The Battle of Thermopylae That Changed WarIn August 480 BCE, a peaceful and silent mountain pass called Thermopylae, located in the southern part of Greece, was on the point of transforming into a cemetery stained with the blood of Persian and Greek soldiers. In the mountain pass was the Spartan army, made up of soldiers who were the ultimate hoplites, who dedicated their lives to training as heavy infantry. The Spartan government consisted of 4 main parts, a citizens' assembly with limited power (for example, they could refuse war), a powerful council of elders, five "ephors", who were elected rulers, 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 Phlius and 80 Mycenaeans. The Battle of Thermopylae was a battle in the narrow passage of Thermopylae located in Greece. The battle pitted 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 BCE around August or September. The Persians, if they won, would take control of Boeotia. Although the Persians won the battle, the Greeks still managed to delay the Persians using their most powerful formation known as the Phalanx formation, and in doing so they gave the other cities time to prepare, which cost the Persians a lot of manpower losses. no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the 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 took control of Boeotia. Boeotia lies to the north of the eastern part of the Gulf of Corinth. It also has a short coastline on the Gulf of Euboea. Boeotia is a strategic place to take because it has a coastline on two sides, so the Persians only have to worry about being attacked from two sides instead of all four. King Xerxes established his camp in the region of Malis called Trachinia while the Greeks occupied the strait. These straits would, in general, be called Thermopylae (the Hot Gates) by the Greeks, but the natives call them Pylae (the Gate). The main part that led to the defeat of the Greeks happened when a traitor told Xerxes about a path above Thermopylae, this path would allow Xerxes to send troops behind the Greeks. The battle there was fought in defense of the Greeks and if the Persians were one they would have a great point of support against the other Greek armies. After this news, Xerxes decided to send some of his best troops to the viaduct. 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 did not want to die should then leave. The fact is that the Spartans had 300 men + 6000 others (approximately). Herodotus said there were about two million Persians, but most people deny this and say the Persians had between 70,000 and 300,000 according to a modern estimate, but most sources normally say there had around 100,000 Persian troops. The number of victims on the Greek side is estimated at 4,000 according to Herodotus. The importance of the Persians obtaining the strait is quite significant. They would not have..