Battle of Thermopylae

Famous thanks to the comic and the movie 300, the Battle of Thermopylae is another of the heroic victories of the Greek strategy versus the power and size of its enemies. The battle lasted seven days, with three days of combat. It developed in the narrow pass of Thermopylae, which name translates to “Hot Gates” because of the thermal water pools there. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks, led by Leonidas and 300 Spartans, stopped the Persian advance by strategically placing themselves in the narrowest part of the gorge, where the entire Persian army, whose strength must have ranged between 90,000 and 300,000 men, would not pass. The betrayal of Ephialtes changed the course of the fight. He gave Xerxes an alternative route, which ended with the defeat of the 300 Spartans and some more volunteers who stayed. At the same time, most of the soldiers returned to their Polis to organize the resistance that would defeat the Persians at the Battle of Salamis.