Why did they only send 300 Spartans?
They didn’t believe the Persians to be a large enough threat to send the entire army of about 6,000. Instead, they believed that 300 Spartans were elite enough to hold the pass. And they were, until a Greek betrayed Leonidas and told the Persians about a secret pass he could use to surround Leonidas.
How many Spartans were there in 300?
In the late summer of 480 B.C., Leonidas led an army of 6,000 to 7,000 Greeks from many city-states, including 300 Spartans, in an attempt to prevent the Persians from passing through Thermopylae.
How many Spartans were there in Sparta?
At its peak around 500 BC, Sparta had some 20,000–35,000 citizens, plus numerous helots and perioikoi. The likely total of 40,000–50,000 made Sparta one of the larger Greek city-states; however, according to Thucydides, the population of Athens in 431 BC was 360,000–610,000, making it much larger.
How many Spartans stood strong at the Battle of Thermopylae?
300 Spartans
Leonidas, aware that his force was being outflanked, dismissed the bulk of the Greek army and remained to guard their retreat with 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians….
| Battle of Thermopylae | |
|---|---|
| King Leonidas of Sparta † Demophilus of Thespiae † Leontiades of Thebes | King Xerxes I of Persia Mardonius Hydarnes II Artapanus |
| Strength |
How tall is the bad guy in 300?
In a larger than life battle film like “300,” the villain has to be extra-larger than life. Xerxes, the king of Persia, is portrayed as seven feet tall. Actor Rodrigo Santoro is only 6’2″.
How many Persians died at Thermopylae?
To protect them, he remained at Thermopylae with his 300 Spartans and about 1,000 other Greek allies. The Persian army slaughtered most of the defenders, including Leonidas and all the Spartans. Historians estimate battle casualties of about 20,000 Persians and 2,000 Greeks.
How many hoplites were there for Sparta?
Some 7,500 Spartan hoplites engaged 3,000 Athenian spearmen across the restricted space. Many of the Athenians had only makeshift gear, but with their flanks anchored next to the wetlands and a rising slope, they made a spirited fight of it. In the end, Pausanius’s deeper files finally pushed their way to victory.
Why was the Battle of Thermopylae so important?
Thermopylae was a hugely important battle because of its military tactics. During this battle, the Greeks used the narrow path called the “Middle Gate” as a defense to make the Persian army’s greater numbers meaningless. The Persian army, led by Xerxes , had 2.5 million soldiers, according to the historian Herodotus .
How many Persians fought in the Battle of Plataea?
Ctesias, who wrote a history of Persia based on Persian archives, claimed there were 120,000 Persian and 7,000 Greek soldiers, but his account is generally garbled (for instance, placing this battle before Salamis, he also says there were only 300 Spartans, 1000 perioeci and 6000 from the other cities at Plataea, perhaps confusing it with Thermopylae).