"Thermopylae: The Battle That Changed the World"

[conon394]

But Herodotus thinks that they took place on the same days 'by coincidence'; he simply misunderstood how close they were connected.

I not sure Herodotus just misunderstood. By the time he was composing his work the Athenian navy was one of the critical elements in the body of anti-democratic thinking and critique which was current among at least some of the Athenian elite – the navy was when everything stated to go really wrong by empowering the dregs of the demos and their metric allies. Considering Sparta (at least as seen from a distance, like all the way across the Peloponnesus from a comfortable estate in Athens or Corinth…) was also a favorite example of how things ought to be, and I think Herodotus’ handling of the battles begins to look rather calculated.

Herodutus’ treatment of the battle thus minimizes the role of the navy by making both parts of the overall battle seem equally important. Moreover, the noble self-sacrifice of a true hoplite like Leonidas can be contrasted with the ultimate shiftiness of a leader like Themistocles.