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Unfortunately for the Greeks, Thermopylae held a secret: a small pass by which the main defenses could be outflanked.

On the sixth night, the second of the battle , the Immortals followed this path, brushed aside the small guard and prepared to catch the Greeks in a pincer.

King Leonidas , undisputed head of the Greek defenders, was made aware of this pincer by a runner. Unwilling to sacrifice the entire army, but determined to keep the Spartan promise to defend Thermopylae, or perhaps just act as a rearguard, he ordered everyone but his Spartans and their Helots to retreat. Many did, but the Thebans and Thespians stayed the former possibly because Leonidas insisted they stay as hostages. When battle commenced the next day, there were Greeks left, including Spartans two having been sent on missions.

Caught between the main Persian army and 10, men to their rear, all were involved in fighting and wiped out. Only Thebans who surrendered remained. It is entirely possible the above account contains other myths. Historians have suggested the full force of Greeks may have been as high as 8, to begin with or that the 1, only stayed put on the third day after being trapped by the Immortals.

The truth of the defense of Thermopylae is no less fascinating than the myth and should undercut the transformation of the Spartans into idealized supermen.

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Trailer Clip A Guide to the Films of Zack Snyder. Featurette Interview Photos Top cast Edit. David Wenham Dilios as Dilios. Dominic West Theron as Theron. Vincent Regan Captain as Captain. Michael Fassbender Stelios as Stelios. Tom Wisdom Astinos as Astinos. Andrew Pleavin Daxos as Daxos. Andrew Tiernan Ephialtes as Ephialtes. Rodrigo Santoro Xerxes as Xerxes. Stephen McHattie Loyalist as Loyalist. Greg Kramer Ephor 1 as Ephor 1. Alex Ivanovici Ephor 2 as Ephor 2.

Eli Snyder Leonidas at 7 as Leonidas at 7 …. Tyler Neitzel Leonidas at 15 yrs as Leonidas at 15 yrs. Zack Snyder. More like this. Watch options. Storyline Edit. In the Battle of Thermopylae of BC an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian army in the mountain pass of Thermopylae. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the enemy in one of the most famous last stands of history.

Persian King Xerxes led a Army of well over , Persian king Xerxes before war has about , army men to Greece and was confronted by Spartans, Thespians, and Thebans. Xerxes waited for 10 days for King Leonidas to surrender or withdraw but left with no options he pushed forward. After 3 days of battle all the Greeks were killed. By turns charismatic and ruthless, brilliant and power hungry, diplomatic and The so-called golden age of Athenian culture flourished under the leadership of Pericles B.

Pericles transformed his Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Training as a Hoplite Leonidas was the son of the Spartan king Anaxandrides died c. Recommended for you. How the Troubles Began in Northern Ireland. Last Stand of the The Kill Zone. Julius Caesar. Peloponnesian War. Hannibal's Bloody Tactics. Herodotus Herodotus was a Greek writer and geographer credited with being the first historian.

Thucydides One of the greatest ancient historians, Thucydides c. At about the same level, the Greek fleet under the Athenian leadership would try to block the Persian fleet at the straits of Artemisium and hope for a decisive victory. A vast army like that would face huge problems with supplies and could not stay away from a fresh water source for long. Thermopylae offered the perfect landscape for this kind of tactic. A small force could block the small passage between the mountain and the sea and try to delay the Persians as much as possible.

Imagine a bottle with two mouths. If Ephialtes had not betrayed the mountain passage that encircled the Greek army, no one knows how many more days the Greeks would hold Thermopylae. The Spartans were a militaristic society. They were born, raised and lived training in the art of war and joining war expeditions.

Until the age of seven, the boys were raised by their parents, mainly their mother. The boy was taken from his family and was now under the care of the state. Sparta was the only city-state with no defensive walls, after they had been demolished with the order of Lycurgus. The education of the children, however, was not only militaristic.

They were learning how to hunt, dance, sing and become proper Spartan citizens. The girls also had a form of state education that involved music, dancing, poetry, writing, gymnastics, sports and war education. However, the girls were raised in the house by their mother while being educated. High physical fitness and moral integrity were the ultimate goals of their education. The Spartan girls were also encouraged to help the males by humiliating them in public and by criticizing their exercising.

Just as Spartan males were raised to become warriors, the females of Sparta were trained for their primary task: giving birth to warriors; as the saying went, "only Spartan women could give birth to men. From the age of 20 and the successful completion of Agoge, the military service of the Spartan man began and continued uninterrupted until the age of While in every other city-state the citizens had various other occupations - agriculture, handicrafts, trade, shipping, intellectual pursuits, moral pursuits and literary discussions - in Sparta the citizen was for the rest of his life a soldier and only a soldier.

In other words, no Spartan should surrender or retreat. They would either come back victorious or dead on their shield. Sparta's role in the Greek-Persian wars was decisive, but also heterogeneous. During the 1st campaign of the Persian Empire against the Greek world, after hearing the messenger Pheidippides, with whom Athens sought the help of the Lacedaemonians before the Battle of Marathon in BC, the Spartans decided to first complete the religious ceremonies of Carnea before marching to Marathon.

They reached the battlefield after the battle was over and the Athenians had defeated the enemy. During the second Persian campaign, under the leadership of King Xerxes I, Sparta faced the same dilemma. The Persians chose, not by chance, to campaign during the period of the Olympic truce, which had to be observed.

Other Greek cities with less hesitation set about creating a strong fleet. Eventually, it was decided that the Spartans would provide a small force under the orders of King Leonidas, in order to protect the then narrow passage of Thermopylae.

However, there is always the opinion that the Spartans brought their religious customs to the forefront in search of a pretext. Those who hold this view believe that the Lacedaemonians believed that they would have no luck in defending Thermopylae, preferring to devote all their energy in defending the Isthmus of Corinth.

However, they feared that if Athens fell or joined the Persians they would have no chance. The loss of the Athenian fleet would be disastrous for the Greek resistance, something that could not be endangered. The other view, which is clearly based on the true outcome of the battle, supports that the Spartans were convinced that they could defend Thermopylae successfully even with the small force they sent.

In the end, this battle created one of the most magnificent legends in world history and one of the greatest last stands. Some historians question the importance of the battle of Thermopylae for the outcome of the war. The Athenian fleet, hearing the fall of Thermopylae, immediately retreated from the straits of Artemisium towards Athens. It was the next naval battle, at the straits of Salamis, that was truly the turning point for this epic war. The battle of Salamis was the inspiration for the events that take place in the movie Rise of an Empire.

Many historians cite the Battle of Salamis as one of the most important battles in human history. Thermopylae took its name for the springs of hot water gushing through the ground.

Today the landscape of Thermopylae is much different than in the 5th century BC. The narrow passage between the mountain and the sea is not so narrow but you can still see how it could have worked back then.

Near the battlefield, there is a monument with a statue of King Leonidas.