300 Spartans: truth and fiction about the legendary Battle of Thermopylae

Probably, everyone has heard the legend about 300 Spartans who courageously resisted the numerically superior enemy army until their last breath. Hollywood films devoted to this plot made a lot of noise, although historical authenticity should not have been expected from them. How did the legendary Battle of Thermopylae actually take place?

The Battle of Thermopylae took place in 480 BC during the Greco-Persian War. Persia at that time was a young aggressive superpower, seeking to expand its borders. 

Xerxes was a ruler endowed with great power, despotic and ambitious — he sought power over the world. He was feared, but not deified, as shown in the Hollywood film. His appearance is also surprising — the king with piercings, hung with chains, looks, to put it mildly, strange.

Persian soldiers from the guard of the "immortals". A fragment of a painting from the royal palace

The army of the attacking Persians was many times superior to the forces of the Greeks. According to various estimates, the number of Persians was from 80 to 250 thousand soldiers, the Greeks were from 5 to 7 thousand. Despite the unequal forces, in the first two days the Greeks repulsed the attacks of the Persians in the Thermopylae gorge, but on the third day the course of the battle was broken. 

According to one version, a local resident Efialt told the Persians about the existence of a mountain bypass route and showed it for a monetary reward, according to another, the Persians themselves discovered this path. Anyway, on the third day they were able to come in from the rear. The messenger warned the Spartans about this. Realizing the unsuccessful outcome of events, Leonid himself suggested that the Greeks disperse to their cities. He and his 300 Spartans remained.

Persian warriors. Palace bas-relief in Persepolis

If we abandon the excessive romanticization and glorification of this decision, it becomes clear that Leonid had no other choice. In Sparta, there were very strict laws-no one had the right to retreat from the battlefield without an order. If this happens, the Spartan will lose his civil rights, he will be disgraced and exiled. Leonid understood that everyone would die, but he had no choice, it was impossible to retreat. The Spartan warrior was obliged to fight to the death, otherwise he would become an outcast in society and would wish for death himself, so as not to suffer eternal insults and contempt.

King Xerxes of the Persians in the film "300 Spartans"

The number of the Greek army raises the most questions. Herodotus says the following about this: 

That is, only 5200 soldiers. They also had helot servants with them.

Xerxes in the movie "300 Spartans"

There were really 300 Spartans — the number of soldiers in the guard was constant, if one died, another took his place. But besides the Spartans, there were hundreds of Greeks from other city-states, totaling up to 5,000, and in the first two days of the battle they fought together at Thermopylae. But about 1,000 Greeks, in particular the Thespians, remained of their own free will and after the order of Leonid to return home. No one belittles the merits and courage of the Spartans, but they were not the only ones who died in an unequal battle that day. The losses of the Greeks in three days amounted to about 4,000 people, the Persians-5 times more.

Formation of the Spartans

A shot from the movie "300 Spartans", 2006

Hoplite-an ancient Greek heavily armed foot soldier

Jacques-Louis David. Battle of Thermopylae, 1814

Monument dedicated to the feat of 300 Spartans

Monument to Tsar Leonid and a detachment of 300 Spartans near the battle site