Thessaly, who capitulated to the Persian demands.
The revelation of the immense size of the army of Xerxes made the news spread throughout Greece that was engulfed in fear.
Ancient historians spoke of millions of men, but in modernity the most accepted number is around 300,000 men and 1,000 ships. Even so, under modern estimates, that of the Persian army remains one of the largest military forces of antiquity.
After much discussion and commitment, an alliance of Greek city-states came to fruition. Accepting that they could not defend themselves by acting separately, they sent a united army of between 6,000 and 7,000 men with Leonidas of Sparta as leader of the campaign.
The troops were directed to the north of Athens to defend the passage of The Thermopilas by its geographical conditions. The mobilization of the Persian army from north to south would force him to pass his great numbers down that narrow strait.
At the same time, to ensure that Xerxes did not land more troops by sea, Athens appointed the general The theories To block the coastal strait of Artemisio, with about 200 ships. He had been preparing for this invasion by strengthening the Athenian fleet.
This strategy assured Leonidas that he was not going to have enemies in the rear and prepared to prepare to face the Persians in the Thermopylae.
The location taken by the Greeks was an excellent strategic decision to defend against the Persian advance. They had steep mountain bumps facing the sea, leaving a narrow, marshy area along the coast.
In addition, the Photius (from the Greek region of Phocis) had fortified the passage by building a wall that made a much narrower strait called"hot gates". The passage had a width of approximately 100 meters at most.
Military strategy
The narrowness of the passage nullified the numerical superiority of the Persians, forcing them to mobilize in small groups. This allowed the Greeks to counter the Persian advance with their reduced numbers of men in close fighting and closed defensive formations.
In addition, Xerxes could not launch his famous waves of Persian cavalry in such a narrow terrain. Optaro N for launching assaults at a distance with archers and then sending waves of cavalry along the flanks.
Instead, the Greek infantry were trained and equipped with heavy armor to contend with in their famous closed formation called the phalanx. Sealing shoulder to shoulder and wearing heavy bronze shields on the front they fought with long spears and swords.
The Persian infantry were light and their shields of little resistant materials did not protect at all. They were armed with daggers or axes, a short spear and a bow. The best prepared body of the Persian army were the so-called immortals. An elite force of 10,000 men.
The attacks of thousands of Persian arrows that darkened the sky, did not imply greater problem for the bronze armor of the Greeks.
In close combat, the upper armor, longer spears, heavier swords, and the military discipline of the phalanx meant the full Greek advantage in the narrow passage of the Thermopylae. Persian numerical superiority was not noticed.
The only weakness of the strategy was that they could be taken by the rear. There was a small alternative path called the Anopea path, parallel to the mountains that led just to the southern end of the path of Las Thermopylae.
This trail was only known by locals. Even so, Leonidas positioned 1,000 foci to protect this step.
Development of the battle according to Herodotus
Leonidas chose only 300 Spartan warriors from his royal guard and led them to the battle, followed by another 6,000 soldiers from other allied cities.
The fame of the Spartans as warriors trained from birth kept the morale of the Greeks. The leadership of his king was recognized throughout Greece. When they reached the passage, they strengthened the Phoenician wall and prepared for battle.
A Persian emissary was sent to explore the land and Greek forces. He reported to Xerxes that the Spartans, a very small number, were working out naked and trimming their hair comfortably.
Xerxes was amused by this, but they advised him not to underestimate the Spartans, since they were the bravest warriors of Greece and had as tradition to arrange the hair before the war.
Another emissary was sent to offer to the Greeks that they surrender their arms, to which Leonidas responded"come by them".
In the distance, the Greeks could see the great Persian army encamped, encompassing the entire beach. But nothing made them move from the Strait of Las Thermopylae. Xerxes waited several days for the Greeks simply to withdraw overwhelmed by the large number of Persian troops.
By the fifth day, August 17, 480 BC, Xerxes had already lost his patience and sent his first waves with instructions to capture the living Greeks. Despite having more soldiers, the Persian attack was futile.
The Greek armor and shield protected the hoplites from the lower arms and their discipline, specialized training and organization allowed them to handle the numbers.
The Persian army was neither trained nor equipped for hand-to-hand combat and its greatest advantages, arrows, cavalry and manpower, could not be effectively used.
The next wave of the Persian army were the famous immortals. The troop of 10,000 elite soldiers, who probably had better armor. But it was nothing that the Greek phalanx could not solve.
Appearing a disorganized retreat, the Greeks surprised the Persians by pursuing them and rapidly turning into phalange formation. Thus the first and second day of battle took place. The Spartan leadership of the Greek forces held high the courage of the allies.
It was then that a local inhabitant, Ephialtes, revealed to Xerxes the location of the small path of the Anopea, waiting for compensation. The path allowed the Persians to take the Greeks by the south side of the strait.
The Photian troops parked by Leonidas on the path, took a superior position when the immortals attacked them. This allowed the Persian troops to continue through the mountains and reach the Greek rear.
When Leonidas learned of the loss of advantage, he let most of his allies go but decided to stay to fight to the end.
Only 700 thespians, 400 Thebans and the survivors of his 300 Spartan warriors remained with him. Attacked on both sides, the phalanx was ineffective. The Greeks fought to the end and there they died.
Hitherto, Herodotus' account is historically reliable, since none of the Greeks at that final meeting lived to tell what had happened.
He continued the story under the hypothesis that Leonidas, having consulted the oracle of Delphi previously, knew that he had two options if he went to war against the Persians: his death in battle or the destruction of his people. Here is the element of the honorable sacrifice for saving Greece from Persian rule.
Other historians offer the hypothesis that the Greeks sought to retreat, but met the Persians in the rear and could not escape being trapped in the strait. In the same way, the campaign paid off. The Persians won the battle, but failed to conquer Greece.
It is known that Xerxes, after raining thousands of arrows on the remaining Greeks, in his anger demanded to separate the head of Leonidas and nail it in a stake. He also urged to bury the bodies of the Greeks to hide the low number of men who held them for so long.
Both the Battle of Thermopylae and that of the Artemisian sea strait gave the remaining Greek city-states time to set aside their differences and unite in a military force sufficient to confront and repel the Persian invasion.
The historical value of the battle transcended its meaning beyond the obvious Greek military cunning. This confrontation is considered by many as a triumph of freedom and inspiration of courage under totally unfavorable odds.
The Battle of Thermopylae in the Cultural Tradition
Most of the sources that speak of this battle are quite consistent with the events. The first of these sources comes directly from the hand of the"father of history,"Herodotus, who narrated this battle in one of his books.
From here they have derived oral legends, novels, illustrated comic books and even films that have helped to elevate the confrontation to a mythical and even fantastic character.
However, modern historians have researched and debated some of the events and data exposed by Herodotus himself trying to bring them closer to reality.
The Battle of Thermopylae has been used as an example throughout history to compare political ideologies and forms of government and dichotomous cultural elements between east and west.
It has also been used for the study of military tactics under unfavorable odds and to discuss the struggle for freedom, patriotism, courage and honor, as well as to speak of self-sacrifice for the common good.
References
- Mark Cartwright. Thermopylae, Ancient History Encyclopedia. (April 16, 2013). Retrieved from ancient.eu.
- David Frye. Greco-Persian wars: Battle of Thermopylae. (January / February 2006 issue). Military HistoryWorld History Group. Retrieved from historynet.com.
- Battle of Thermopylae. (April 01, 2009). Encyclopedia Britannica, inc. Editors. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from britannica.com.
- Jona Lendering. Thermopylae: the Metamorphoses of a Myth. (2007. Revision: March 11, 2007). Recovered from Livius.org.
- Kelly Hennoch. Eastern Mediterranean, The Battle of the Thermopylae, 480 BC. (November 17, 2007). The History Files. Kessler Associates. Retrieved from historyfiles.co.uk.
- David Padrusch, Matt Koed. Last Stand of the 300, T.V. Documentary. (2007). History Channel.
- Battle of Thermopylae. (2016, May 20) New World Encyclopedia. Contributors. Retrieved from newworldencyclopedia.org.
- The Battle of Thermopylae: Spartans vs Persians. The British Museum staff Rooms. Retrieved from ancientgreece.co.uk.