The Battle of Thermopylae - 480 BC
Thermopylae - For someone, such as myself, who was born in San Antonio, Texas the Battle of Thermopylae has a special significance. As with the men of the Alamo, the 300 Spartans voluntarily fought against a massive enemy force for as long as they could, knowing that they would not survive. And they did this in order to delay the enemy, buying time so their main forces had extra time to prepare. Their courage and sacrifice achieved the results they sought, the ultimate defeat of their enemy, even though they were not alive to enjoy the victory. As with the times that I visited the Alamo it was a great honor to visit Thermopylae.

It is said that when he was told that the Persians were so numerous that "their arrows would blot out the sun", a Spartan office, Dienékes, laughed and responded "Good. Then we will fight in the shade".

At the site of the battle a monument to King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans who stood against Xerxes and his Persians was built in 1955. They delayed the Persians, today estimated at between 210,000 to 242,000 men, for a crucial three days. This bought the remaining Greek forces extra time to organize which ultimately led to the victories at Salamis and Plataea.

The Spartans were not alone for most of the battle and once they were betrayed by Ephialtes and out flanked by the Persians 700 Thespian volunteers fought to the death with them. Another monument to the 700 Thespians is nearby, erected in 1997.

 

Below I get a photo taken with my two sons, Ryan and Patrick at the monument.

 

The edge of the mountains acted as one of the barriers to the Persians' advance and can be seen in this photo of the other side of the road. The other barrier, the sea, has retreated from the location as the area silted up. Together these barriers confined the attacking Persian force to this narrow strip of land.

 

Here is another photo of the monument as my wife Carole walks past.

 

 

 

 

Directly across the highway from the main monument is another monument on top of a small hill, Kolonos Hill.

Based on the number of Persian arrowhead found on this site it is believe to be where the remaining Spartans made their last stand with Leonidas' body. The inscription, in Greek, reads,

"Go tell the Spartans, thou who pass by,
that here, obedient to their laws, we lie."