Beyond the Gates of Fire

New Perspectives on the Battle of Thermopylae

Philip de Souza, Christopher Matthew, Matthew Trundle, Christopher Matthew, Matthew Trundle

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781783469109
• Topic: Historia
• Subtopic: Historia antigua

The Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC is one of the most famous battles in history. The heroism of the 300 Spartans who opted to remain behind to face the full might of the Persian host while their Greek allies made good their escape has become the stuff of legend. The story still inspires novelists and film-makers today (Frank Miller's fanciful 300 was a huge hit in 2007 and the film rights to Steven Pressfield's more historical novel Gates of Fire were bought by George Clooney, the film expected to finally surface in 2011 or 2012). But what is the truth behind the legends and why was this bloody defeat immediately accorded a halo of glory that has endured for nearly two-and-a-half millennia?Beyond the Gates of Fire brings together experts on the classical period from Australia, New Zealand and the United States to take a fresh look at various aspects of the battle. A substantial introductory section by the editors outlines the background to the conflict as well as the arms, armor and fighting styles of the opposing sides. The following chapters (9 of them) then discuss such questions as whether the defense of the pass really was a suicide mission; the exact topography of the battlefield itself in 480 BC, using the latest geological research and core samples; the impact of the battle on the Greek psyche; commemoration of the war dead; the impact of the original battle on the conduct of later battles in the pass, right up to the German invasion of 1941. For the classical scholar or the general reader whose interest has been piqued by the popular books and films, this book is sure to shed refreshing new light on the most famous last stand in history.

Chapter One

Towards the Hot Gates: The Events leading to the Battle of Thermopylae

Christopher A. Matthew

Fought in the Greek summer of 480BC, the battle of Thermopylae is one of those landmark events that seem to punctuate the pages of history. This was a sentiment not lost on ancient historians, and the battle seems to have taken on almost legendary proportions shortly after the last blow was struck. According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, the confrontation fought between the large Persian Empire in the east and the independent Greek city-states in the west in the early fifth century BC, of which the battle of Thermopylae was but a part, was one of the greatest conflicts the world had seen at that time. Indeed, Herodotus saw the conflict between the Greeks and the Persians as so significant that in the introduction to his work, written only decades after the events that he describes, he states that:

I hope to do two things: to preserve the memory of the past by putting on record the astonishing achievements of both our own [Greek] people and the Asiatic peoples; secondly, and more particularly, to show how these two races came into conflict.¹

According to Herodotus, tensions between these two peoples went all the way back to the Trojan War some 800 years earlier.² Whether this statement can be taken as accurate or not, what can be stated with certainty is that the battle at Thermopylae was the result of a complex series of events which had begun long before a sun even dawned on 480 BC. An understanding of these complex and interwoven events is necessary in order to place a battle like Thermopylae into its correct place within the broader context of Greek internal and external relations in the sixth and fifth centuries BC.

Greek Problems with the Persians

The issues that led to the battle of Thermopylae in 480BC actually began much earlier than this–with Greek expansion into the Aegean. By 800 BC the Greeks had expanded their holdings far beyond the borders of mainland Greece with the establishment of colonies scattered throughout the islands of the Aegean, on the west coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and in North Africa. Cities like Miletus, Halicarnassus and Cyrene all owe their origins to waves of Greek colonial expansion that took place in the centuries following the collapse of the Mycenaean Era palace complexes in approximately 1200 BC.

Within these new cities, particularly those in Asia Minor, Greek culture thrived. Great intellectuals like Thales, Anaximander and Pythagoras all developed their theories and philosophies in the burgeoning and cosmopolitan settlements of Asia Minor in the sixth century BC. Yet this cultural evolution of Greek thought in western Turkey was overshadowed by a level of political unrest in the region. The Greek cities of Asia Minor were not united in their control of the western seaboard. Most of the cities were divided from each other along both political and racial lines–these colonies were as much independent city-states (poleis) as their parent cities were back on mainland Greece. As a consequence, the long-term position of these cities, and indeed the region as a whole, was precarious at best.

Then, in 560BC, Croesus, the king of the neighbouring region of Lydia annexed all of the Greek cities of Ionia (another name for the Greek controlled region of Asia Minor) into his empire–except for the city of Miletus, which enjoyed its independence under a treaty made with Lydia. Croesus’ growing empire now extended from the shores of the Aegean to the Halys River in central Turkey.³ Although Croesus was not actually Greek, there was quite a strong spirit of toleration and co-operation between the Greeks and the Lydians. The Greek language spread throughout Lydia, Croesus often invited the wisest Greek philosophers, orators and statesmen to attend his court, worship of the Greek pantheon of gods was practised in Lydia, and Croesus himself often consulted the famous oracle at Delphi–bestowing many gifts and offerings to this and other religious sites.⁴ Lydian rule of the Greek cities of Asia Minor was also relatively benign and the Asiatic Greeks enjoyed a high level of freedom and autonomy in their operation. Financially the Asiatic Greeks also benefited from the introduction of the first coinage (basic lumps of electrum–a natural alloy of gold and silver) which flowed into the region via trade with Lydia. However, events elsewhere were in play which would bring an abrupt end to this relatively peaceful condition.

Further east, Astyages, the king of Media (located in the north of modern Iran) seems to have been overthrown by Cyrus, the king of Persia.⁵ Cyrus later embarked upon a massive campaign of Persian conquest and expansion which saw the capture of the Levant and Babylonia to the south, Bactria (Afghanistan) in the east, Armenia in the north and, importantly for the course of Greco-Persian relations, the capture of the Lydian capital of Sardis in 546 BC and, along with it, the control all of Lydian territory–including the Greek cities on the coast.⁶

With the fall of Lydia, the Asiatic Greeks lost a buffer between themselves and the more foreign kingdoms of the east. During his conquest of Lydia, Cyrus had invited the Greeks serving with the Lydian army to change sides but they had refused.⁷ This resulted in the imposition of harsh terms on the Greek cities of Asia Minor once Lydia had been conquered. The Lydian treaty with Miletus was kept in place, but all of the other cities were forced to pay a heavy tribute to the Persians and were required, as part of their annexation into the Persian Empire, to supply troops, ships and material to the Persian military when required.⁸ This placed a great strain on both the economies of these cities and their level of tolerance for their new Persian overlords.

When Cyrus died in 529 BC, he was succeeded by his son Cambyses II (ruled 529–522BC). Cambyses continued his father’s programme of expansion and, under his rule, the Persians annexed Egypt and the Greek colony of Cyrene in North Africa (which had been founded by people from the island of Thera) into their empire.⁹ As a means of controlling this growing empire, Asia Minor was divided into several semi-autonomous provinces (or satrapies) which were governed by an appointed pro-Persian governor (or satrap) who was, more often than not, a friend or relative of the great Persian king. This further reduced the autonomy of the Greek cities of Asia Minor and only heightened the tension between them and the Persians.

In Greece, as these affairs were unfolding in Asia Minor, events were following their own turbulent path. Athens had seen the death of the tyrant Pisistratus in 527BC and the rule of the Athenian state was taken over by his son, Hippias.¹⁰ Hippias ruled for seventeen years, during which time a new king, Darius I, ascended to the throne of Persia amid much controversy in 521 BC (and ruled until 486BC).¹¹ Hippias, and his brother Hipparchus, were finally undermined by a bizarre love triangle involving their half-brother Hegesistratus which, according to some sources, resulted in a plot to kill Hippias and Hipparchus–with Hipparchus eventually being assassinated.¹²

Following his brother’s assassination, Hippias’ rule became much more oppressive and paranoid–with many banishments and executions taking place.¹³ This did not bode well for Hippias as, at this same time, the city-state of Sparta was on something of an anti-tyranny crusade throughout Greece. Over the preceding decades the Spartans had already removed the Cypselids from Corinth, Lygdamis from Naxos, Aischines from Sicyon, along with several other tyrants, and were looking to remove Hippias from power in Athens as well.¹⁴ This drive was aided by the Alcmaeonidae, an Athenian clan and political rival of Pisistratus and all of his descendents, who had initially been cursed and exiled from Athens, who had then returned, and had now secured a contract to build a new temple for the oracle of Apollo at Delphi.¹⁵ These two seemingly unrelated events now combined to conspire against Hippias.

Through their influence at Delphi, the Alcmaeonidae ensured that every time the Spartans consulted the oracle for some reason or another, they were told that the god Apollo had commanded them to liberate Athens from tyranny.¹⁶ And so, following these divine instructions, in 511 BC the Spartans marched on Athens to remove Hippias from power.¹⁷ This first attempted coup failed. However, a second invasion, under the command of King Cleomenes the following year defeated Hippias’ allied troops and surrounded Athens.¹⁸ Yet the city was in a strong position. Because of its prosperity and the large amounts of incoming trade that it was receiving, Athens could have held out against the Spartans for a long time–at least long enough to force the Spartans to withdraw. Fate, however, had other ideas.

During the siege Hippias attempted to smuggle the children of his extended family out of the city, but they fell into the hands of the besieging Spartans. In exchange for the safe return of the children, Hippias agreed to quit the city.¹⁹ The Spartans accepted these terms and allowed Hippias to leave. Unbeknownst to them at the time, this decision was to have a profound impact on the course of Greek history for years to come. Hippias fled to Asia Minor and eventually ended up working as an advisor in the court of Persian King Darius.²⁰

By 513 BC, Darius, following in the expansionist footsteps of his predecessors, decided to make inroads into Europe.²¹ His expedition of conquest crossed the Bosporus into Thrace and then moved into Scythia (north of the Black Sea in the region of the Crimea). The Asiatic Greeks, due to their obligations to their new rulers, were placed in charge of the Persian fleet–which sailed to the Danube, bridged it, and then waited for Darius and his army to return. Among the Greeks holding this position was Miltiades, the Athenian born tyrant of the Chersonese.²²

The Scythians urged the Greeks to abandon their defence of the Danube Bridge and return home. Miltiades also suggested that the Greeks should use this opportunity to liberate the cities of Asia Minor.²³ However, the leaders from the other Greek cities pointed out that all of them owed their current position to Darius and no action against the Persians took place.²⁴ In the end, the Persian expedition against the Scythians was of limited military success. However, the one important result of this campaign was that Darius was able to leave troops garrisoning Thrace to complete its conquest–thus gaining a strong foothold in Europe, close to Greece, in an area which was rich in timber and precious metals and which helped him control trade into and out of the Black Sea.²⁵ This inroad into Europe by the Persians greatly troubled the Greeks and the Macedonians.²⁶

In Greece, following the fall of Hippias, At...

Table of contents

• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Table of Figures
• Abbreviations
• Foreword
• Preface
• Chapter One - Towards the Hot Gates: The Events leading to the Battle of Thermopylae
• Chapter Two - Thermopylae
• Chapter Three - The Topography of the Pass at Thermopylae Circa 480 BC
• Chapter Four - Was the Greek Defence of Thermopylae in 480 BC a Suicide Mission?
• Chapter Five - Remembering Thermopylae and the Persian Wars in Antiquity
• Chapter Six - Herodotus’ Homer: Troy, Thermopylae, and the Dorians
• Chapter Seven - Other Battles of Thermopylae
• Chapter 8 - The Glorious Defeat
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index