Greek culture. Where to go in Greece? What to do in Greece? About Greece. Book your holiday with Greeka. Best beaches in Greece. Greece in photos. Major events in Greece. Summer jobs in Greece. Travel there. Our community. Read articles in our blog. Close Modal Search Greeka. Map View. Close Modal. In the fifth century BC, Herodotus recounts how Xerxes before Thermopylae asked the exiled Spartan king Damaratus how free Greeks could stand against him without being forced to fight under the lash.
Damaratus replied that the Spartans, though free, have a master whom they fear more than the Persians: their king and the law, which tells them not to retreat, but to stand and die. It was Thermopylae that created the myth that Spartans always win or die. One such story is that of Aristodemus, who was one of two Spartans invalided out of the battle due to an eye infection. His comrade, Eurytus, was blinded —but he returned to the battle to fight and die.
Aristodemus, meanwhile, went home. He was ostracised and his life was made so unbearable that he preferred to die as a berserker fighting against the Persians a year later. The Spartans still refused to forgive him, even then. The message was clear: no second chances in Sparta. Most strikingly, later sources present the whole campaign as a suicide expedition, having Leonidas tell the authorities at Sparta before the battle that his real goal is to die for Greece.
But 7, seems a large force to send out just to die for no strategic goal. Certainly, those who left on the third day did not think they had joined a suicide squad. Thermopylae became the archetype for the courageous last stand.
In modern times, it has been used and abused as the yardstick for courageous sacrifice against the odds. Also, ironically, Thermopylae has been used to glorify imperialist failures — such as the defeat at Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam in during the closing years of French control in Indo-China, or the British defeat by the Zulus at Isandlwana in KwaZulu-Natal in Sign in.
Back to Main menu Virtual events Masterclasses. A 19th-century illustration showing Thermopylae, a narrow coastal passage famous for the battle between the Greek Spartans and invading Persian forces in BC.
Leonidas needed a rear-guard to hold back the Persians — and die, if necessary It was Thermopylae that created the myth that Spartans always win or die The Spartan king Leonidas leads his army in attack during the battle of Thermopylae.
He lost his life during the clash. The Pass of Thermopylae ran west to east, mountains rose sharply to the left or southern side, and the Aegean Sea washed the right or northern side. Leonidas set his main position in the center and began rebuilding the old Phocian wall which had been the scene of many an ancient martial drama.
His disposition was well-chosen, for the Persian army would have to disrupt their formations to enter the mouth of the Pass and once inside would have to face the Greeks on more equal terms. The wall itself could serve as a defense, or as a rallying point for a counterattack. Leonidas seems to have learned about the "Achilles heel" of Thermopylae only after arriving in the Pass. A circuitous mountain route existed, known as the Anapaea Path, by which an enterprising enemy might enter in the rear of Thermopylae, trapping the defenders inside.
During a council, the Phocians volunteered to defend this path as they were used to the local terrain and local area. Leonidas accepted.
In the meantime, one of King Xerxes' scouts rode into the pass. As an act of defiance, the Spartans, aware of the scout, continued to play athletic games and leisurely dressed their hair for battle. Unmolested, the scout reported to Xerxes. The Persian King immediately called on the exiled Spartan king, Demaratus, for advice.
Demaratus explained the Persians were facing the flower of the Greeks. Xerxes delayed four days after this reconnaissance to enjoin battle. During this period, he probably waited for his logistics train to arrive and coordinated strategic plans with his navy. On the fifth day, he attacked.
Xerxes' Mede and Cissian divisions moved in first, fighting inside the Pass for several hours. These units were mauled by the better armed and more skillful Greeks. During the second half of the day, Xerxes called on his elite guard, the Immortals, led by the able Hydarnes.
Once inside Thermopylae, however, they could not make their superior numbers felt. Time and again the Greeks drove them back and the Persian King was said to have leapt from his throne out of concern thrice that day. During the course of the second day's battles, the Persians fared no better. Herodotus relates that the Greek territorial units fought in rotation to relieve each other, and that some units feigned retreat in order to draw out the enemy, then suddenly turned and counterattacked their disordered pursuers.
On that second day, however, the Persian King received an extraordinary windfall. A local Greek by the name of Ephialtes offered to guide the Persians over the Anapaea Path for a reward. That evening, Hydarnes and his Immortals entered the mountainous forest of oak trees near the Asopus River and climbed to the summit where they caught the Phocian Greeks off guard.
Pelting the Phocians with arrows, the Immortals bypassed them and continued along the path, the end of which would place them at the village of Alpenoi at the eastern end of Thermopylae directly at Leonidas's rear. On the final, fatal dawn, Leonidas heard from scout runners that they would soon be surrounded. He called a council and once again the opinion was divided. Leonidas declared it would be dishonorable for the Spartans to retreat.
The leader of the Thespians, Demophilus, said it would be dishonorable to desert the Spartans. Nevertheless, the other Greek contingents withdrew except for the Thebans, whom Herodotus claimed were forced to stay by Leonidas because they were suspected of dealings with the Persians.
As they ate their last meal, Leonidas is reputed to have said: "Eat hearty, lads, for today we dine in Hades. Mid-morning of the third day, fresh Persian waves came into the Pass. Realizing they would soon be hit by Hydarnes' Immortals from the rear, Leonidas advanced past the Phocian wall into a wider part of the Pass in order to more fully deploy and inflict maximum damage on the enemy while there was still time.
According to Herodotus, the Persians had to drive their leading regiments on with whips against Leonidas's hoplites. Ranks and files were trampled to death by their comrades and many were driven into the sea to drown.
Most of the hoplites had their spears broken in these intense encounters. In order to encourage his troops, Xerxes had sent two of his brothers into the fray to lead by example. Both of them were killed. At this point Leonidas fell, fighting no doubt, from the front rank in the tradition of a Spartan king.
Immediately, a struggle ensued over possession of his body. After pushing back four Persian attacks, the Greeks successfully claimed their King's remains. At this juncture the Immortals were seen inside Thermopylae and closing. Herodotus claimed that the bravest Greek warrior left was Dieneces, who had said at the start of the campaign that if the Persians darkened the sky with arrows he would be pleased to fight in the shade.
If not Dieneces, it is certain that some Spartan notable bore, or ordered warriors to bear, Leonidas's body to the hill overlooking the wall that was to be the place of the last stand. As the Spartans and Thespians took their positions, the Thebans deserted to the Persians, who were deploying their regiments to fully surround the last of the Greeks.
In that spot the Greeks defended themselves with daggers—those who had any left—yes, and with their hands and teeth, and the barbarians buried them in missiles. The remains of the Greeks were eventually buried at or near the hillock of the last stand.
It is possible the body of Leonidas was never found.
0コメント