All started when Darius, after ten years from the Battle of Marathon, decided to move once again against Athens. The early years of the decade (c. 489), Xerxes was mainly occupied for rearming his army. With the Egyptian revolt in 486 B.C. the arrangements were postponed. In the same year the Great King died and the new king named Xerxes – Darius son from his second wife Atossan – took his place on the Achaimenidon throne. In 484 B.C. after re-conquering Egypt started one again the arrangements for the expedition against Greece.
With the help of the Greek engineer Arpalon in June 480 B.C. crossed Hellespont with approximately 250,000 men. The Greeks were divided in two: the ones who feared destruction and were willing to loose their freedom (the Aleuadai at Thessaly and the city-state of Thebes) and, form the other side, those how were anxious to protect their land, family, gods and freedom. The once again united Greeks, in the Spring of 480, moved towards Tempy at the edge of Thessaly so that could stop Xerxes. However, because of the growing power of the Persian-friendly Aleuadai, the Greek force camped at Thermopylae. There 4,000 Peloponneseans – including 300 Spartans – and some additional 400 Thebeans (volunteers for the ‘cause’ and acted against their city-state’s law), Thespies, Opountioi Lokroi and Phokes. All, 7,000 men, under the leadership of the Spartan King Leonidas had to stop Xerxes from the land.
We will watch the battle of Thermopylae as the History Channel’s series Decisive Battles
