The Battle of Thermopylae ( Historical )
353September 8th, 480 B.C.
It has been 10 years since the remarkable victory at the Battle of Marathon, and now King Xerxes, son of Darius, has assembled the largest invasion force the ancient world has ever know, more than 300,000 strong and has crossed the Hellespont. The Kingdoms of Macedon, Thrace, and Thessaly are already in Persian control. The Greeks have assembled since an alliance, the League of Corinth, to combat the Persians and have given command of their land forces to King Leonidas of Sparta. Themistocles of Athens persuades the Greeks to defend the southern route to Greece at the narrow pass of Thermopylae, while he would defend the straits of Artemisium with the Greek navy. Leonidas agrees and heads north with 300 Spartans to lead the Greek coalition to defend the Hot Gates.
Along with the Phocians, Thespians, and Thebans, Leonidas and the 300 prepare to face the encroaching barbarian horde which aims to engulf all of Greece, within the narrow pass of Thermopylae and behind the stone wall
Script for Battle
Day I
On the fifth day after the Persian arrival at Thermopylae, Xerxes finally resolves to attack the Greeks.
He orders five thousand archers to fire a barrage of arrows at the Greeks
Their arrows blot out the sun
The bronze shields and helmets deflected the missiles, leaving no permanent damage
The Spartans fight in the shade
Xerxes now sends a force of ten thousand Medes and against the Greeks, to take them prisoner and bring them before him
The Persians soon find themselves facing the greatest warriors of all the known world
The Spartan phalanx holds strong, beating back the first and second waves of Persians
Xerxes is infuriated with the failure of the Medes and decides to send in his own personal elite, the Immortals, to defeat Leonidas and the 300 Spartans
Immortals, we will put their name to the test
In the face of the Immortals, the Spartans feign a retreat, and then turn and kill the enemy troops whom became trapped in the narrow pass
I damn good start
Day II
Xerxes begins once again to send in the infantry to attack Greeks, believing many of them to have been wounded from having battled all day the day before
Yet, Leonidas and the Spartans defeat the second wave of Persians with ease, just as the day before
Xerxes is perplexed and retires to his tent
Yet, while Xerxes is resting at the Persian camp, a Trachinian named Ephialtes informs him about an old goat path that could be used to sneak forces around Leonidas' position and surround the Greeks
Xerxes sends his general, Hydarnes, along with the remaining Immortals to take the path and encircle the Greeks
While crossing the goat path, Hydarnes encounters the Phocians Leonidas had posted to guard the area
Seeing the immense numbers of the Persians, the Phocians abandon their arms and flee from the enemy
It is now only a matter of time before Leonidas and the Greek coalition are completely surrounded, with no way to escape from certain death
Leonidas is informed that the Phocians failed to defend the hill and the Persians would encircle their entire position by day break
King Leonidas address the 300
Thus begins the last stand of the 300
Day III
Before the Persians arrive behind Leonidas, he orders the rest of the Greeks to withdraw from Thermopylae, while he and the 300 Spartans would stay and fight to the death
Most of the Greek contigents leave, Leonidas and the 300 to act as a rear guard to allow the rest time to flee to safety
Yet, the contingent of 700 Thespians refuse to flee and commit to stay and fight, along with 400 Thebans
At dawn, Xerxes advances his main forces, allowing some time for the Immortals to descend behind the remaining Greeks
A Persian force of ten thousand men, consisting of light infantry and cavalry, charged at the front of the Greek formation
The Greeks this time sallied forth from the wall to meet the Persians in the wider part of the pass in an attempt to slaughter as many Persians as they could
A deadly battle to the death, ensued
The Spartans fight like mad Gods on the battlefield, with spear, sword, shield, helmet, stones, biting and scratching, bare handed even.
The Spartans have been trained since seven years old to fight to their last breath, to relish battle, to fight to the death, and to die for their city
This is the day Leonidas has been waiting for entire life as king
Admist the chaos of battle, Leonidas is struck by countless arrows and falls
A deadly battles ensues over his dead body, Spartans and Persains fighting aimlessly for the fallen king
After tearing down part of the wall along the coast, Xerxes orders the hill to be surrounded by the Persian archers
The Persian archers rain down arrows till every last Spartan is killed
After hours of mortal combat, the 300 along with their allies are slain or taken capture
Leonidas along with the Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae are defeated
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