Battle of Thermopylae

Battle of Thermopylae
Part of the Greco-Persian Wars
The site of the battle today: the road to the right is built on reclaimed land and approximates the 480 BC shoreline.
Date August 7[1] or September 8–10,[2] 480 BC Location Thermopylae, Greece Result Persian victory.a[›] Territorial changes Persians gain control of Boeotia and march for Athens.
Belligerents
Greek city-states	Persian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Leonidas I †, Demophilus †	Xerxes I of Persia, Mardonius, Hydarnes
Strength
Total 5,200+ (Herodotus) 7,400+ (Diodorus) 11,200 (Pausanias)	Total 2,600,000 (Herodotus)[3] ~800,000 (Ctesias) 70,000–300,000 (modern estimates)b[›]
Casualties and losses
1,000 to 4,000 (Herodotus)[3]	~20,000 (Herodotus)[4]

The Battle of Thermopylae, 480 BC,^[5] was a battle in the second Persian invasion of Greece.^[6] It was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I. It took place at the pass of Thermopylae.^[7] The battle was fought for over three days, at the same time as the naval Battle of Artemisium.^[8]

1. ↑ John Lemprière, A Classical Dictionary Containing a Copious Account of all the Proper Names Mentioned in Ancient Authors (London: 1863), p. 10
2. ↑ Edward Greswell, Origines Kalendariæ Hellenicæ (Oxford, University Press, 1862), p. 374
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Herodotus, with an English translation, ed. A. D. Godley (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1920) Book VIII, p. 25
4. ↑ Herodotus, with an English translation, ed. A. D. Godley (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1920) Book VIII, p. 24
5. ↑ pronounced /θərˈmɒpɨliː/, thər-MOP-i-lee; Greek: Μάχη τῶν Θερμοπυλῶν, Machē tōn Thermopylōn
6. ↑ Iggulden, Hal; Iggulden, Conn (2007). "Famous Battles – Part One: 1. Thermopylae 480 BC". The Dangerous Book for Boys. New York: HarperCollins. pp. 53–54. ISBN 978-0061243585.
7. ↑ means 'The Hot Gates'
8. ↑ Herodotus; Robin Waterfield; Carolyn Dewald The Histories (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 712