Monday, January 09, 2006

Blog Number 119 - Greek warriors who fought with King Leonidas and the '300' Spartans

One of the misconceptions of the Battle of Thermopylae is that only the 300 Spartans fought against the Persian army. This has probably been reinforced by the titles of Frank Miller's '300' and the 1962 movie, 'The 300 Spartans'.

For those who have read/and or seen the aforementioned book or movie, there has been mention made of some of the other Greek warriors who fought with the 300 Hippeis of King Leonidas' personal bodyguard. Therefore, for those who have not read the historical accounts of the battle, here is the breakdown of the united army of Greece:

They are as follows:

300 Spartans
700 Thespians
400 Thebans
500 Tegeans
500 Mantineans
120 from Orchomenus
1000 Arcadians
400 from Corinth
200 from Phlius
80 from Mycenae
1000 Phocians
1000 from Locris, etc.
900 helots

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