The Battle of Thermopylae that changed the warIn August 480 BC a peaceful and silent mountain pass called Thermopylae, located in the southern part of Greece, was about to turn into a cemetery bloodied with Persian and Greek soldiers. On the mountain pass was the Spartan army, full of soldiers who were the hoplites par excellence, who dedicated their lives to training as heavy infantry. The Spartan government consisted of 4 main parts, a citizens' assembly with limited power (e.g. they could refuse war), a powerful council of elders, five "ephors", elected executive officials, and two hereditary kings. The Spartan army was led by a man named Leonidas. The Greek forces included 300 Spartans and their helots with 2,120 Arcadians, 1,000 Locrians, 1,000 Phocians, 700 Thespians, 400 Corinthians, 400 Thebans, 200 men of Phliunte and 80 Mycenaeans. The Battle of Thermopylae was a battle that occurred in the narrow pass of Thermopylae located in Greece. The battle was between the Spartans led by Leonidas against the Persian army led by King Xerxes I of Persia. The Battle of Thermopylae was the first battle between the Persians and Greeks during the Persian invasion. The battle took place in 480 BC around August or September. The Persians, if they had won, would have taken control of Boeotia. Even though the Persians won the battle, the Greeks still managed to delay the Persians by using their strongest formation known as the phalanx formation, and by doing so they gave the other cities time to prepare, and this cost the Persians many manpower losses. no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The final outcome of the battle was somewhat predictable, the Persians had defeated the Spartans and Greeks after three days of vigorous battle. Since the Persians won, they gained control over Boeotia. Boeotia is located north of the eastern part of the Gulf of Corinth. It also has a short coast on the Gulf of Euboea. Boeotia is a strategic place to conquer because it has a coast on two sides, so the Persians only have to worry about being attacked from two rather than all four sides. King Xerxes camped in the Malis region called Trachinia while the Greeks occupied the straits. These straits, in general, the Greeks called Thermopylae (the Hot Gates), but the natives call them Pylae (the Gate). The main part that led to the defeat of the Greeks was when a traitor told Xerxes of a route over Thermopylae, the route would make it so that Xerxes could send troops after the Greeks. The battle was fought there for the defense of the Greeks and, if it had been the Persians, they would have had an excellent holding point against the other Greek armies. After this news, Xerxes decided to send some of his best troops to the overpass. At dawn on the third day, Leonidas realized that he had been betrayed by one of the Greeks. With the Spartans/Greeks surrounded, Leonidas said that anyone who didn't want to die should leave. The fact is that the Spartans had 300 men + another 6000 (approximately). Herodotus said there were about two million Persians, but most people deny this and say that the Persians numbered between 70,000 and 300,000 as a modern estimate, but most sources normally say there were about 100,000 Persian soldiers. According to Herodotus there are an estimated 4,000 casualties on the Greek side. The significance of the Persians getting the straits is quite significant. They wouldn't have to worry about being attacked from the coast which was on two sides, besides, Thermopylae was further towards the bottom of Greece, so they could easily chase the other parts of the bottom which.