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| ==Battle== | | ==Battle== |
| The Battle of Thermopylae, fought in 480 BC, was a critical conflict between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas I of Sparta, and the Persian Empire under King Xerxes I. This battle took place at the narrow pass of Thermopylae, a natural bottleneck that limited the Persian army’s numbers advantage and allowed the Greeks to hold their ground more effectively. Despite the vast size of the Persian forces, numbering possibly in the hundreds of thousands, Leonidas and his contingent of 300 Spartan warriors, along with a few thousand allied Greek soldiers, heroically resisted. The Greeks relied on their superior phalanx formation and intimate knowledge of the local terrain to inflict significant casualties on the Persian army over three days of intense fighting.
| | Soldiers during the battle employed spears, shields and swords. The 300 Spartans managed to successfully fight off the Persians.{{Ref/Reuse|tforchapt4}} |
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| Ultimately, however, the Greek forces were betrayed by a local resident named Ephialtes, who revealed a hidden path to the Persians that allowed them to outflank the Greek position. Recognizing that their fate was sealed, Leonidas ordered most of the Greek forces to retreat while he and his 300 Spartans, alongside a small group of allies, stayed behind to cover their withdrawal. In a final stand, they fought to the death, inspiring future generations of Greeks to resist foreign invasion. The bravery shown at Thermopylae became a legendary example of courage and sacrifice, and the battle’s legacy helped to rally Greek city-states to ultimately defeat the Persian Empire in the later battles of Salamis and Plataea.{{Ref/Reuse|tforchapt4}}
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| ==Aftermath== | | ==Aftermath== |
