Battle of Thermopylae (Greco-Persian Wars) war movies

Battle of Thermopylae 8 September 480 BC

During the second invasion of Greece Persian king Xerxes landed his forces on the eastern coast of Greece. The only thing between them and Greek cities was narrow pass called Thermopylae. Greeks could only prepare about 20.000 soldiers to face huge army of Xerxes (between 75.000 and 300.000 soldiers), so the Thermopylae pass was a perfect spot to prepare defence. The phalanx formation set up from Spartans neutralized their superiority in numbers - they managed to withheld the Persian army for seven days, which gave the Athens chance to evacuate.

The battle is legendary for the successful use of the phalanx tactics and taking advantage of the terrain by the 300 Spartan warriors that held the entrance of the pass for several days.

300 2006

300 Spartans face the mighty Persian army at Thermopylae. Based on a comic book.