How big was the Persian army in the Battle of Thermopylae?
How big was the Persian army in the Battle of Thermopylae?
The Persian army was rumoured to have numbered over one million soldiers. Herodotus, a contemporary writer, put the Persian army strength as one million and went to great pains to describe how they were counted in groups of ten thousand at a review of the troops.
How many Persian soldiers were at the Battle of Thermopylae?
*The combined totals for Greek armies is 6,300, although most modern estimates are around the 7,000 mark. **Included in the Total Persian Army figures….Army sizes and compositions during the Battle of Thermopylae 480BCE.
| Characteristic | Greeks* | Persians |
|---|---|---|
| Total Persian Army (upper estimate) | – | 300,000 |
Why was Thermopylae a problem for the Persian army?
A narrow mountain pass, Thermopylae was a bottleneck through which the Persian army somehow had to proceed. Forced to fight there, the Persians would be unable to take advantage of their massive preponderance in numbers; instead, they would have to face the Greeks in close-quarter, hand-to-hand combat.
Did the Spartans beat the Persian army?
Before the Spartans and others died, however, they had slain twenty thousand Persians. Although the Greeks finally beat the Persians in the Battle of Platea in 479 B.C., thus ending the Greco-Persian Wars, many scholars attribute the eventual Greek success over the Persians to the Spartans’ defense at Thermopylae.
How big were 300 Spartans?
A Greek called Ephialtes betrayed his country by revealing a path to the Persians that allowed them to outflank Leonidas. The Spartan King dismissed most of the army and formed a rear-guard of around 1,500 men, including his 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians, 400 Thebans and a few hundred others, many of them slaves.
Who won the battle at Thermopylae?
Persian
The Persian victory at Thermopylae allowed for Xerxes’ passage into southern Greece, which expanded the Persian empire even further. Today the Battle of Thermopylae is celebrated as an example of heroic persistence against seemingly impossible odds.
Who won the Battle at Thermopylae?
Where was Xerxes during the Battle of Thermopylae?
In one of the famous battles of ancient history, a much smaller Greek army held off the huge Persian force at the narrow mountain pass of Thermopylae. Herodotus wrote in Book VII of “Histories”: “King Xerxes pitched his camp in the region of Malis called Trachinia, while on their side the Greeks occupied the straits.
What if the Spartans won at Thermopylae?
If they won, they probably would’ve followed the Persians back to Asia Minor. They’d eventually loose because of the Persian home advantage. And also the growing rift between Athens and Sparta would likely lead to an even larger Peloponnesian war.
Did Persia ever defeat Greece?
The Persian king Darius first attacked Greece in 490 BC, but was defeated at the Battle of Marathon by a mainly Athenian force. This humiliation led to the attempt to conquer Greece in 480-479 BC. After initial Persian victories, the Persians were eventually defeated, both at sea and on land.
