September ?, 480 BC
Central Greece
Corinthian League vs. Persia
- Battle Description
- Site Overview
- The Plain
- The Hills
- The Mountains
- The Monument
- Conclusions
- Following the Persian Wars
Battle Description
Around 480 BC, King Xerxes decided it was time to finish off the arrogant Greek city-states that dared to oppose Persian will by decades. He built up a huge invasion army and fleet and crossed the Bosphorus strait and the Hellespont using barge bridges.
Considering the extensive preparations made, Xerxes' plan was probably to conduct a slow and methodic "construction offensive", building up his supply network and securing the rear areas before advancing.
Greece was better prepared than 10 years before; a strong coalition of 30 cities formed, with the bulk of the army and navy supplied by Sparta and Athens respectively.
The Greeks had different ideas about how and where to meet
the Persian foe.
In the end, the Spartan king Leonidas deployed a 10,000 men army at Thermopylae,
while the League navy blocked the straits to the North. The access to
Central Greece was blocked.
Around mid-September, Xerses reached the Greek army and navy and attacked. In the following 3 days, two battles actually took place. The well-known, celebrated land battle of Thermopylae and the more obscure naval battle of Artemisium. Both lasted 3 days.
In the naval battle of Artemisium, the Greek navy denied passage to the Persians, inflicting them heavy losses. After that, the League navy protected the Spartans' flank for the whole battle, retreating only after Leonida's army was defeated.
In the land battle of Thermopylae, things went well for the Spartans during the first two days; Xerses' attacks were all repulsed with heavy losses for the Persians. But during the third day, the Persian army found a mountain trail that outflanked the Greek positions.
Leonidas learned that he was going to be encircled and ordered his army to retreat South. He kept 300 Spartans and 1100 Beotians with him, to stall the enemy and allow the rest of the army to escape.
The real battle ended here, but what will become one the most heroic episodes of all history was just starting.
After completing the encirclement of Greek positions, the Persian commander demanded Leonidas the surrender of arms; the Spartan King simply answered "come and get them". After that, Leonidas told his men to "have a good breakfast, since dinner will be served in hell".
Finally, the Persian attacked the surrounded Greeks. Leonidas and the Spartans were slaughtered after an heroic resistance and became a legend.
Site Overview
I visited Thermopylae In February, 2001. Reaching the site from Athens is easy; move North on A1 and after 50 - 60 kilometers you'll see on your right a 10 meters-high statue of Leonidas. You're right on battlefield.
The first sight of Thermopylae was quite shocking for me; after so much reading about the "narrow pass" and the "Spartan wall", I expected something like a tiny passage between huge mountains.
Actually, Thermopylae is a small plain delimited by Aegean Sea to the North and by rocky mountains to the South. Even today, this is the only decent route from Northern to Central Greece, as it is proved by the road passing right through it.
 The Bay, from the Spartan Hill |
 The Sea, from the Spartan Hill |
The Plain
The plain is now 2-3 kilometers wide, compared to the maybe 400 - 500 meters of 480 BC.
Leonidas had 10,000 troops with him, so defending a 500 meters front was quite easy; he was probably able to deploy his hoplites in a 10-20 men deep formation, a formation that no Persian attack could break.
 The Plain, from the Spartan Hill |
 The Pass itself, from the Spartan Hill |
There's little vegetation in the plain, probably not enough to disrupt a determined cavalry charge, but there's not enough space to maneuver.
The only tactical option for the Persian commander was a frontal attack against a well formed phalanx of the best Greek troops available, not exactly a good idea particularly after the Marathon experience only 10 years before.
The Hills
On the Spartan left flank, some low hills covered with bushes offered additional protection to the defenders. According to the tradition, these hills are where Leonidas and his 300 Spartan hoplites had their last resistance; this is confirmed by the discovery, in modern times, of huge amounts of Persian arrows in the area.
 The Terrain around the Spartan Hill |
 Plaque on top of Spartan Hill |
Climbing on the hills, I had a surprise. On the top of the highest hill I found a small plaque with a Greek inscription dedicated to the Spartan king, and someone dropped there a bouquet of flowers, still fresh.
Fresh flowers. Twenty five centuries after the battle. I almost bursted into tears.
The Mountains
Further West, steep rocky mountains cover the left flank of the Greeks. No organized combat at all is possible there.
There are no visible passages starting here, so the Persians probably had to send recon groups a few kilometers back in order to find the trail that finally allowed them to outflank the Greek position.
 The Mountains |
 The Monument |
 The Monument, close-up |
|
The Monument
On the
South side of the roadway, a monument depicting
Leonidas celebrates the battle.
The monument can't be defined a masterpiece, but
it's worth a look.
Conclusions
This site is a good example of the difference between the reading about a battlesite and seeing it with your own eyes. Thermopylae is always described as a "pass", a "mountain pass" or a "narrow pass". Well, Thermopylae is a beach, with mountains enclosing it to the South.
That said, the place is perfect for a stiff defense against a numerical superior enemy. All you have to do is to block the passage and the terrain will do the rest. Of curse, as Leonidas discovered, this implies that if the enemy finds a way to outflank your position, you're trapped.
Following the Persian Wars
You'll find all the information in the Following the Persian Wars page.
