← Annalium map

Battle of Thermopylae

The 300 at the Hot Gates — three days holding the pass against Xerxes' empire, and the goat-path betrayal that ended it (480 BCE).

Scroll to advance through the battle ↓

Phase by phase

1. Persian arrival and four-day standoff · Days -4 to 0 (late July / early August 480 BCE)
   Xerxes I
   Xerxes arrives and waitsPersia (Xerxes)
   The Persian host reaches the Malian plain west of the pass and encamps near Trachis. Xerxes, expecting the heavily outnumbered Greeks to flee, delays his attack for four days. Leonidas holds the narrow Middle Gate behind the rebuilt Phocian Wall and posts 1,000 Phocians up on the Anopaia heights to guard the one flanking path.
   Persian camp on the Malian plain / Trachis, west of the West Gate · reconstructed · Herodotus VII.201–210; Wikipedia: Battle of Thermopylae (Xerxes delayed four days expecting the Greeks to disperse)
2. Day 1 — opening assault · Day 1, morning (c. 11 August 480 BCE)
   Leonidas I
   Archers and the Medes attackPersia (Xerxes)
   Xerxes opens with a barrage of archers, ineffective against Greek bronze and layered wooden shields, then sends in waves of Medes and Cissians (~10,000). Funnelled into the ~100 m-wide gap at the Middle Gate, the Persians are cut down against the Greek phalanx's wall of overlapping shields and spears. Herodotus says Xerxes leapt from his seat three times in alarm.
   The Middle Gate, in front of the Phocian Wall (near the Wikidata anchor) · reconstructed · Herodotus VII.210–211; Wikipedia: Battle of Thermopylae (Medes/Cissians in waves of ~10,000; phalanx superiority in the narrows)
3. Day 1 — the Immortals committed · Day 1, afternoon
   The Immortals fail
   Xerxes commits his 10,000 elite Immortals under Hydarnes. They fare no better in the constricted pass. The Spartans reportedly use feigned retreats — turning suddenly to slaughter pursuers who break formation on the open-seeming ground — and the day ends with heavy Persian losses and minimal Spartan casualties.
   The Middle Gate bottleneck · reconstructed · Herodotus VII.211 (Immortals under Hydarnes fail; feigned-retreat tactic)
4. Day 2 — renewed frontal assaults · Day 2
   Leonidas I
   Day two: no progressPersia (Xerxes)
   Xerxes renews the attack the next day, assuming the few defenders must now be crippled by wounds. The rotating Greek contingents again hold the line at the wall, and the Persians make no headway. Xerxes withdraws his troops, Herodotus says, 'totally perplexed.'
   The Middle Gate, before the Phocian Wall · reconstructed · Herodotus VII.212 (second day of assaults repelled; Xerxes 'at a loss')
5. The betrayal · Day 2, evening
   Ephialtes reveals the hidden pathPersia (Xerxes)
   That evening the local Trachinian Ephialtes comes to Xerxes seeking a reward and discloses the Anopaia mountain path that loops around the pass. His name would become the Greek word for 'nightmare' and the archetype of the traitor. Xerxes immediately dispatches Hydarnes with the Immortals to march it overnight. (Ephialtes has no ancient portrait, so no lead figure is shown.)
   Persian camp near Trachis / the Asopos gorge, western entrance to the path · documented · Herodotus VII.213–215 (Ephialtes son of Eurydemos of Malis reveals the path for a reward); Livius.org — Thermopylae
6. The flanking march · Night, Day 2 into Day 3 dawn
   Night march over the Anopaia pathPersia (Xerxes)
   Guided by Ephialtes, Hydarnes leads the Immortals up from the Asopos gorge, along the wooded ridge of Mount Kallidromon (Anopaea), through the night. The route bypasses the Middle Gate entirely, aiming to descend behind the Greeks near Alpeni at the East Gate. (Hydarnes the Younger has no ancient portrait, so no lead figure is shown.)
   Anopaia ridge path over Mt. Kallidromon, south of and above the coastal pass · reconstructed · Herodotus VII.215–217; Livius.org (path runs from the Asopos gorge over the crest, terminating near Alpeni/Melampygus rock)
7. The Phocians overrun · Day 3, dawn
   The Phocians scatter
   At first light the 1,000 Phocians posted on the heights hear the Persians in the oak leaves and scramble to arms. Hydarnes, fearing they are Spartans, is reassured by Ephialtes; the Persians loose a volley of arrows and the Phocians pull back up a nearby hill. Rather than fight them, Hydarnes ignores them and presses on down toward the pass, leaving the flanking route open.
   Phocian position on the Kallidromon heights, above the East Gate · reconstructed · Herodotus VII.217–218 (Phocians alerted by rustling leaves, driven off by arrows, bypassed)
8. The last council · Day 3, early morning
   Leonidas I
   Leonidas dismisses the alliesGreek city-states (Leonidas)
   Warned by runners and a deserter that the encirclement is under way, Leonidas holds a dawn council and releases most of the allied contingents to save them for later battles. He stays with his 300 Spartans; the ~700 Thespians under Demophilus refuse to leave, and ~400 Thebans remain — leaving roughly 2,000 (with helots) to cover the retreat.
   The Greek camp at the Middle Gate, behind the Phocian Wall · reconstructed · Herodotus VII.219–222 (council; allies dismissed; Spartans, Thespians under Demophilus, and Thebans remain)
9. Day 3 — the final sortie · Day 3, mid-morning
   Leonidas I
   Sally into the open passGreek city-states (Leonidas)
   Knowing they will die, the remaining Greeks no longer hold the narrow neck but advance out into the wider part of the pass to kill as many Persians as possible. They fight until their spears shatter, then draw their short swords (xiphē). Persian officers drive their men forward with whips; many are trampled or drowned against the sea.
   The wider western stretch of the pass, forward of the Phocian Wall · reconstructed · Herodotus VII.223 (Greeks sally into the broad part of the pass; spears break, swords drawn; Persians whipped forward)
10. Death of Leonidas · Day 3, midday
    Leonidas I
    Leonidas falls
    Leonidas is killed in the thick of the fighting, and a fierce struggle erupts over his body; the Greeks drag it back and drive off the Persians four times. Herodotus names two of Xerxes's brothers, Abrocomes and Hyperanthes, among the Persian dead here.
    The pass, forward of the Phocian Wall · reconstructed · Herodotus VII.224–225 (Leonidas killed; fight over his corpse; brothers Abrocomes and Hyperanthes die)
11. The last stand · Day 3, afternoon
    Xerxes I
    Encircled on Kolonos Hill
    As Hydarnes's Immortals close in from behind, the survivors carry Leonidas's body back and make their final stand on the low mound of Kolonos Hill inside the pass. The Thebans reportedly break away and surrender; the Spartans and Thespians fight on with swords, hands, and teeth until Xerxes has the hill ringed and the last man shot down. Marinatos's 1939 dig found masses of Persian arrowheads here, confirming the site.
    Kolonos Hill, inside the pass behind the Phocian Wall · reconstructed · Herodotus VII.225 (survivors withdraw to the hill, overwhelmed by arrows; Thebans surrender); Marinatos 1939 excavation (Persian arrowheads on Kolonos Hill)

Sources

• Herodotus, Histories, Book VII (the single principal ancient source; partisan and numerically exaggerated)
• Wikipedia: Battle of Thermopylae — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae
• Wikipedia: Thermopylae (geography; ancient shoreline advanced up to 9 km, pass now buried under ~20 m of silt) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermopylae
• Wikidata Q131969 (coordinates 38.7958, 22.5369; traditional date 11 Aug 480 BCE)
• Livius.org — Thermopylae (Anopaia path from the Asopos gorge over Mt. Kallidromon, descending near Alpeni) — https://www.livius.org/articles/place/thermopylae/
• National Geographic — 'Betrayal crushed Sparta's last stand at the Battle of Thermopylae'
• Spyridon Marinatos (1939 excavation) — Persian bronze arrowheads on Kolonos Hill confirming the last-stand site

On the data

DATA INTEGRITY: Nearly the entire tactical sequence rests on ONE ancient, non-disinterested source (Herodotus, writing decades later and pro-Greek); there is no Persian account. Force numbers are notoriously unreliable — Herodotus's Persian totals (up to 2.6M; Simonides said ~4M) are universally rejected; modern estimates run 120,000–300,000. Greek strength (~7,000 initially, ~2,000 at the last stand) is more plausible but still approximate. Consequently MOST phases are tagged 'reconstructed', not 'documented'. Specific debated points: (1) the exact date (11 Aug 480 BCE is traditional/computed, not attested); (2) the precise route of the Anopaia path and where it descended — scholars dispute the trace, though the Asopos-gorge start and Alpeni/east-gate exit are the consensus; (3) whether the 400 Thebans were unwilling hostages or genuine anti-Persian loyalists (Herodotus is hostile to Thebes); (4) whether Leonidas deliberately formed a rearguard to cover a retreat or was simply trapped. COORDINATES: The ancient coastline was radically different — the sea then lapped almost against the road (the pass was ~100 m wide at the gates); today the shoreline is up to 9 km north and the battlefield is buried under ~20 m of silt. All phase coordinates are placed along the ancient pass line near the Wikidata anchor (22.537, 38.796) and are approximate reconstructions of the ancient terrain, NOT modern GPS features. IMAGES: Only Leonidas I and Xerxes I have verified Wikimedia portraits (a Sparta hoplite statue commonly captioned Leonidas, and a National Museum of Iran relief of Xerxes — neither is a contemporaneous likeness of the individual). Ephialtes, Hydarnes the Younger, and Demophilus have NO Wikimedia portrait, so 'lead' is omitted for their phases rather than fabricated.

Hand-authored from the sources below. Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected].