What Really Happened to the 300 Spartans?

Everyone remembers the 300 Spartans. But were they really alone at Thermopylae?

In 480 BCE, Xerxes I led Persian forces into the Greek world. At that time, there was no single country called Greece in the modern sense. Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, Thespiae, and many other communities were independent city-states, and only some of them joined together against Persia.

This episode follows the real story behind the famous last stand. We look at why the allied Greek force chose the narrow pass at Thermopylae, why Leonidas arrived with 300 Spartans, who else fought beside them, and how the Persians finally turned the position.

We also examine the 700 Thespians, the debated role of the Thebans, the uncertainty around Persian army numbers, and why Thermopylae was a Persian victory even though the 300 Spartans became the lasting symbol of the battle.

The war did not end there. The conflict continued through Salamis and Plataea.

00:00 Intro
00:12 The Story Everyone Knows
01:24 What Did “Greece” Mean in 480 BCE?
03:19 Why Thermopylae?
05:11 More Than 300
07:01 Leonidas and the Advance Force
08:54 Two Days at the Pass
10:42 The Final Stand
12:36 How Large Was Persia's Army?
14:29 Defeat and the Wider War
16:22 How the 300 Became a Legend
18:03 Reading the Evidence Carefully
21:05 What Really Happened to the 300?
22:52 Outro