2500th Anniversary of the Battle of Thermopylae

Committee: Historical Committee

In 480 BC King Xerxes I of the Achaemenid Persian Empire launched an invasion of Greece to seek revenge for his fathers’ defeat a decade beforehand and subdue the Greeks, who the Persians blamed for fomenting the Ionian revolts on the western coast of Anatolia.

The Persians vastly outnumbered the Greeks, who banded together to field an allied army despite historic rivalries. The Greeks, seeking to limit the Persians’ numerical advantage, decided to meet the invaders at Thermopylae, where the narrowness of the pass between the sea and the mountains would prevent the Persians from flanking the Greek’s formidable phalanx formations.

While the Greeks put up a valiant fight and delayed the Persians for long enough that their countrymen could flee the cities and regroup to fight another day, the forces at Thermopylae, led by legendary Spartan King Leonidas, were wiped out. Their efforts helped prevent the Persians from overwhelming the city states, and in the end the Greeks were able to stop the invasion after decisive victories at Plataea and the Straits of Salamis.

Read more:

https://www.historynet.com/greco-persian-wars-xerxes-invasion.htm

https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Thermopylae-Greek-history-480-BC

Current MUN Students:
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Historical Crisis Committee