engaged a much larger invading Persian force. The battle was a tactical
defeat, but it served as inspiration for the Greek defenders. It also
acts as the point in history that forever thrust Spartan military might
into the realm of legend.
Throughout ancient Greece, the city-state of Sparta was known for
producing the most fearsome infantry that the Greek world had ever seen.
There are legends that say the Spartan infantry were matched only in
sheer combat prowess and coordination by the Roman legions, though
historically, the legions only attained their famed discipline and
combat coordination after the successful invasion of Sparta.
The legend of Spartan power and invincibility only became widespread
across the world after the epic event called the Battle of Thermopylae,
a battle that was a long-term strategic victory for Sparta even if it
was an immediate tactical defeat for the 300 Spartans that engaged the
invaders from Persia. The 300 soldiers walked into battle not knowing
that their ferocity and gallantry would seal the reputation and legacy
of the word 'Spartan' for all eternity. At Thermopylae...at the
so-called "gates of fire" --- a myth was born and a legend was sealed.
Of course, this would not have happened had it not been for events prior
to the battle itself. Darius, ruler of the Persian Empire, had attempted
to conquer Greece as punishment for Athenian citizens who aided in the
rebellion of a minor Greek town within Darius' domain. The Battle of
Marathon was the result of that invasion, with Persian forces pushed
back by Athenian infantry. At a later date, the Persian king Xerxes,
ruler of the greatest empire of his time, schemed to make it greater
still, by conquering the city-states of Greece. However, modern
historians who refute this claim say that Xerxes was a known patron of
culture and the arts, with hardly any military campaigns under his belt
prior to the invasion. Some experts in Persian and Greek history have
attributed the alleged decision of Xerxes to invade Greece as a sign of
status anxiety.
Xerxes felt the pressure that was placed on his shoulders after the
Athenians routed his father's army at Marathon. Following their defeat,
it became clear that the Persian Empire was not superior in terms of
military capability. This resulted in status anxiety, as the Persians
were not known for their failures, as evidenced by their expansive
empire. In theory, Xerxes may simply have grown tired of his courtiers
and the Persian aristocracy that continually hounded him to invade
Greece, supposedly to avenge his father's defeat. However, the other
half of this equation, the Spartans, also experienced tremendous status
anxiety.
Leonidas had tried to send men to Marathon, in response to Athens'
request for help, but there were complications. The Spartans could not
go to war during a religious celebration, which resulted in Spartan
warriors arriving at Marathon too late. This resulted in greater glory
for Athens, Sparta's rival city-state. This, Leonidas understood,
threatened the superiority of the Spartan people and put the whole of
the population under a mild climate of status anxiety right after Athens
was acclaimed as the "savior of all Greece." So when the Persian
invasion came, Leonidas wanted to be there and meet the invaders with
his spear. Again, duties to the gods of Greece and the need for Spartan
warriors to remain and keep their slave population under control got in
the way. The Greek politicians wanted engage in negotiations with the
Persians because of their fear and anxiety. Leonidas chose to
requisition a small force that will join him in the battle against the
invaders.
The arrival of the Spartans was, undoubtedly, a morale boost for the
allied Greek armies. The mere mention of a Spartan fighting a battle was
enough to instill fear and anxiety in any opposing army, with that
ferocious reputation made more magnified by the blood red cloaks and
perfect phalanx of the Spartan warrior elite. On the first day of the
Battle of Thermopylae, the Spartans taught the Persian hordes a lesson
the other Greeks knew all too well. Spartans were not mere men. Spartans
were a well-oiled killing machine that was fully ready to engage in mass
slaughter. As one of Xerxes' aides said to the Persian king, "... to
subdue the Spartans is to ensure no nation in Greece would dare
challenge you." Of course, as the Persians quickly found out, subduing
the proud Spartans was not that simple.
While the Spartans were not the only ones to have fought on the front
lines during the battle, they were the ones that took the brunt of the
incoming Persian force. However, records written by the Persians
themselves described the horror, fear, and anxiety that the prospect of
facing a Spartan caused the invading troops. It is arguable whether or
not Xerxes' generals understood the inevitable strategic consequences of
taking on the Spartans by sending wave after wave of soldiers against
them, but the terrain made it impossible to route the Leonidas'
defensive line. Certainly fatigue would have set in for the Greeks
eventually, but the problem for the Persians was just how much of their
army would die before that happened.
Of course, greed being the motivator that it is, caused a betrayal among
the Greeks. A local Greek named Ephialtes had betrayed the location of a
small pass that the Persians could use to flank the Spartan line and
surround the Greeks. There were defenders at that pass, but they ran at
the sight of Persian troops. The records are being disputed about
whether Leonidas ordered the other Greeks to retreat as a tactical
decision, or if the Spartans were abandoned to die. Regardless, the
surviving Spartan force, along with a Thespian force that refused to
abandon them to die alone, remained.
On the third day of battle, with Persian morale low because of the fear
and anxiety that the Spartan slaughter of their comrades caused, the
final push was planned. The Spartan and Thespian forces, routed and
surrounded, were inevitably all killed, though such was the fear and
anxiety they caused that Xerxes could not make his troops commit to one
last engagement, even as the Spartans were reduced to fighting with
their hands and teeth. Instead, he ordered them to be shot down with arrows.
However, while it is considered a tragic defeat, the Battle of
Thermopylae was still regarded as a strategic success. The death of one
of their kings (Sparta was a diarchy, with two kings at any given time)
motivated Sparta to raise and deploy more troops into battle. Even by
the time the Battle of Plataea was fought, the Persian commanders and
troops were still feeling the fear and anxiety they felt at Thermopylae,
affecting their ability to fight a Spartan force of 5,000, along with
several thousand more Greeks from Athens, Thespiae, and other
city-states. The historical record is unclear on this point, but it is
highly probably that Spartans rallied and inspired their troops by
invoking the memory of Leonidas and his 300.
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