The Spartan army stood at the center of the Spartan state, citizens trained in the disciplines and honor of a warrior society. [1] Subjected to military drills since early manhood, the Spartans became one of the most feared and formidable military forces in the Greek world, attaining legendary status in their wars against Persia. At the height of Sparta's power – between the 6th and 4th centuries BC – other Greeks commonly accepted that "one Spartan was worth several men of any other state." [1] Herodotus tells us that Leonidas, in line with the prophecy, was convinced he was going to certain death since his forces were not adequate for a victory, and so he selected only Spartans with living sons. [50] The kings and the hippeis [ edit ] Areus I, a Spartan king during the Chremonidean War, on a coin (310–266 BC) Tung, Douglas S.; Tung, Teresa K. (2010). 36 Stratagems Plus: Illustrated by International Cases. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4269-2806-2. It is reported that, upon arriving at Thermopylae, the Persians sent a mounted scout to reconnoitre. The Greeks allowed him to come up to the camp, observe them, and depart. Xerxes found the scout's reports of the size of the Greek force, and that the Spartans were indulging in callisthenics and combing their long hair, laughable. Seeking the counsel of Demaratus, an exiled Spartan king in his retinue, Xerxes was told the Spartans were preparing for battle, and it was their custom to adorn their hair when they were about to risk their lives. Demaratus called them "the bravest men in Greece" and warned the Great King they intended to dispute the pass. He emphasized that he had tried to warn Xerxes earlier in the campaign, but the king had refused to believe him. He added that if Xerxes ever managed to subdue the Spartans, "there is no other nation in all the world which will venture to lift a hand in their defence." [163]

Mardonius moved to break the stalemate by trying to win over the Athenians and their fleet through the mediation of Alexander I of Macedon, offering peace, self-government and territorial expansion. [28] The Athenians made sure that a Spartan delegation was also on hand to hear the offer, and rejected it: By the late 6th century BC, Sparta was recognized as the preeminent Greek polis. King Croesus of Lydia established an alliance with the Spartans, [10] and later, the Greek cities of Asia Minor appealed to them for help during the Ionian Revolt. [10] During the second Persian invasion of Greece, under Xerxes, Sparta was assigned the overall leadership of Greek forces on both land and sea. The Spartans played a crucial role in the repulsion of the invasion, notably at the battles of Thermopylae and Plataea. However, during the aftermath, because of the plotting of Pausanias with the Persians and their unwillingness to campaign too far from home, the Spartans withdrew into relative isolation. The power vacuum resulted in Athens' rise to power, who became the lead in the continued effort against the Persians. This isolationist tendency was further reinforced by some of her allies' revolts and a great earthquake in 464, which was followed by a large scale revolt of the Messenian helots. [8] Main articles: Greco-Persian Wars and Second Persian invasion of Greece Map of Greece during the Persian Wars from the Ionian Revolt. Plataea and Mycale have great significance in ancient history as the battles that decisively ended the second Persian invasion of Greece, thereby swinging the balance of the Greco-Persian Wars in favour of the Greeks. They kept Persia from conquering all of Greece, although they paid a high price by losing many of their men. [109] The Battle of Marathon showed that the Persians could be defeated, and the Battle of Salamis saved Greece from immediate conquest, but it was Plataea and Mycale that effectively ended that threat. [109] However, neither of these battles is nearly as well known as Thermopylae, Salamis or Marathon. [110] The reason for this discrepancy is not entirely clear; it might, however, be a result of the circumstances in which the battle was fought. The fame of Thermopylae certainly lies in the doomed heroism of the Greeks in the face of overwhelming numbers; [111] and Marathon and Salamis perhaps because they were both fought against the odds, and in dire strategic situations. [24] Conversely, the Battles of Plataea and Mycale were both fought from a relative position of Greek strength, and against lesser odds; the Greeks, in fact, sought out battle on both occasions. [28] [109]

Until the late 5th century, however, each file seems to have had a depth of only 8 men. Connolly (2006), p. 40 Morris, Ian Macgregor (2007). " 'Shrines of the Mighty': Rediscovering the Battlefields of the Persian Wars". In Bridges, Emma; Hall, Edith; Rhodes, P. J. (eds.). Cultural Responses to the Persian Wars: Antiquity to the Third Millennium. OUP Oxford. pp.231–232. ISBN 978-0-19-155751-4. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023 . Retrieved 10 January 2023.

The number of troops which Xerxes mustered for the second invasion of Greece has been the subject of endless dispute, most notably between ancient sources, which report very large numbers, and modern scholars, who surmise much smaller figures. Herodotus claimed that there were, in total, 2.6 million military personnel, accompanied by an equivalent number of support personnel. [64] The poet Simonides, who was a contemporary, talks of four million; Ctesias gave 800,000 as the total number of the army that was assembled by Xerxes. [7] Modern scholars tend to reject the figures given by Herodotus and other ancient sources as unrealistic, resulting from miscalculations or exaggerations on the part of the victors. [65] Modern scholarly estimates are generally in the range 120,000 to 300,000. [66] [67] [b] These estimates usually come from studying the logistical capabilities of the Persians in that era, the sustainability of their respective bases of operations, and the overall manpower constraints affecting them. Whatever the real numbers were, however, it is clear that Xerxes was anxious to ensure a successful expedition by mustering an overwhelming numerical superiority by land and by sea. [68] It is sometimes stated that Thermopylae was a Pyrrhic victory for the Persians [4] [5] (i.e., one in which the victor is as damaged by the battle as the defeated party). However, there is no suggestion by Herodotus that the effect on the Persian forces was that. The idea ignores the fact that the Persians would, in the aftermath of Thermopylae, conquer the majority of Greece, [136] and the fact that they were still fighting in Greece a year later. [137] Alternatively, the argument is sometimes advanced that the last stand at Thermopylae was a successful delaying action that gave the Greek navy time to prepare for the Battle of Salamis. [c] However, compared to the probable time (about one month) between Thermopylae and Salamis, the time bought was negligible. [138] Furthermore, this idea also neglects the fact that a Greek navy was fighting at Artemisium during the Battle of Thermopylae, incurring losses in the process. [139] George Cawkwell suggests that the gap between Thermopylae and Salamis was caused by Xerxes' systematically reducing Greek opposition in Phocis and Boeotia, and not as a result of the Battle of Thermopylae; thus, as a delaying action, Thermopylae was insignificant compared to Xerxes' own procrastination. [136] Far from labelling Thermopylae as a Pyrrhic victory, modern academic treatises on the Greco-Persian Wars tend to emphasise the success of Xerxes in breaching the formidable Greek position and the subsequent conquest of the majority of Greece. For instance, Cawkwell states: "he was successful on both land and sea, and the Great Invasion began with a brilliant success.Ring, Trudy; Watson, Noelle; Schellinger, Paul (5 November 2013). Southern Europe: International Dictionary of Historic Places. Routledge. p.695. ISBN 978-1-134-25958-8.

Main articles: Battle of Mycale and Second Persian invasion of Greece Greek hoplite and Persian warrior depicted fighting on an ancient kylix. Fifth century BC

The Sacred Band

Bradford, Ernle (2004). Thermopylae: the battle for the West (1st Da Capo Press pbk.ed.). New York: Da Capo Press. p.137. ISBN 9780306813603. The degree to which we are put in the shadow by the Medes' strength is hardly something you need to bring to our attention. We are already well aware of it. But even so, such is our love of liberty, that we will never surrender. [28] Hodkinson, Stephen (1996). "Agoge". In Hornblower, Simon (ed.). Oxford Classical Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. A modern recreation of a hopliteFurther confusing the issue is Diodorus' ambiguity about whether his count of 1,000 Lacedemonians included the 300 Spartans. At one point he says: "Leonidas, when he received the appointment, announced that only one thousand men should follow him on the campaign". [70] However, he then says: "There were, then, of the Lacedemonians one thousand, and with them three hundred Spartiates". [70] It is therefore impossible to be clearer on this point.