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| King Leonidas of Sparta |
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A number of obstacles and events, including the summer Olympics in
China, have made it difficult for all of us to come together in the
summer of 2008 so it has been decided to postpone the Leonidas Expedition
and move it back to the summer of 2009. We apologize for any
inconvenience that this may cause our participants and sponsors.
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A Brief History
In 480 BC the Persian king Xerxes invaded Greece with nearly 1.8 million men at arms (so Herodotus tells us, although the figure may have been closer to 300, 000 fighting men) and an armada of nearly a thousand ships . After marching across Thrace he turned south and prepared to engage a small force of Greeks, under the leadership of the Spartan king Leonidas, at a narrow pass called Thermopylae (The Hot Gates). Herodotus writes that the Greeks had chosen this pass because the terrain was unsuitable for cavalry charges and because it was narrow enough to be defended by a small force. Estimates of the path's width vary but most authorities believe that it was about 21 meters wide at the Middle Gate. The Greeks fortified an old wall that the Phokians had originally built (to defend themselves against attacks from the north) and positioned themselves in front and behind this wall. It is unclear how many Greek troops initially fought at Thermopylae (again estimates range from 5,200-6, 000), but we do know that those who eventually defended the pass to the end comprised of what remained of the original 300 Spartans (and their helots) under Leonidas and a contingent of seven hundred Thespians. Four hundred Thebans were also involved in the fighting but they surrendered to the Persians before the end of the battle, on the third day. Thus, the total number who survived two days of fighting and remained behind to defend the pass could not have been more than 1500.
The battle raged fiercely for two full days and the Persians made little progress against the Greeks. Bodies lay everywhere and the battle often took place over the dead and dying. Eventually, a local by the name of Ephialtes, hoping for a rich reward, informed Xerxes of a path that led over the mountain of Kallidromos, up a pass called Anopaia and down and around the rear of the Greek forces. Herodotus informs us that the Immortals (probably closer to 9000 who survived after two days of fighting) led by Hydarnes set out on the evening of the second day of the battle (at about the time of the lighting of the lamps), probably around 9 pm, and marched all night until dawn when they came upon a force of a thousand Phokian troops (around 5 am) who were guarding the path. A short skirmish ensued and the Phokians, who were caught by surprise, and against superior odds, scattered. Most retreated to a craggy mountain top where they determined to make a final stand while others were probably sent away as messengers back to Thermopylae. After regrouping, the Persians pressed on and arrived behind the Greek lines some time in mid morning, probably around 10 am. Their arrival could not have been much earlier than this time because Herodotus tells us that Xerxes had decided to delay his attack on that fateful day (probably because he intended to coordinate his assault with the arrival of the Immortals). After the battle had been in progress for some time, the Greeks were informed that Hydarnes and his Immortals were amassing at the rear, on the road from the village of Alpenoi. Since the Phokian wall was no longer defensible the remaining Spartans and Thespians retreated to a hillock immediately behind the wall where they resolved to make their last stand. About this time the Thebans surrendered to the Persians. Surrounded, and badly outnumbered, the Greeks died fighting to the last man. The battle may have been over well before noon.
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| Picture of the battle site and the surrounding area. Dark lines indicate possible routes taken by Hydarnes and the Immortals |
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Various estimates put the Greek losses at Thermopylae to between two and three thousand while the Persians may have lost as many as twenty thousand men. The bodies of the Greeks who died at Thermopylae were buried in this hillock, where they made their final stand, and the following lines were inscribed on a tablet, ( a modern version of which may be seen today) over their grave, in honor of the fallen Spartans:
"O stranger passing by,
go tell the Lacedaemonians that here,
faithful to their bidding, we lie"
Commentary
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While
the battle was technically won by the Persians, it was a great moral
victory for the Greeks. It helped to stiffen Greek resolve against the
invader and served to rally many Greek city states which, until that
point, were wavering as to which side to support. More importantly,
Thermopylae served to demonstrate Greek resolve and the superiority of
Greek armour and tactics, even against overwhelming odds. The battle
had a demoralizing effect on the Persians and their allies and this may
well have contributed to their defeat at Plataea, a year later. A year
later, in 479 BC, the combined forces (about 50, 000 men, Herodotus
notwithstanding) of several Greek cities, including a contingent of
about five thousand Spartans under Pausanias, soundly defeated a force
of over one hundred thousand Persians at the battle of Plataea.
This
decisive battle, together with the naval victory at Salamis, ended all
Persian ambitions of conquest in Greece, and the west. In fact, some
argue that it may have changed the future course of history for all of
western civilization.
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Some Notes and Commentary On Anopaia and the March of the Immortals
The path taken by Hydarnes and his Immortals is in some dispute. At least four hypotheses have been advanced to explain the Persians' overnight journey but none has been tested, systematically and convincingly against topographical and temporal evidence. We believe that it may be possible to reconstruct their route by combining evidence from aerial photography, the writings of Herodotus and other early writers, the works of modern explorers (e.g., Wallace, Hignett, Grundy, Burn and Pritchett, among others) and the time estimates we have regarding the length of the Immortals' march over Kallidromos.
We believe that the Immortals set out at about 9 pm, the time Herodotus gives for "the lighting of the lamps." We also know from Herodotus that they had Mount Oeta to their right and the Cliffs of the Tracheans to their left. This suggests that initially they marched west before turning south and then east between the two mountains (Oeta and Trachis). The historian Pausanias was also of this opinion. This helps us to fix the point where they crossed the Asopus and connected with the Anopaia path which began at, or near the river.
We know that a short skirmish against the Phokians took place at dawn, probably around 5 am. This suggests that the Persians marched for about eight hours to arrive at the point where the Phokians guarded the path. We estimate that they may have covered (going uphill, and at night) about thirteen miles (perhaps averaging about 1.6 or 1.7 miles per hour, with breaks). Further, we are told by Herodotus that the skirmish against the Phokians was a brief one. This may have lasted about half an hour, including an additional half hour for arraying for battle, regrouping after the battle and setting off again.
We can also approximate their arrival time at Thermopylae because we know that Xerxes gave the order for battle to begin later that morning, around the time "the forum is wont to fill", which is thought to be about 9 am. We propose, therefore, that Hydarnes arrived at Thermopylae around 10 am and engaged the Greeks shortly thereafter. Herodotus tells us the battle raged for some time before Hydarnes and the Immortals arrived, so if Xerxes attacked the Greeks about 9 am, the battle would have been raging for at least an hour before the Immortals joined in the fray.
In determining which path the Persians took over Kallidromos the above factors need to be included in our analysis. In summary, we estimate that Hydarnes set out at about 9 pm. He reached the crest at about 5 am, regrouped and engaged the Phokians soon after, perhaps for about half an hour, then regrouped and shortly after descended the crest of the mountain at a rapid pace to arrive behind the Greek lines, regroup and then engage the Greek defenders some time after 10 am. This suggests that the journey from the crest, where we believe they encountered the Phokian defenders, to the Middle Gate took the Persians about four hours. Wallace (1980) made the journey "in about five hours, or a little less, allowing some time for my getting lost and stopping to talk with shepherds." If we subtract 5 minute breaks on the hour (which is not unreasonable for lightly armed men in good physical condition) their total rest time over a thirteen hour period may have been less than two hours. If they in fact arrived at about 10 am behind the Greek line, regrouped and engaged the Greeks shortly thereafter, it would have taken them a total of approximately 13 hrs. to make the journey. If we subtract almost an hour for the Phokian skirmish, their actual journey (including rest periods) would have taken them a total of 12 hrs. In terms of distance traveled, therefore, we estimate that they may have covered the first part of the trip (to the crest of Kallidromos) at approximately 1.6 or 1.7 miles per hour (uphill and at night which may also have required slightly longer breaks) and the latter part of the trip (which was mostly downhill but over very rough terrain) at nearer to 1.8 or 1.9 miles an hour (including one or two breaks). We estimate, therefore, that the army covered about thirteen miles before running into the Phokians and another 7 or 8 miles to the Middle Gate and the Greek forces. Thus the total distance traveled by the Persians is estimated to be about 20 or so miles (about 32 kilometers). These estimates are working hypotheses which we intend to test on site in May of 2000.
It should be possible, therefore, to fit this model (about 20 miles in approx. 13 hrs., including breaks, regrouping after the skirmish with the Phokians and again before the final battle at Thermopylae), if our assumptions hold true, to one of the four paths scholars have suggested was the one taken by Hydarnes and his Immortals. It should also be possible to fix the location of the Phokian defense by working backwards and using the Immortals' arrival time at Thermopylae of 10 am. as a starting point. If the engagement with the Phokians took place at dawn, say about 5 am, and lasted for about half an hour, it would have taken the Persians about 4 more hours (at a rapid pace) to arrive at Thermopylae around 10 am. Further, we can assume that they made better time from the skirmish site since the path is fairly wide and descends rather briskly all the way down to the Alpenoi road. Traveling this second part of the trip at an estimated average speed of 1.8 or 1.9 miles per hour (including one or two rest stops) it is our hypothesis that the Phokian point of resistance on the Kallidromos path (monopati) could not be further than 7 or 8 miles from the Middle Gate (perhaps slightly less). Thus to determine the exact location of the skirmish with the Phokians we need to look for a point on the path that lies approximately 7 or 8 miles from the Middle Gate at Thermopylae and about 13 miles from the Immortals' staging area in the Gulf of Malia. We are in tentative agreement with Wallace (1980) that Nevropolis may well be near the spot where the Phokians defended the path. We also agree that Vardates may be the staging area. However, no conlusions may be drawn at this point until we hike the various paths and our hypotheses are tested against the three alternate hypotheses advanced by other scholars proposing the Asopos Gorge, the Damasta Spur and the Chalkomata Spring.
The Greeks' final stand on the hillock did not last for very long. By now Leonidas was dead, many were wounded or dying and weapons were damaged. In any case, the final hour could not have been very noble for the Persians, for they mostly kept their distance and killed off the defenders with arrows, spears and other projectiles. We also believe that some hand to hand combat may have ensued on the hillock, in the closing moments of the battle, after the Persian arrows and spears had incapacitated the remaining defenders (Herodotus tells us that the Greeks died fighting with their bare hands and teeth). It would seem that the Persians, now emboldened by the damage caused by their archers, simply moved in for the kill against the wounded and unarmed defenders who continued to fight to the very end.
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Today, the hillock (there is also some dispute as to which of two hillocks the Greeks actually made their final stand) is not very high. When I visited the site in the summer of 1999, I estimated it to be about fifty to sixty feet in height. However, evidence from drilling around the pass indicates that silting and erosion in the nearby hills may have raised the level of the pass by close to 65 feet. That is, when the battle took place in 480 BC, the level of the pass was lower by 65'. If this is the case, the height of the hillock in 480 BC may have been closer to 130' (or slightly more), which provides more room for soldiers to position themselves and gives defenders a small tactical advantage (fighting downhill). However, since the Persians failed to engage the Greeks in hand to hand combat until near the end of the battle (we think), it would appear that this advantage may have been of limited value to the Greek defenders. But, it may explain why they chose it to make their final stand. |
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| Possible Site Of The Greeks' Final Stand |
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