The Battle of Thermopylae is the art of military strategy, as well as an indicator of courage and bravery. Several hundred Spartans showed this courage; now we know that the Battle of Thermopylae greatest event V military history. This was the period of the Greco-Persian wars, which often happened in ancient times. The Battle of Thermopylae is a heroic feat of the Spartans, who sought to prevent the Persians from entering Greek territory.
For two whole days, a small army held back the attacks of the Persian army. This story is very well known now, there are many works written about it, and films are also made. But how the battle at Thermopylae actually took place, we will try to understand in this article. The story itself was truly heroic, let’s try to tell about it without embellishment and artistic fiction.
Background to the Battle of Thermopylae
480 is the period of the second stage of the Greco-Persian Wars. In 490, the Persians lost the Battle of Marathon. After this, they carefully began to prepare for new attacks from the Persians. By 480, King Xerxes of Persia gathered a huge army and moved towards Greece. His army included not only Persians, but also warriors from lands subject to the Persians and some other armies of Greek territories who betrayed their homeland.
The Persians themselves were primarily interested in the new battle. They wanted to avenge the humiliating defeat at the Battle of Marathon. In addition, they sought to finally subjugate Hellas and Athens, gain a foothold on the Balkan Peninsula and introduce their system of government there.
The Greeks, in turn, also began to prepare for a future clash. In 480 they began to pursue an active diplomatic policy. In Athens, at a general Greek congress, tactics for fighting the Persians were developed. The main ones here were two large states of Greece - Sparta and Athens. They were the ones who planned everything further development events on the part of the Greek city-states.
Interestingly, the relationship between Sparta and Athens was not friendly. At this congress they also argued constantly. During the battle, both Sparta and Athens hoped to take hegemony over the command of the army, but their rivals resisted. The choice of army leaders depended on the rest of the city-states of Greece. Sparta managed to win over some cities to its side and thus they were elected commanders. Together with the Peloponnese, they formed the Peloponnesian League, after which they won the elections.
Greek tactics at the Battle of Thermopylae
The tactics of the Greeks was the location where they were going to meet the Persians. Several options were considered. You could meet them at the borders of Greece, you could launch them into the territory. Hellas. Sparta offered its own option, which turned out to be the most profitable. The Spartans proposed to meet the Persians in a narrow passage between Thessaly and central Greece called Thermopylae. This was very beneficial for the Greeks. The Persians, due to the narrowness of the passage, would have been forced to pass with the whole army very for a long time. It was here that Sparta offered to attack them and give them battle.
The Persians, heading to Greece, had no doubt about their victory. Their army was strong and very numerous. In addition, the army was led by great commander and the king of kings, Xerxes I. Ancient sources describe Xerxes as a lethargic person who was subject to the influence of others. But at the same time he was very vain and self-confident. But eastern sources saw a completely different person in Xerxes. In their opinion, he was a wise statesman and an experienced military leader.
Whatever his true identity, it can easily be assumed that he was definitely interested in conquering Hellas. Before this, he conquered Egypt, eliminated local resistance and ended the existence of the Babylonian kingdom. From now on he was considered the king of these lands. He prepared very carefully and thoroughly for the battle with the Greeks.
But they didn't take into account where the Greeks were going to make their first attack on them. Indeed, the passage at Thermopylae was so narrow that it was difficult for the Persians to deploy the full power of their army there. The king of Sparta, Leonidas, proposed organizing the meeting in Thermopylae. But it was necessary that the Persians still refused to bypass the opening through the mountains. For this purpose, the mountain paths were blocked by detachments of Greeks, and fence towers were built there. That is, the Persians had nowhere else to go.
Before arriving at Thermopylae, the Persians traveled a long distance through the Helispont Strait (Dardanelles). It was a difficult test, the Persians crossed the strait for 7 days and nights, and there was a terrible storm. Several dozen Persian soldiers drowned and their ships were damaged. This angered Xerxes even more and he was eager to beat the Greeks in battle.
Beginning of the Battle of Thermopylae
King Leonidas decided to cover Thermopylae and it would provide worthy resistance to the Persians and subsequently defeat them. For this purpose, a detachment of 300 Spartans was created, they were also joined by 1000 ordinary villagers and 4000 allies of the Spartans from the Peloponnesian League. Such unity and a large number of Sparta's allies suggests that everyone was afraid of the seizure of Greek territory by the Persian power. If this happened, the Greeks would lose their freedoms and privileges in their policies. And this could not be allowed.
The number of Greeks in the opening of Thermopylae was significant, but in an open battle the Persians would have completely defeated them. But in relation to this area, the battle could be won. Thus, the Spartans developed successful battle tactics, which, as it turned out later, brought them resounding success. The Thermopylae Pass protected the road to Central Greece; by the way, it was the main road. So, by blocking it, the Greeks blocked the main route for the Persians to Attica and further to the Peloponnese.
Xerxes, being a famous commander and endowed with a strategic mind, understood the idea of the Greeks. Having seen the place at Thermopylae, it became clear that it would not be possible to simply pass here. Of course, it was possible to use the services of the mountaineers - these are local residents. However, not many wanted to show the Greeks bypass roads. Yes, it was difficult for the Persians to go to the mountains.
The Achaemenid king sends his negotiator to the Spartan camp, who invites the Greeks to surrender. At the same time, the ambassador emphasized that Leonidas and the rest of the Greeks did not need to resist the Persians. Since this will end badly for them in any case. To this Leonidas firmly said: if Xerxes wants to defeat us in battle, then let him come and smash us. The ambassador replied that the Spartans did not understand what they would have to face. If the Persians fired their arrows at once, they would darken the sun, to which the Greeks simply laughed. Well, so much the better, they are ready to fight in the dark. The ambassador returned to the Persians empty-handed.
Progress of the Battle of Thermopylae
After negotiations, Xerxes waited 4 days. He hoped that the Spartans would come to their senses and retreat. But that did not happen. Then the Persian king gave the command to start the battle. The Persians attacked immediately, and over the next 2 days the Spartans and their allies fought off the Persians. They managed to hold the passage to Thermopylae. Leonid relied on strict discipline in the army and it worked. The Spartans were divided into 4 squads and took turns attacking the Persians. It was very difficult for them to fight back, there was no free space, so the exits of these detachments were successful. The Persians suffered heavy losses.
Xerxes realized that it would not be possible to overcome the Thermopylae Gorge so quickly. Then he went a different way. The local residents of Thessaly were always against the Spartans, the king of the Persians found a man from among them who showed them a bypass route. Soon the entire Persian army began to break through the mountain paths to the rear. Leonid found out about this. He released the Spartan allies and ordered those who remained to repel the enemy. The Spartans themselves could have retreated, but they were raised from childhood that if you retreated, then you lost. They simply did not have the right to do this. They stayed. 300 Spartans took the battle against the Persian army, which was many times superior to them. Thus, Leonidas showed not only courage, but also prudently protected those who retreated. After all, if you do not delay the Persians, their cavalry will catch up with the Greeks and destroy them.
Herodotus noted the courage of the Greeks. Great historian in his work he wrote that the Greeks defended themselves with their arms and legs until the Persians buried them under arrows. It follows from this that all the defenders of Thermopylae died. They fought to the end, but never gave up their positions. Xerxes was angry at the heavy losses of his army, and he was also angry at the bravery of the Spartans. He ordered that Leonidas' body be found and his dead body crucified on the cross.
Significance of the Battle of Thermopylae
The Spartans accepted the battle with the Persians, but the outcome of the battle turned out to be fatal for them... Leonidas himself died, many Greeks died. But even those who gave battle to the Persians fought with dignity. The Spartans tried to stop the Persians at Thermopylae Gorge. A lot of them died. It played great importance in further battles for the Greeks.
The feat of the Spartans showed that the Greeks were capable of leading good fight with a superior army. He showed the courage of the Spartan spirit. He showed that the upbringing that the Spartans had in childhood made them real warriors. This battle became a good psychological tone for the Greeks in their further confrontation against the Persians.
The Battle of Thermopylae is a legendary battle in the Thermopylae Gorge of the Ancient Greeks and Persia in 480 BC. In an unequal battle, Persia under the command of Xerxes won. The Battle of Thermopylae is widely known thanks to the film "300 Spartans".
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Modern view of the Thermopylae Passage at the site of the battle (Fkerasar / wikimedia.org) The inscription on the monument to the Spartans who fell at Thermopylae: “Traveler, go tell our citizens in Lacedaemon that, keeping their covenants, here we died with our bones” (Rafal Slubowski, N. Pantelis/wikimedia.org)
More than two thousand years ago, one of the bloodiest and most brutal battles of the ancient period took place. The Battle of Thermopylae took place a decade after Darius sent his numerous ambassadors to all ancient Greek city-states. The date of the battle is September 480 BC.
The purpose of such “visits” was to impose Persian power and demand unhindered obedience to the Greek people. Almost all the provinces of Hellas agreed with the cries of the warlike envoys, who continually shouted “Land and water! Land and water!
The only inhabitants Ancient Greece Those who did not show humility were the population of Athens and Sparta. They killed those who came, throwing them into wells, offering to find there everything they needed: both water and land.
Such actions served as the impetus for the Persian king to set out on a campaign. However, in the Battle of Marathon, Darius’s army was defeated, and only after his death, the king’s son Xerxes took over the command of the Persians.
The Persian Empire could be called truly immense. At that time, many different nationalities lived on its territory, from whose representatives an army of shocking numbers was assembled within the framework of that time. A powerful fleet was equipped to conquer southern Greece.
Persian warriors from the guard of the “immortals” (mshamma / flickr.com)
In turn, the Greeks also did not sit idly by. At the national meetings, Themistocles’ proposal was adopted to repel the invaders in a place that would create the greatest obstacle to the enemy army’s approach to the Greek city-states. The Thermopylae Gorge is what we were talking about, because it is truly a strategically important passage. However, to win, the Hellenes also needed to gather a considerable army in order to adequately confront their opponent.
The Greeks failed to achieve this. According to historians, the forces were not only unequal, but the Persians outnumbered their opponents several dozen times. The fighting Hellenes numbered from 5,000 to 7,000 people (data in sources differ). As for the attacking side, its number was more than 200 thousand soldiers.
Looking ahead, it is worth mentioning the amazing fortitude of the Greeks. Despite them small number in the first days of the battle they successfully resisted the enemy. However, by the last, third day of the battle, many defenders began to fear encirclement and left the battlefield. Until the end, without betraying native land and defending their families, about half a thousand fighters remained, among whom were the Spartans, Thebans and Thespians. The betrayal of fellow warriors played a decisive role in the victory, which went to the numerical advantage of the Persian army.
The significance of the Battle of Thermopylae - the reason for the hostility of the Persians
The desire for revenge of the Persian King Darius became the decisive factor in the decision to attack Greece. The whole point is that some so-called city-states in Greece assisted the polis of Ionia in a large-scale uprising against the power of this young king.
A significant addition to everything can be considered the fact that during the period of his reign, Persia was a developing state that regularly experienced protests from conquered peoples. The inhabitants of Athens and Eretria were among the popular resistance against the enslaving Persians. In one of these popular uprisings, the Ionian militia, with the support of the Athenians, managed to destroy the Persian capital of Sardis. Darius was going to answer for the burned city in the same way.
In addition, the reckless Persian emperor could not help but notice the fragmentation of the Greek city-states.
Internecine battles, one way or another, weakened the external resistance of state borders.
Therefore, the military campaign against Thrace under the command of the Persian commander Mardonius that preceded the battle of Thermopylae opened direct access to Greek territory.
Moreover, the Macedonians, neighboring the Thracians, surrendered without a battle and immediately recognized the power of Darius. Thus, unhindered passage to the land of the Hellenes was prepared for the Persian ground forces.
At the end of the 5th Century BC, the Persian king sent his representatives to many still independent Greek city-states in order to force the local population to submit and recognize the power of the Achaemenids. However, Sparta and Athens became the only city-states of Ancient Greece that could not accept the humiliating demands of their enslavers. The remaining provinces unconditionally agreed with the new government.
During the same period, a powerful Persian fleet headed to Athens, commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. On their way they destroyed Eretria.
Having landed on the territory of Attica, the Persian troops were completely defeated by the Greeks and Plataeans in the Battle of Marathon.
This failure made Darius's desire for revenge even more unrestrained. He began to gather incredible troops to conquer all of Greece, without exception. However, the main obstacle in his plans was the Egyptian uprising in 486 BC. In addition, Darius soon died, and Xerxes, who was distinguished by unprecedented masculinity and belligerence, became the heir to the imperial throne. His goal was to continue his father's work. Therefore, as soon as he assumed office, he first of all suppressed the uprising of the Egyptians, after which he began to prepare for the next Greek campaign.
Some notes by Herodotus have survived to this day, confirming the internationality of the Persian army. It turns out that it included the indigenous inhabitants, Medes, Libyans, Arabs, Ethiopians, Syrians and many other nationalities.
How did the Greeks prepare for battle?
It cannot be said that the Greeks sat idly by and waited for hundreds of thousands of Persians to attack them. They were also seriously preparing for the upcoming battle.
In 482 BC. e. The important statesman and strategist Themistocles, having decided to create a fleet for the war with the enemy, made every possible effort to strengthen the defense capability of his state. However, the inhabitants of Athens did not have a strong enough ground army, developed at the proper level and capable of fighting the Persians on an equal basis.
For such an unequal battle it was necessary to attract the forces of warriors from all Greek city-states. Only then did they have a chance to defeat Xerxes' army. After the famous demand for “land and water,” a national meeting was held in Attic Corinth, at which, in the face of a common state danger, it was decided to stop civil strife and conclude an Alliance between the heads of individual city-states.
Also, missions and embassies were sent from Athens to distant Greek colonies asking for assistance. It was quite difficult to carry out the decision of the general Greek assembly, since the fragmentation of the ancient Greeks and their hostility still remained at a high level.
Map of troop movements during the Greco-Persian Wars (
Disagreements among Greek rulers
Therefore, the conciliatory plan had to be abandoned. Soon, Themistocles developed another action plan to save the state from the invaders. A new battle site convenient for the Greeks was chosen - the Thermopylae Gorge.
Since the route to the south of Greece (Attica, Boeotia, Peloponnese) passed through it, the Greek army was given the opportunity to prepare in advance and hold superior enemy forces during the main battle. However, in order to prevent the probable bypass of the gorge by the Persians from the sea, the main insurance in this regard were the Athenian ships and squadrons of the Greek allies. Their task was to control the strait between mainland Greece and the island of Euboea.
Looking ahead a little, it is worth noting that at the same time as the Battle of Fermopilae, the Battle of Artemisium took place in this sea area.
The second option for preparing for battle was agreed upon with the People's Congress. Although, among those present there were those who disagreed with this choice.
For example, representatives of the Peloponnesian city-states believed that it would be more correct to direct all defensive forces to the defense of the Corinthian isthmus, which connected the mainland and the Peloponnesian Peninsula. An important part of the strategy at this time was the planned evacuation of women and children to other, more distant cities from Athens.
This state of affairs was beneficial to the Greeks from the Peloponnese, but the Athenians could not accept such an offer. The defense of only the Corinthian isthmus, first of all, meant the unambiguous surrender of the capital to the enemy and the establishment of new government Xerxes. In this case, the Athenians would only have to sail with their surviving fleet to the shores of the Ancient Roman Empire.
The Greeks could not allow the Athenian soldiers to flee in search of a new place of residence, since if the Athenians had withdrawn from the war, the outcome of the battle for all of Ancient Greece would have been predetermined much earlier.
Depriving the majority of your naval military resources reduces to zero the likelihood of equal participation in the battle. In addition, this will provide the Persians with the opportunity to safely cross the sea and transfer their forces to the entire peninsula, thanks to which Xerxes’ army will be able to attack the Greek army without much difficulty.
Choosing a location for the decisive battle
Naturally, the main task of the Greeks was to prevent the advance of Xerxes’ army to ancient Hellas. The probability of a successful outcome of the battle was quite high, since, at first glance, it seemed that solving this strategic problem was quite possible.
Having marked a narrow passage on the map, they managed to position military forces in difficult to pass places. Thus, the Greeks could completely neutralize the numerical advantage of the Persian army.
At the same time, standing still was extremely disadvantageous for the enemy. To supply a huge amount food supply for hundreds of thousands of military personnel, it was necessary to move forward and occupy nearby territories.
A breakthrough through the Thermopylae Gorge at any cost could be a guarantee of a successful company.
The choice of the battle site was tactically absolutely correct and suited the Greeks perfectly. Close frontal combat provided the opportunity for the inhabitants of Hellas to defend themselves with heavy armor, which made it possible to be stronger than the lightly equipped enemy infantry, which by that time would have already spent energy on the long journey.
The Greeks feared the only weak point of this position. Not far from the gorge there was a mountain path along which it was possible to bypass the narrow passage. Despite the fact that it was impassable for the cavalry, the foot part of the army had the opportunity, without much difficulty, to go straight to the rear of the Greek militia.
Leonidas, the Spartan king who commanded the Greeks, knew about the existing path, and in order to prevent a possible threat, he sent about a thousand soldiers to defend it.
A dignified death for the Greek defenders
Having prepared in advance, the Greeks built a small barricade behind the gorge wall, which consisted of giant boulders. By mid-August, they discovered Xerxes' army of thousands on the coast of the Gulf of Mali near the entrance to Thermopylae.
Many warriors from the Peloponnese were overcome with fear when they saw the full might of the Persian army. In panic, they decided to leave the scene of the approaching battle and move to their native places to guard only their cordons. Moreover, the rest of the army did not like this treacherous proposal, because their families lived far from the Peloponnesian Peninsula.
The Spartan King Leonidas was able to make the final decision and ordered everyone who remained to hold their positions.
Immediately before the attack, an envoy was sent from Xerxes with an offer to surrender without a fight in exchange for freedom, the right to be called friends of the Persian people and to receive the best lands.
Leonidas rejected such a humiliating offer for all Hellenes, answering the messenger with the legendary phrase: “Come and take it.” The brave Greeks knew that a dignified death awaited them and took the battle far from the planned location of the main battle. Despite the massive death of the Persians and the amazing talent of the Greeks to fight, the defenders still could not turn the tide of history.
Data recorded by Herodotus in those days speak of 20 thousand dead Persian soldiers and 4000 Hellenes. Before last minute During the battle, only the Spartans remained on the Greek side, who were thrown with stones and shot with arrows. There were among them those who, having surrendered, chose lifelong slavery instead of death.
The Battle of Thermopylae was lost, and the path through the gorge was completely free for the Persians. Xerxes personally arrived to inspect the battlefield. Having discovered Leonid's body there, he ordered to brutally deal with him, cutting off his head and impaling him on a stake.
The fallen brave Greek warriors were interred on the same hill where their last and most important battle took place.
500-1400 hoplites on day 3
OK. 400 prisoners
Battle of Thermopylae(Greek Μάχη των Θερμοπυλών ) - battle in September 480 BC. e. during the Greco-Persian War 480-479. BC e. in the narrow gorge of Thermopylae, where a detachment of 300 Spartan hoplites died heroically, blocking the path of the Persian army of King Xerxes I.
The only reliable primary source about the feat of the 300 Spartans and on which later references are based is Book VII of Herodotus. Independently of Herodotus, the later author Ctesias of Cnidus told about the battle of Thermopylae from Persian sources. Perhaps the work of Ctesias (which came down in the form of fragments) was used by Diodorus in his description of the feat of the 300 Spartans. Other ancient sources convey an already established legend with the addition of fictitious details.
Background
The Greeks sent an army of up to 10 thousand hoplites to delay the Persians on the distant approaches to the Peloponnese. At first, the allied army wanted to hold Xerxes to northern border Thessaly with Macedonia, but then went to the Isthmus, an isthmus connecting the Peloponnese peninsula with the Balkans. However, in this case, many Greek cities on the mainland would be defenseless, and the army moved to Thermopylae, a narrow pass in the mountains from the region of Thessaly to Central Greece. At the same time, the Greek fleet became a barrier to the Persian flotilla at Cape Artemisia near Thermopylae.
Modern view of the Thermopylae Passage at the site of the battle. The coastline has moved far from the mountains.
Here is how Herodotus described the Thermopylae Passage:
“So, near the village of Alpena beyond Thermopylae there is a road for only one cart... In the west of Thermopylae there rises an inaccessible, steep and high mountain, stretching to Eta. In the east, the passage approaches directly to the sea and swamps... A wall was built in this gorge, and there once was a gate in it... The ancient wall was built in ancient times and from time to time for the most part has already collapsed. The Hellenes now decided to rebuild the wall and thus block the barbarian’s path to Hellas. There is a village there very close to the road called Alpena.”
Feat of the Spartans
Modern monument to Tsar Leonid
Of the 300 Spartans, only Aristodemus survived, who was left sick by Leonidas in the village of Alpena. Upon his return to Sparta, dishonor and disgrace awaited Aristodemus. No one spoke to him, they gave him the nickname Aristodemus the Coward. According to rumors, another Spartan named Pantitus survived, sent as a messenger to Thessaly. Upon returning to Lacedaemon (the region where Sparta was located), dishonor also awaited him, and he hanged himself.
Diodorus conveys last Stand 300 Spartans in legendary form. They allegedly attacked the Persian camp while it was still dark and killed many Persians, trying to hit Xerxes himself in the general confusion. Only when it was dawn did the Persians notice the small number of Leonidas’s detachment and pelt it with spears and arrows from a distance.
After the battle
Memorial epitaph (modern) at the site of the Battle of Thermopylae.
King Xerxes personally inspected the battlefield. Having found the body of Leonidas, he ordered his head to be cut off and impaled. According to Herodotus, up to 20 thousand Persians and 4 thousand Greeks, including Spartan helots, fell at Thermopylae.
The fallen Hellenes were buried on the same hill where they took their last battle. A stone was placed on the grave with the epitaph of the poet Simonides of Keos:
In the next 479 BC. e. The Persian army was completely defeated at the Battle of Plataea in Boeotia. In that battle, Aristodemus distinguished himself among the Spartans, the only survivor of the 300 warriors of King Leonidas. He fought like a madman, leaving the ranks, and accomplished great feats only because, as the Spartans themselves believed, he sought death because of his guilt.
Sparta announced a reward for the head of the traitor Ephialtes, son of Euridemus. He was then killed by a fellow tribesman in an argument. The remains of King Leonidas were reburied in Sparta 40 years after his death. Residents of the city, 600 years after the battle, already in Roman times, held annual competitions in honor of national hero. The names of all those who fell at Thermopylae were carved on the slab.
Other battles of Thermopylae
The following battles also took place at Thermopylae:
- In 279 BC e. The allied army of the Greeks stopped the Gallic invasion.
- In 191 BC e. here the Syrian king of the Macedonian dynasty, Antiochus III, was defeated by the Romans.
300 Spartans in cinema
Based on the legendary feat, 3 films were made in Hollywood:
- Three Hundred Spartans (film) - historical film of the year with elements of melodrama. Differs from the 2007 film in its relative historical accuracy (combined with the non-athletic figures of the Spartans).
- 300 (film) - film of the year, a film adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel, telling the story of the 300 Spartans in a fantasy treatment. It is a comic book film with stylized characters and low historical accuracy.
Leonidas is one of the most famous Spartan, and indeed ancient Greek kings. His fame is well deserved. Thanks to the feat accomplished at the Battle of Thermopylae, the name of this commander and statesman has survived centuries and is still a symbol of the highest patriotism, courage and sacrifice.
early years
Leonidas' father was Anaxandrides II, a Spartan king from the Agiad family who reigned from 560–520 BC. According to the historian Herodotus, King Anaxandrides was married to his brother’s daughter, who remained childless for a long time. So that the royal line would not be interrupted, the ephors advised the king to let go of his wife and take another. Anaxandrides, who loved his wife, replied that he could not offend his wife, who had not done anything wrong to him. Then the ephors allowed the king to keep his first wife, but at the same time take a second one, who could bear him children. So the king began to live in two families at the same time.
A year later, his second wife brought him a son, Cleomenes. Soon after this, Anaxandrides's first wife, previously considered barren, also became pregnant and gave birth to three sons one after another: Dorieus, and then the twins Leonidas and Cleombrotus. The king's second wife did not give birth again.
When Anaxandrides died in 520 BC. e., the Spartans faced the question of succession to the throne. Cleomenes was the eldest son of the king, but Doria, on the advice of one of his friends, declared that he was born from a first, as it were, more legitimate marriage, and therefore had more rights to power. The Spartans were divided into two camps, but ultimately Cleomenes' supporters won. In anger, Dorias left Sparta and sailed west. In 515 BC. e. he attempted to found a colony, first on the northern coast of Africa, and then in the west of Sicily, but the Carthaginians who ruled here expelled him each time. In a battle with them in 510 BC. e. Doria died.
Meanwhile, Cleomenes enlisted the help of his younger brothers. He married his daughter Gorgo to Leonid, which speaks, if not of friendship, then of at least about some kind of trust between them. Cleomenes was one of the most warlike and ambitious Spartan kings. He defeated Sparta's longtime rival Argos, subjugated Arcadian Tegea, and then united the city-states dependent on Sparta into the Peloponnesian League under its hegemony.
Panorama of modern Sparta. Mount Taygetos, which separated Laconia from neighboring Messenia, is visible in the background. In the foreground are the ruins of a Roman theater. The photo was taken from the hill on which the acropolis of Sparta was located
Moreover, unlike most Spartans, Cleomenes was extremely unprincipled in achieving his goals. So, in 491 BC. e. he managed to remove the second king Demaratus from power, accusing him of allegedly being illegitimate. Demaratus fled to the Persians, but this incident caused a big scandal in Sparta, during which some details of Cleomenes’ intrigues were revealed. Fearing the trial of the ephors that threatened him, Cleomenes left the city and settled in Arcadia. Here he began to incite the Spartan allies to revolt. In fear of him, the ephors agreed to forget about what had happened. In 487 BC. e. Cleomenes returned to Sparta, where he suddenly fell into madness and committed suicide.
Since Cleomenes had no sons of his own, he was succeeded by Leonidas. Among modern historians, this gave rise to speculation about Leonid’s involvement in the dark details of the death of his predecessor. However, it should be recognized that we do not have direct evidence of malicious intent. And the high reputation that Leonid enjoyed both during his life and especially after his death does not allow unfounded accusations to be brought against him.
Persian threat
Leonidas was king for 7 years, but he remained famous primarily for his role in the battle of Thermopylae. To move on to presenting the history of Xerxes’ campaign against Greece, a few words should be said about its background. The Greeks had a long-standing relationship with the Persian Achaemenid power. Ionian city-states west coast Asia Minor were subjects of King Darius and paid him tribute. In 499 BC. e. they raised an uprising, in which Athens and Eretria came to the aid of the Ionians. The Spartan king Cleomenes, who was also visited by Ionian ambassadors, showed caution in this matter.
Having suppressed the uprising, the Persians decided to punish the Greeks who helped the rebels. In 492 BC. e. the royal relative Mardonius with a large Persian army crossed to Thrace. A number of Greek communities: Thebes, Argos, Aegina - agreed to give the king “land and water” as a sign of recognition of his power over them. The Spartans not only refused to do this, but also killed the royal ambassadors, throwing them into the abyss and offering to find earth and water at the bottom.
Greek ambassador to the Persian king Darius. Painting of an antique vase, 5th century BC. e.
In 490 BC. e. A large Persian fleet arrived on the shores of Greece. The Persians destroyed Eretria on Euboea, sold its inhabitants into slavery, and then headed towards Attica. The Athenians turned to Sparta for help, and while they hesitated to set out on a campaign, they managed to defeat the uninvited guests themselves in the Battle of Marathon. The remnants of the Persian army boarded ships and sailed back to Asia. The Spartans, who were late for the battle, could only inspect the bodies of the barbarians and pay their respects to the Athenians. The Persian king was very saddened by what happened, but his plans for revenge were prevented by the uprising that broke out in Egypt, and in 486 BC. e. Darius died. His successor Xerxes was forced to pacify the rebel Egyptians and Babylonians throughout the years 486–483. Thus, the Greeks received a 10-year respite.
In 483 BC. e. Xerxes finally dealt with the rebels and finally began to prepare a great campaign against Greece. The army he assembled was huge and, according to Herodotus, numbered 1.7 million people. At sea she was accompanied by a huge fleet of 1,200 ships. According to modern researchers, figures from 80,000 to 200,000 warriors and from 400 to 600 ships look more realistic.
For two years these forces gathered in Sardis. Finally, with the onset of spring 480 BC. e., the Persian army set out on a campaign. By order of Xerxes, two pontoon bridges, each 1300 m long, were built across the Dardanelles. Using them, the Persian army continuously crossed to the European shore of the strait for 7 days.
At the news of the approach of Xerxes' army, the Greek city-states were gripped by horror. The Thessalians, Thebans and Boeotians hastened to express their submission to the king. Even the most authoritative oracle of Apollo at Delphi predicted defeat for his troops.
Greek plans for the defense of the country
Athens and Sparta led the resistance to the Persians. Back in the fall of 481 BC. e. A pan-Greek congress met in Corinth, whose participants united into the Hellenic Union to jointly fight the Persians and those Greeks who voluntarily came out on their side. Sparta was elected hegemon of the union by a majority of votes, as the most powerful state militarily.
When discussing defensive strategy among the allies, serious disagreements emerged. Sparta and the rest of the Peloponnesians proposed to strengthen the narrow Isthmus of Corinth with a wall and defend against the Persians here. This decision was hotly opposed by the Athenians and other allies, whose lands would inevitably be destroyed. After heated debates, the Greeks decided to take up defense in the Tempeian Gorge and in the spring of 480 BC. e. They sent there 10,000 soldiers under the command of the Spartan Evenet and the Athenian Themistocles.
Here disputes between the allies flared up again. The Spartans did not want to fight, having the Thessalians in their rear, among whom pro-Persian sentiments were strong. In addition, they pointed out, the Persians could penetrate into Thessaly by another, albeit difficult, road through Olympus, or even land from the sea south of the pass. After standing for some time in Tempe, the army returned before the Persians had time to arrive there.
Thermopylae, modern look from the altitude of an airplane. Sperheus sediments have greatly altered the coastline since antiquity; then the sea approached the very rocks, approximately to the line of the modern highway, leaving a passage, in the narrowest part no more than several meters wide
The second line of defense was the Thermopylae Gorge on the border between northern and central Greece. In this place high mountains came very close to the sea, leaving only a narrow seven-kilometer passage stretching between the mountain spur of Callidros and the southern marshy coast of the Gulf of Mali. At the same time, the Greek navy was supposed to station itself near Thermopylae, in the strait between the northern coast of Euboea and Cape Sepia, and thus cover the army from the sea. At the beginning of July, 200 Athenian ships commanded by Themistocles and 155 Peloponnesian ships under the command of Eurybiades arrived here.
But the forces sent by the Spartans to Thermopylae turned out to be much smaller than those expected here. The Spartans themselves sent only 300 warriors, another 1000 were from among the Perieci, the Arcadians sent slightly more than 2120 warriors, the Corinthians 400, the Phliuntians 200, the Mycenaeans 80. In total, the detachment numbered about 4000 hoplites. To give the matter more importance in the eyes of the Greeks, the Spartans placed King Leonidas at the head of their small detachment. The 300 Spartans accompanying him most likely belonged to the selected detachment of “horses” who made up the king’s retinue on the campaign.
When Leonidas and his army passed through Boeotia, 700 Thespian warriors voluntarily joined him; The Thebans, whose Persian way of thinking was well known, were forced to give him 400 of their warriors, practically as hostages of their loyalty. The Locrians and Phocians sent about 1,000 men. In total, Leonidas’s army, when he set up his camp at Thermopylae, consisted of 7,200 soldiers.
Head of a marble statue found in 1925 on the Acropolis of Sparta. The warrior is depicted in heroic nudity; for greater expressiveness, the eyes of the statue were made of glass. Not without reason, the statue is considered to be an image of Leonidas, in whose honor the Spartans erected a monumental complex on the acropolis
Initially, it was assumed that Leonid's advance detachment was only a vanguard, which would soon be followed by the main forces. The Greeks occupied the passage and restored the wall that once blocked it. However, the promised help never materialized. The Spartan authorities, in response to Leonid's requests to send reinforcements, stated that this was being hampered by the upcoming festival of Carnei (celebrated in September for 9 days) and promised that after its end they would immediately come to the rescue with all their forces. Until that moment, Leonid had to defend the passage alone.
Modern historians are divided on the sincerity of these promises. The Spartans in ancient times were known for their exceptional conservatism and respect for religious rituals. Any unfavorable omens could cause a delay, and similar cases occurred many times later. On the other hand, among the Spartans themselves and their allies, as stated earlier, there was no unanimity regarding where and how they should defend themselves from the enemy. Therefore, to the Athenians, the position of the Spartan authorities seemed only an attempt to stall for time and an attempt to preserve their main forces for the defense of the Peloponnese.
Defense of Thermopylae
Meanwhile, Leonidas encamped at Alpina and awaited the arrival of Xerxes. One local resident, telling the Hellenes about the large number of barbarians, added that “if the barbarians shoot their arrows, then the cloud of arrows will cause an eclipse of the sun.” In response, the Spartan Dienek joked lightheartedly:
“Our friend from Trachin brought great news: if the Medes darken the sun, then it will be possible to fight in the shadows.”
When the Persians arrived, seeing their numbers, the Greeks lost heart. Some called for a retreat, but the Phocians opposed this, and Leonidas himself and his Spartans remained firmly committed to holding their post to the end.
Xerxes, while still in Thessaly, heard that the Thermopylae Pass was occupied by a small detachment of Greeks, but he did not think that they would remain there when he approached. Having set up camp at Trakhin, he sent a spy to see how many Greeks there were and what they were doing. Returning, the spy told the king that he had seen an advanced post, where some soldiers were amusing themselves by running races with each other, while others were combing their hair. long hair. Xerxes found such an activity ridiculous for men, but Demaratus, the exiled king of the Spartans, who accompanied him on this campaign, said the following:
“These people have come here to fight us for this pass, and they are preparing for battle. This is their custom: every time they go to mortal combat, they decorate their heads. Know, king, if you defeat these people and those who remained in Sparta, then not a single people in the world will dare to raise a hand against you.”
Thermopylae, modern view. In ancient times coastline passed where the highway passes today. The opening view was taken from Kolonos Hill, where the final scenes of the battle took place
Before giving the order to march, Xerxes waited 4 days, and then sent the most combat-ready detachments of the Medes, Kissians and Sacas after the Persians themselves into the pass with the order to take the Greeks alive and bring them to him. At the beginning of the battle, the Greeks were asked to lay down their arms, to which Leonidas, according to Plutarch, gave the legendary answer: “Come and take it” (ancient Greek Μολὼν λαβέ). The battle in the pass lasted the whole day, but the Medes failed to advance a single step forward.
The next day, by order of Xerxes, detachments consisting of the Persians themselves were sent to attack. These were the so-called “immortals” - the flower of the Persian army, led by their commander Hydarn. Leonidas pitted the Spartans against them, who had not taken part in the battle until that time. The battle was repeated with the same result. The Spartans, standing in tightly closed ranks, repelled one attack after another. From time to time they pretended to take flight and retreated back, where the passage was wider. As soon as the Persians rushed after them, the Spartans turned back at once, knocked over the densely crowded enemy or drove him into a swamp by the sea. They repeated this maneuver several times, and by the end of the day the Persians had lost more than 6,000 people, not one step closer to victory.
Battle of Thermopylae, reconstruction by P. Connolly
For Xerxes, this development of events came as a complete surprise. He didn’t know what to do next, but then a traitor came to his aid. The Malian Ephialtes, who, hoping for a great reward, showed the Persians a path leading through the mountain bypassing Thermopylae. Subsequently, Ephialtes, in fear of the Spartans, fled to Thessaly, and there he was killed by his old enemy for personal reasons. The Spartans still paid the latter the reward promised for the head of the traitor.
Ephialtes promised to lead 20,000 of the best Persian warriors, led by Hydarnes, to the rear of the Greeks. The Persians walked all night and at dawn, finding themselves on the top of the mountain, they suddenly saw a small detachment of Greeks in front of them. These were the Phocians, sent by Leonidas specifically to guard the path. The Phocians carried out their service carelessly and noticed the Persians only when the first arrows flew at them. Having barely had time to grab their weapons, they left their post and rushed to the top of the mountain. Hydarn did not pursue them and hastily began to descend.
Last Stand
Even the evening before, the soothsayer Megistius, based on the sacrifice, predicted to the Greeks that death would await them that day. At night, scouts appeared and informed Leonid that the Persians were going around the mountains. The forces he had were not enough to successfully repel an attack from two sides simultaneously. In order not to sacrifice people in vain, Leonidas gave the order to retreat to all other units except the Spartans. He himself did not dare to retreat, because he considered it dishonorable to leave the post he was assigned to protect.
Thus, King Leonidas made the only decision possible for a Spartan: to fight and die, following the law of his country and fulfilling his military duty. In addition to the Spartans, the Thespians with their leader Dimophilus voluntarily remained with him, as well as the Thebans, whom Leonidas kept with him by force. In total, about 1,200 Greeks remained at Thermopylae that day.
Reconstruction of Thermopylae. The location of the battlefield between the Greeks and the Persians and the Oenopean Trail, along which Hydarnus’s detachment went behind the defenders of the pass, are indicated
Not counting on victory, but only on a glorious death, the Greeks went forward beyond the wall and fought their last battle at a distance from their previous positions:
“The Hellenes, led by Leonidas, going into mortal combat, now moved much further to the place where the passage widens. For in days past, some of the Spartans defended the wall, while others fought the enemy in the gorge itself, to which they always retreated. Now the Hellenes rushed hand-to-hand, and in this battle the barbarians died by the thousands. Behind the ranks of the Persians stood the commanders of the detachments with whips in their hands and blows of the whips urged the soldiers forward and forward. Many enemies fell into the sea and died there, but many more were crushed by their own. No one paid attention to the dying. The Hellenes knew about the certain death that threatened them at the hands of the enemy who had bypassed the mountain. That is why they showed the greatest military valor and fought the barbarians desperately and with insane courage.”
In this battle Leonidas fell, and a desperate struggle broke out over his body. After a heated battle, the Greeks finally managed to snatch the king’s body from the hands of their enemies. At the same time, they put their opponents to flight four times. The Persians also had huge losses, among the dead were Abrokos and Hyperanthes, the brothers of King Xerxes. Noticing the approach of Hydarn's forces from the rear, the Spartans, who no longer had any chance of salvation, retreated back into the passage and turned against the new enemy. The last surviving defenders of Thermopylae took up a position on the hill. Most of the spears had already broken by that time; they continued to defend themselves with swords, and then with their hands and teeth, until the barbarians bombarded them with a hail of arrows. Thus ended the battle of Thermopylae.
In 1939, Spyridon Marinatos undertook archaeological excavations at Thermopylae. Spearheads and arrowheads, Greek and Persian, discovered on Konos Hill are on display today National Museum archeology in Athens
King Xerxes personally inspected the battlefield. Having found the body of Leonidas, he ordered his head to be cut off and his body to be crucified. Herodotus condemns this decision and writes that previously it was not the custom of the Persians to subject the bodies of enemies to this kind of outrage. The fallen Greeks were subsequently buried on the same hill where they fought their last battle. At the grave, the Spartans installed a sculpture of a lion with the epitaph of Simonides of Keos:
“Traveler, go and tell our citizens in Lacedaemon,
That, keeping their covenants, we died here with our bones.”
Literature:
- Connolly P. Greece and Rome. Encyclopedia of Military History. - Moscow: Eksmo-Press, 2000. - 320 p.
- Pechatnova L. G. Spartan kings. - M.: Yauza, 2007. - 352 p.
- Pechatnova L. G. History of Sparta (archaic and classical periods). - St. Petersburg: Humanitarian Academy, 2001. - 510 p.
- Hammond N. History of Ancient Greece. - M.: Tsentrpoligraf, 2003. - 703 p.
- Fields N. Thermopylae 480 BC. Last stand of the 300. - Osprey Publishing, 2007. - 97 p.
I myself didn’t understand much about the details until I personally visited the place where I was, as they say, chilled by the general atmosphere under the Greek sky. The Greeks, I must say, have a very healthy and reverent attitude towards their history, and it would do well for everyone to follow their example. The history is worth getting acquainted with at least in general outline, fortunately, you can dig up a lot of materials on the Internet.
When and where was this?
The Greek poet Konstantinos Kavafis wrote:
Thermopylae
Eternal honor and memory to those who are in everyday life
erected and guards Thermopylae,
who, never forgetting duty,
fair in all his actions,
however, he is not alien to mercy,
who is generous in wealth,
but even in poverty he is generous as much as possible
and will always lend a helping hand,
who, hating lies, only speaks the truth,
but he holds no grudge in his soul against those who lie.
All the more honor to them when they foresee
(and many foresee) that in the end
the treacherous Ephialtes will appear
and that the Medes will still break through.
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