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was clearly that the numbers committed by the defenders were nowhere near enough. The reasons behind this fact are varied and debated, lack of unity, political allegiances and religious traditions all played a part but in general it was probable that each city was more concerned with keeping its troops back to defend itself. Also a large Peloponnesian Navy, possibly three quarters of the total force available, was preparing for battle at Artemisium, possibly fighting on the very same day as Thermopylae. It was possible that this was perceived as the main contest whilst Persian land forces were bottled up in this northern mountain pass.

What ever the reasons, Leonidas heroism saved the cause of Greek unity. After direct assaults failed, a Greek traitor told the Persians of the mountain path that would undermine Leonidas position. When he heard that his 1000 strong force no longer held the mountain path, he knew the position was lost, he dismissed the allies and with his 300 countrymen and the 1100 Boetians who refused to leave, made the ultimate sacrifice and died a heroes death.

"Tell them in Lacedaemon, passer by, obedient to their orders, here we lie."

It's a great story which ever way you look at it and proves that underneath these popular modern screen adaptations, there is often an even bigger story waiting to be told, but as I said in the introduction, what makes a good film is not always the same thing that makes a good narrative. I'm sure the story of the battle of Thermopylae was in many ways the Hollywood epic of its day. I like to imagine children in the first century B.C. sitting around the hearth listening to tales and uttering lines like "not your old war stories again father, we want to here about Leonidas and the Spartans at Thermopylae".

Learn more about this author, Dave Franklin.
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