While the Battle of Thermopylae was technically a defeat for the Greeks, it was also a victory in the long run because it marked the beginning of several important Greek victories against the Persians and boosted the morale of all the Greek city-states. happened about one hundred years before the great philosopher and defender of freedom Aristotle was born, the Greeks still had a concept of defending the city-state, the polis. In addition to the land forces, the Greek poleis sent a fleet of trireme warships which held position off the coast of Artemision (or Artemisium) on the northern coast of Euboea, 40 nautical miles from Thermopylae. 300 Spartans, and a handful of other Greeks, defend the pass at Thermopylae knowing they will all die doing so. When the two fleets finally met, the Greeks fought late in the day and therefore limited the duration of each skirmish which diminished the numerical advantage held by the Persians. As Herodotus claims in his account of the battle in book VII of The Histories, the Oracle at Delphi had been proved right when she proclaimed that either Sparta or one of her kings must fall. Therefore, the Spartans, widely credited as being the best fighters in Greece and the only polis with a professional army, contributed only a small advance force of 300 hoplites (from an estimated 8,000 available) to the Greek defensive force, these few being chosen from men with male heirs. This suited the Persians as they could now continue unimpeded along the mountain path and arrive behind the main Greek force. Just why Greece was coveted by Persia is unclear. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Thermopylae-Greek-history-480-BC, The History Files - The Battle of Thermopylae, HistoryNet - Greco-Persian Wars: Battle of Thermopylae. The mighty Persian empire invades the free city states of Greece. Darius had died in 485 B.C. Pass at Thermopylae was designed to force the Persians to try to outflank the bottleneck by sea, and the Greek fleet was waiting to pounce. Their attempt to stop Xerxes invasion had failed, and many were thrown into despair. TOPICS: battle Battle Of Thermopylae Greek Leonidas Persian Thermopylae Xerxes youshouldknow Posted By: Dattatreya Mandal January 23, 2017 Popular culture has been kind to the historical episode of the Battle of Thermopylae, but with romanticized anecdotes intertwined between the actual events that took place before and during the particular military encounter. The battle of Thermopylae, and particularly the Spartans' role in it, soon acquired mythical status amongst the Greeks. Whatever the exact motives, in 491 BCE Darius sent envoys to call for the Greeks’ submission to Persian rule. The battle of Thermopylae, and particularly the Spartans' role in it, soon acquired mythical status amongst the Greeks. Although the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. The Battle of Thermopylae’s political origins can be traced back to Xerxes’ predecessor, Darius I (the Great), who sent heralds to Greek cities in 491 bce in the hopes of persuading them to accept Persian authority. In 480 bce Xerxes invaded Greece as a continuation of Darius’s original plan. Although the Persians had enjoyed the upper hand in previous contests during the recent Ionian revolt, the terrain at Thermopylae would better suit Greek warfare. Free men, in respect of their own laws, had sacrificed themselves in order to defend their way of life against foreign aggression. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Answer Save. 1 See answer User is waiting for … Click here to get an answer to your question ️ How did the Persians defeat the Greek army at Thermopylae? What effect did the Greek defeat of the Persians in the Persian Wars have on Greek ... A Greek betrayed the Spartans and showed the Persians a way behind ... the Spartans were all killed by arrows. But the Battle of Thermopylae more importantly defended the very future of the modern world. The Spartan general Leonidas dispatched most of the Greeks south to safety but fought to the death…. The Greek force was very small but was determined to make a … It did however have a morale effect that the Persians were not invincible. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Greco-Persian Wars, also called Persian Wars, (492–449 bce), a series of wars fought by Greek states and Persia over a period of almost half a century. Cartwright, Mark. It was Spartan culture, which in many ways, influenced the Spartans ability to stand against the Persians as long as they did. This offended the proud Greeks greatly; the Athenians went so far as to toss the Persian heralds into a pit, while the Spartans followed suit and tossed them into a well. Battle of Thermopylae. Sport Man. The Persian cavalry were armed as the foot soldiers, with a bow and an additional two javelins for throwing and thrusting. Kathleen Lohnes was an editorial intern at Encyclopaedia Britannica in 2017 and 2018. However, an unscrupulous traitor was about to tip the balance in favour of the invaders. This battle was recorded many historians, including Herodotus and Diodorus, and is even being continued to be written about in modern times through the movie “300”. After three days of holding their own against the Persian king Xerxes I and his vast southward-advancing army, the Greeks were betrayed, and the Persians were able to outflank them. The Battle of Thermopylae was fought in central Greece at the mountain pass of Thermopylae in 480 BCE during the Persian Wars. The Greek forces, mostly Spartan, were led by Leonidas. The relatively small size of the defending force has been explained as a reluctance by some Greek city-states to commit troops so far north, and/or due to religious motives, for it was the period of the sacred games at Olympia and the most important Spartan religious festival, the Karneia, and no fighting was permitted during these events. Leonidas had stationed the contingent of Phokian troops to guard this vital point but they, thinking themselves the primary target of this new development, withdrew to a higher defensive position when the Immortals attacked. 1 Answer. Greece was about to face its greatest ever threat, and even the oracle at Delphi ominously advised the Athenians to ‘fly to the world’s end’. Leonidas moved his troops to the widest part of the pass to utilise all of his men at once, and in the ensuing clash the Spartan king was killed. The famous Greek shield known as Hoplon was heavier and stronger … Winter halted the land campaign, though, and at Salamis the Greek fleet manoeuvred the Persians into shallow waters and won a resounding victory. Polis. Please support Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation. The Greek army was led by Leonidas, who was estimated to have had around 7,000 men. Having somewhere in the region of 80,000 troops at his disposal, the Persian king, who led the invasion in person, first waited four days in expectation that the Greeks would flee in panic. As the sea battle failed, the Thermopylae defence had no effect in the course of the war. A glorious defeat maybe, but the fact remained that the way was now clear for Xerxes to push on into mainland Greece. Cartwright, Mark. Soon after the battle, the Greeks built a stone lion in honour of those who had died and specifically for the fallen king Leonidas. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 16 Apr 2013. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. Leonidas. The Persian army arrived at Thermopylae and the Greeks were there waiting. Thermopylae is a mountain pass near the sea in northern Greece which was the site of several battles in antiquity, the most famous being that between Persians and Greeks in August 480 BCE. Ultimately the Persians took control of the pass, but the heroic defeat of Leonidas would assume legendary proportions for later generations of Greeks, and within a year the Persian invasion would be repulsed at the battles of Salamis and Plataea. It was here, then, in a 15-metre wide gap with a sheer cliff protecting their left flank and the sea on their right, that the Greeks chose to make a stand against the invading army. The Persian forces also included the Immortals, an elite force of 10,000 who were probably better protected with armour and armed with spears. 300. Favorite Answer. Olympos, but these withdrew when the massive size of the invading army was revealed. Of course, it must also not be forgotten that the Persians did win the battle and, thus in effect, succeeded in “taking” the weapons. When news of the invading force reached Greece, the initial Greek reaction was to send a force of 10,000 hoplites to hold position at the valley of Tempē near Mt. License. 300. The Greeks, fielding the largest hoplite army ever seen, won the battle and finally ended Xerxes’ ambitions in Greece. https://www.ancient.eu/thermopylae/. Next in King Darius’ sights were Athens and the rest of Greece. It raised Greeks spirits, and it gave Athens time to evacuate. On the first day, Xerxes sent his Median and Kissian troops, and after their failure to clear the pass, the elite Immortals entered the battle but in the brutal close-quarter fighting, the Greeks held firm. Cavalry, usually operating on the flanks of the main battle, were used to mop up opposing infantry put in disarray after they had been subjected to repeated salvos from the archers. Explanation: While the Battle of Thermopylae was technically a defeat for the Greek coalition, it was also a conquest. The Greek tactic of feigning a disorganised retreat and then turning on the enemy in the phalanx formation also worked well, lessening the threat from Persian arrows and perhaps the hoplites surprised the Persians with their disciplined mobility, a benefit of being a professionally trained army. Many Greek city-states either joined Xerxes or remained neutral, while Athens and Sparta led the resistance with a number of other city-states behind them. 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