The Battle of Thermopylae

The movie 300 dramatizes a real life conflict between Greeks and Persians known as the Battle of Thermopylae. To understand the historical implications and the drama surrounding this battle, it is necessary to know something of Mesopotamian history.

The Persian Conflict

In 490 BCE (just before the famous Thermopylae conflict), the Persians controlled most of the known world. Their rule stretched from Asia Minor to Egypt, with just one major area missing -- Greece. Greece was a small but powerful nation made up of incredibly strong city states such as Athens and Sparta. This nation was seen as the last piece of the world puzzle, and Persia wanted control of it desperately.

The Rise of Xerxes

The ruler of the Persian empire, named Darius, had just suffered a minor defeat to the Greeks at Marathon. Darius was distracted after the loss at Marathon by rebellion elsewhere in the Persian empire, and he was killed in battle attempting to stifle one of these rebellions. His son Xerxes took the throne in 489 BCE, swearing vengeance on the Greeks for the humiliating loss at Marathon. Xerxes began to form an enormous army (and an equally strong naval force) to put Greece under Persian control for good. An army numbering around 150,000 men (according to the historian Herodotus) and a navy of some 600 ships began to form -- a massive force that should in theory be able to easily overcome any defenses the Greeks could come up with.

The Battle of Thermopylae

Fortunately for the Greeks, word of Xerxes giant army spread to Athens and other city states in Greece. To prepare for the coming onslaught, the normally rival city states banded together in an attempt to fend off a Persian assault. One unfortunate fact, and the one that most likely led to the Greek's weak defense of their nation, were disagreements among the rulers of the city states. Opinion was divided on how best to defend their nation.

Themistocles' Naval Offensive

An Athenian general named Themistocles was convinced that a powerful naval force would win the day, and managed to convince many in Athens of this fact. His thinking was logical -- the Persians would depend on the supplies and surveillance provided by a naval fleet, and if a Greek fleet could weaken or outright destroy this fleet, the Persian army would be disorganized and unprepared.

300 Ships - 300 Spartans

Also, Greek city states like Thebes, Athens, and Sparta decided early on not to confront the Persians in northern Greece, effectively giving away the northern part of their country to the Persians. This made Xerxes assault easier initially -- his army met little to no resistance after crossing the Bosporous into Greece. Opinion on the size of the Greek force is divided -- some say they had only 10,000 men, while other historians claim as many as 60,000. One fact that is agreed upon is the size of the Greek navy -- 300 powerful ships which could ostensibly put down the slightly larger Persian navy, or at least interrupt their activity enough to give the Greeks a land advantage. King Leonidas of Sparta would lead the Greek counterattack, but could muster only 300 Spartan warriors to the fight, due to disagreements about how to fight the battle.

Athenians still believed that the war would be won or lost at sea, and stuck to this theory stubbornly. The government of Sparta selected Corinth and its nearby isthmus as the logical attack site, while most other city states wanted to push the fight further north. All of this infighting weakened the Greeks defenses more than any other single factor, though none could doubt the ability and passion of the Greek warriors.

The Spartan Force of 300 Men

An agreement was made -- the Spartans would send a regiment far north to hold off Xerxes while Athens geared up their powerful navy. This was a suicide mission. The Spartan force of 300 men (supported by around 1,000 other Greek troops) had no chance against the much larger Persian forces. This is the story of Thermopylae -- a relatively small number of well trained and powerful warriors stubbornly holding their ground against incredible odds. Much like the battle of the Alamo, where a handful of men held their ground against General Santa Ana's enormous Mexican army, these Spartans would either make history or die vainly attempting to protect their nation.

In many ways, this defensive force was successful. When Xerxes arrived with his massive army of around 150,000 men, he was shocked that this tiny contingent of Greeks would try to stand in his way. Simply by confusing the opposing leader, this tiny Greek army held an advantage. Don't forget that the Persians were not familiar with the Greek landscape, giving the Greek army home field advantage. Xerxes, confused by the Greeks, waited a full four days to launch his attack, but when he did it was a brutal one. Xerxes sent his entire force against the Greeks, who immediately retreated and drew the Persians into a narrow pass at Thermopylae. This narrow pass forced a small number of Persians against a then much larger Greek army, and the Greeks handily slaughtered wave after wave of Persians. This method would have been a complete success if not for the actions of one Greek traitor, who informed the Persians of an alternate route into the pass.

Leonidas noticed the Persian army moving to the rear of the Greeks, toward the alternate route, and realized the secret had been given away. Leonidas decided to leave the 300 Spartan warriors to hold off the Persian onslaught while the remaining Greek army could escape the ambush. The 300 Spartans bravely remained and fought until the last of them was killed.

Defeat of Xerxes

The Persians were not successful in their attack of Greece. The brave actions of those 300 Spartan warriors gave Leonidas enough time to evacuate his army to an island near Athens where a powerful navy lay in wait. Once Xerxes ordered his massive navy into the Strait of Salamis, it was too late. The tiny Strait didn't allow for proper maneuvering for the huge Persian navy, and the Greek ships pounced and won the day, sinking or capturing half of the Persian fleet. The Persians were simply too greedy and didn't know the geography of the area well enough to prepare for a proper naval battle.

As a result of this naval defeat, Xerxes and most of his army retreated back to Asia, and Persia would never again attack Greece. By sacrificing their lives, the 300 Spartans that traveled with Leonidas saved their entire homeland, distracting Xerxes long enough for a naval force to gather near Athens. This heroic and historic event deserves the attention it has received after the release of Frank Miller's 300 -- few times in history have so few men sacrificed their lives to successfully defend what they believed in.

As for Xerxes, he retreated back to Persepolis. He built monuments in honor of himself and his father, Darius, and was stabbed to death by one of his subordinates, never having lived down his defeat in Greece.