http://www.300spartanwarriors.com/In 480 BC the Persian king Xerxes invaded Greece with nearly 1.8 million men at arms (so Herodotus tells us, although the figure may have been closer to 300, 000 fighting men) and an armada of nearly a thousand ships . After marching across Thrace he turned south and prepared to engage a small force of Greeks, under the leadership of the Spartan king Leonidas, at a narrow pass called Thermopylae (The Hot Gates). Herodotus writes that the Greeks had chosen this pass because the terrain was unsuitable for cavalry charges and because it was narrow enough to be defended by a small force. Estimates of the path's width vary but most authorities believe that it was about 21 meters wide at the Middle Gate. The Greeks fortified an old wall that the Phokians had originally built (to defend themselves against attacks from the north) and positioned themselves in front and behind this wall. It is unclear how many Greek troops initially fought at Thermopylae (again estimates range from 5,200-6, 000), but we do know that those who eventually defended the pass to the end comprised of what remained of the original 300 Spartans (and their helots) under Leonidas and a contingent of seven hundred Thespians. Four hundred Thebans were also involved in the fighting but they surrendered to the Persians before the end of the battle, on the third day. Thus, the total number who survived two days of fighting and remained behind to defend the pass could not have been more than 1500.
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