"Thermopylae: The Battle That Changed the World"

[hoplite14gr]

Except Herodotus and Plutarch "life of Leonidas", I advise:
Check the "linothorax" thread. Then check the "Othismos" thread.
Take into account that through out history natually "fortified" places and strongpoints were favoured by the defenders. Thermopylae is such a place.
At 480 BC the pass was wide encouh for two ox wagons.
That means that unusually deep phalanx could be deployed.
An old undermaintained fortification did exist. Missile troops could support the phalanx from there. This fort usually is forgotten. When close combat ensued as in Marathon hoplites could do murder almost with impunity. So it was a perfect place to "bottle up" th Persian Army.
Then the passage is betrayed. Phokians-weak in heavy infantry fail in the defence. Leonidas takes the Thebans with him and holds the one end.
He implores the allies to stop Hydranes. Anopaea is narrow and the hoplits still have a chance. The allies loose heart and evacuate. Perhaps only the Thespians try to tackle Hydarnes.
Leonidas dies and Thebans surrender. Many armies of ancient times have given up when the leader was dead-nothing unusuall here. If Leonidas death news reached the Thespians they might have collapsed also.
We do not know if Demophilos their leader was killed at opening stages too.
Xerxes mutilated the body of Leonidas body because the MOLON LAVE was very personal. Check "uncouth soldier inscriptions" in the Ancient Civ. Talk to see why.

Also Greek history has many exmples of people dieing to avoid slavery.
The women of Naousa thre their children first and then threw themselves over a cliff to avoid being cupture in 1822.
Consider also a more modern case. The small German garisson of Simi island near Rhodes blew themselves up in the ammunition dump rather than surrender in 1944.

People can choose death if they consider other options dishonourable.

In times of extreme hardship people seem to find it easier to make hard choises.

Why it is so difficult to accept th fact that 1000 brave men raised on the princible of freedom chose to die rather than submit?
Is it perhaps because most modern people would have chosen the "Theban option"?

Kind regards