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n emissary returning empty handed battle became inevitable xerxes delayed for four days waiting for the greeks to disperse before sending troops to attack them 62 opposing forces edit persian army edit for a full discussion of the size of the persian invasion force see second persian invasion of greece size of the persian forces soldiers of the achaemenid army of xerxes at the time of the battle of thermopylae tomb of xerxes circa 480 bc naqsh e rustam 63 64 top rank persian median elamite parthian arian bactrian sogdian chorasmian zarangian sattagydian gandharan hindush indians scythian bottom rank scythian babylonian assyrian arabian egyptian armenian cappadocian lydian ionian scythian thracian macedonian libyan ethiopian the number of troops which xerxes mustered for the second invasion of greece has been the subject of endless dispute most notably between ancient sources which report very large numbers and modern scholars who surmise much smaller figures herodotus claimed that there were in total 2 6 million military personnel accompanied by an equivalent number of support personnel 65 the poet simonides who was a contemporary talks of four million ctesias gave 800 000 as the total number of the army that was assembled by xerxes 8 modern scholars tend to reject the figures given by herodotus and other ancient sources as unrealistic resulting from miscalculations or exaggerations on the part of the victors 66 modern scholarly estimates are generally in the range 120 000 to 300 000 67 68 b robert von fischer has estimated the size of xerxes army at 40 000 troops 69 and hans has estimated 65 000 soldier 70 these estimates usually come from studying the logistical capabilities of the persians in that era the sustainability of their respective bases of operations and the overall manpower constraints affecting them whatever the real numbers were however it is clear that xerxes was anxious to ensure a successful expedition by mustering an overwhelming numerical superiority by land and by sea 71 the number of persian troops present at thermopylae is therefore as uncertain as the number for the total invasion force for instance it is unclear whether the whole persian army marched as far as thermopylae or whether xerxes left garrisons in macedon and thessaly greek army edit according to herodotus 53 72 and diodorus siculus 73 the greek army included the following forces group number herodotus numbers diodorus siculus lacedaemonians perioeci 900 74 700 or 1 000 spartan hoplites 300 74 300 mantineans 500 3 000 other peloponnesians sent with leonidas tegeans 500 arcadian orchomenos 120 other arcadians 1 000 corinthians 400 phlians 200 mycenaeans 80 total peloponnesians 3 100 53 or 4 000 75 4 000 or 4 300 thespians 700 malians 1 000 thebans 400 400 phocians 1 000 1 000 opuntian locrians all they had 1 000 grand total 5 200 or 6 100 plus the opuntian locrians 7 400 or 7 700 notes the number of peloponnesians diodorus suggests that there were 1 000 lacedemonians and 3 000 other peloponnesians totalling 4 000 herodotus agrees with this figure in one passage quoting an inscription by simonides saying there were 4 000 peloponnesians 75 however elsewhere in the passage summarised by the above table herodotus tallies 3 100 peloponnesians at thermopylae before the battle 53 herodotus also reports that at xerxes s public showing of the dead helots were also there for them to see 76 but he does not say how many or in what capacity they served thus the difference between his two figures can be squared by supposing without proof that there were 900 helots three per spartan present at the battle 74 if helots were present at the battle there is no reason to doubt that they served in their traditional role as armed retainers to individual spartans citation needed alternatively herodotus s missing 900 troops might have been perioeci and could therefore correspond to diodorus s 1 000 lacedemonians 74 the number of lacedemonians a modern recreation of a hoplite further confusing the issue is diodorus s ambiguity about whether his count of 1 000 lacedemonians included the 300 spartans at one point he says leonidas when he received the appointment announced that only one thousand men should follow him on the campaign 73 however he then says there were then of the lacedemonians one thousand and with them three hundred spartiates 73 it is therefore impossible to be clearer on this point pausanias s account agrees with that of herodotus whom he probably read except that he gives the number of locrians which herodotus declined to estimate residing in the direct path of the persian advance they gave all the fighting men they had according to pausanias 6 000 men which added to herodotus s 5 200 would have given a force of 11 200 77 many modern historians who usually consider herodotus more reliable 78 add the 1 000 lacedemonians and the 900 helots to herodotus s 5 200 to obtain 7 100 or about 7 000 men as a standard number neglecting diodorus s melians and pausanias s locrians 79 80 however this is only one approach and many other combinations are plausible furthermore the numbers changed later on in the battle when most of the army retreated and only approximately 3 000 men remained 300 spartans 700 thespians 400 thebans possibly up to 900 helots and 1 000 phocians stationed above the pass less the casualties sustained in the previous days 78 strategic and tactical considerations edit a flow map of the battle from a strategic point of view by defending thermopylae the greeks were making the best possible use of their forces 81 as long as they could prevent a further persian advance into greece they had no need to seek a decisive battle and could thus remain on the defensive moreover by defending two constricted passages thermopylae and artemisium the greeks inferior numbers became less of a factor 81 conversely for the persians the problem of supplying such a large army meant they could not remain in the same place for very long 82 the persians therefore had to retreat or advance and advancing required forcing the pass of thermopylae 82 tactically the pass at thermopylae was ideally suited to the greek style of warfare 81 a hoplite phalanx could block the narrow pass with ease with no risk of being outflanked by cavalry moreover in the pass the phalanx would have been very difficult to assault for the more lightly armed persian infantry 81 the major weak point for the greeks was the mountain track which led across the highland parallel to thermopylae that could allow their position to be outflanked although probably unsuitable for cavalry this path could easily be traversed by the persian infantry many of whom were versed in mountain warfare 83 leonidas was made aware of this path by local people from trachis and he positioned a detachment of phocian troops there in order to block this route 84 topography of the battlefield edit map of thermopylae area with a reconstructed shoreline of 480 bc it is often claimed that at the time the pass of thermopylae consisted of a track along the shore of the malian gulf so narrow that only one chariot could pass through at a time 54 in fact as noted below the pass was 100 metres 330 ft wide probably wider than the greeks could have held against the persian masses herodotus reports that the phocians had improved the defences of the pass by channeling the stream from the hot springs to create a marsh and it was a causeway across this marsh which was only wide enough for a single chariot to traverse in a later passage describing a gaulish attempt to force the pass pausanias states the cavalry on both sides proved useless as the ground at the pass is not only narrow but also smooth because of the natural rock while most of it is slippery owing to its being covered with streams the losses of the barbarians it was impossible to discover exactly for the number of them that disappeared beneath the mud was great 85 on the north side of the roadway was the malian gulf into which the land shelved gently when at a later date an army of gauls led by brennus attempted to force the pass the shallowness of the water gave the greek fleet great difficulty getting close enough to the fighting to bombard the gauls with ship borne missile weapons along the path itself was a series of three constrictions or gates pylai and at the centre gate a wall that had been erected by the phocians in the previous century to aid in their defence against thessalian invasions 54 the name hot gates comes from the hot springs that were located there 86 the terrain of the battlefield was nothing that xerxes and his forces were accustomed to although coming from a mountainous country the persians were not prepared for the real nature of the country they had invaded the pure ruggedness of this area is caused by torrential downpours for four months of the year combined with an intense summer season of scorching heat that cracks the ground vegetation is scarce and consists of low thorny shrubs the hillsides along the pass are covered in thick brush with some plants reaching 10 feet 3 0 m high with the sea on one side and steep impassable hills on the other king leonidas and his men chose the perfect topographical position to battle the persian invaders 87 today the pass is not near the sea but is several kilometres inland because of sedimentation in the malian gulf the old track appears at the foot of the hills around the plain flanked by a modern road recent core samples indicate that the pass was only 100 metres 330 ft wide and the waters came up to the gates little do the visitors realize that the battle took place across the road from the monument 88 the pass still is a natural defensive position to modern armies and forces of the british empire in the second world war made a defence in 1941 against the invasion by nazi germany mere metres from the original battlefield 89 maps of the region 90 91 image of the battlefield from the east 92 battle edit first day edit contemporary depictions probable spartan hoplite vix crater c 500 bc 93 and scythian warrior of the achaemenid army 63 94 tomb of xerxes c 480 bc at the time of the second persian invasion of greece 480 479 bc on the fifth day after the persian arrival at thermopylae and the first day of the battle xerxes finally resolved to attack the greeks first he ordered 5 000 archers to shoot a barrage of arrows but they were ineffective they shot from at least 100 yards away according to modern day scholars and the greeks wooden shields sometimes covered with a very thin layer of bronze and bronze helmets deflected the arrows 95 after that xerxes sent a force of 10 000 medes and cissians to take the defenders prisoner and bring them before him 62 96 the persians soon launched a frontal assault in waves of around 10 000 men on the greek position 62 the greeks fought in front of the phocian wall at the narrowest part of the pass which enabled them to use as few soldiers as possible 97 98 details of the tactics are scant diodorus says the men stood shoulder to shoulder and the greeks were superior in valour and in the great size of their shields 99 this probably describes the standard greek phalanx in which the men formed a wall of overlapping shields and layered spear points protruding out from the sides of the shields which would have been highly effective as long as it spanned the width of the pass 100 the weaker shields and shorter spears and swords of the persians prevented them from effectively engaging the greek hoplites 99 101 herodotus says that the units for each city were kept together units were rotated in and out of the battle to prevent fatigue which implies the greeks had more men than necessary to block the pass 102 the greeks killed so many medes that xerxes is said to have stood up three times from the seat from which he was watching the battle 103 according to ctesias the first wave was cut to ribbons with only two or three spartans killed in return 8 according to herodotus and diodorus xerxes having taken the measure of the enemy threw his best troops into a second assault the same day the immortals an elite corps of 10 000 men 99 101 however the immortals fared no better than the medes and failed to make any headway against the greeks 101 the spartans reportedly used a tactic of feigning retreat and then turning and killing the enemy troops when they ran after them 101 second day edit the flank exposed by ephialtes on the second day xerxes again sent in the infantry to attack the pass supposing that their enemies being so few were now disabled by wounds and could no longer resist 103 however the persians had no more success on the second day than on the first 103 xerxes at last stopped the assault and withdrew to his camp totally perplexed 8 later that day however as xerxes was pondering what to do next he received a windfall a trachinian named ephialtes informed him of the mountain path around thermopylae and offered to guide the persian army 104 ephialtes was motivated by the desire for a reward 104 for this act the name ephialtes received a lasting stigma it came to mean nightmare in the greek language and to symbolise the archetypal traitor in greek culture 105 herodotus reports that xerxes sent his commander hydarnes that evening with the men under his command the immortals to encircle the greeks via the path however he does not say who those men were 106 the immortals had been bloodied on the first day so it is possible that hydarnes may have been given overall command of an enhanced force including what was left of the immortals according to diodorus hydarnes had a force of 20 000 for the mission 107 the path led from east of the persian camp along the ridge of mt anopaea behind the cliffs that flanked the pass it branched with one path leading to phocis and the other down to the malian gulf at alpenus the first town of locris 55 third day edit scene of the battle of the thermopylae 19th century illustration at daybreak on the third day the phocians guarding the path above thermopylae became aware of the outflanking persian column by the rustling of oak leaves herodotus says they jumped up and were greatly amazed 108 hydarnes was perhaps just as amazed to see them hastily arming themselves as they were to see him and his forces 109 he feared they were spartans but was informed by ephialtes that they were not 108 the phocians retreated to a nearby hill to make their stand assuming the persians had come to attack them 108 however not wishing to be delayed the persians merely shot a volley of arrows at them before bypassing them to continue with their encirclement of the main greek force 108 learning from a runner that the phocians had not held the path leonidas called a council of war at dawn 110 according to diodorus a persian called tyrrhastiadas a cymaean by birth warned the greeks 111 some of the greeks argued for withdrawal but leonidas resolved to stay at the pass with...