A Decisive Battle That Changed History of Greece - Battle of Thermopylae 480BC Full

The Epic Battle of Thermopylae ENTIRE HISTORY OF 300 Spartans vs. The Persian Empire
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00:00 Prelude
06:40 Battle
15:31 Aftermath
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The Epic Battle of Thermopylae ENTIRE HISTORY OF 300 Spartans vs. The Persian Empire. In the early 5th century BCE, the Achaemenid Empire, under Darius I had already expanded into mainland Europe, conquering Thrace and Macedonia. Darius sought to subdue Athens and Greece due to their support for the Ionian Revolt opposing Persia. As a relatively new empire plagued by frequent rebellions, Darius, having seized power himself, needed to assert his dominance. Conquering Greece would serve as both punishment and a way to deter future uprisings.
Therefore, In 491 BC, Darius sent messengers to demand that the Greeks surrender to Persian rule, meanwhile most of Greek cities duly obliged due to the Persian power, In Athens, the Persian heralds were thrown into a well, and their Spartan brethren did the same.

The Epic Battle of Thermopylae ENTIRE HISTORY OF 300 Spartans vs. The Persian Empire. In response, Darius launched a naval force of 600 ships and 25,000 soldiers to attack the Cyclades and Euboea putting Persia just one step away from the rest of Greece
Despite having a 2.5-to-1 advantage, Darius expected an easy victory, but the Athenians surprised him with a stunning win, forcing him to retreat. Humiliated, Darius planned a re-invasion to destroy Athens, but internal issues delayed his plan, and he died of old age before it happened.
After Darius died in 486 BCE, his son, Xerxes I, took over and began preparing for a massive attack on Greece. He set up supply stations, dug a canal in Chalkidike, and built bridges across the Hellespont to help move his troops easily.

The Epic Battle of Thermopylae ENTIRE HISTORY OF 300 Spartans vs. The Persian Empire. When Athens realized they were about to be destroyed by the Persians, they urgently asked other Greek city-states to form an army to fight back, that was the reason why, A congress met at Corinth in late autumn of 481 BC, and a confederate alliance of Greek city-states was formed. To their surprise, Sparta agreed to help although they had previously avoided getting involved in conflicts with Persia.
When the Greeks learned of the huge Persian army, they first sent 10,000 soldiers to secure the Tempē Valley, which they believed the Persian army would have to pass through, but they pulled back after seeing the size of the invading force. While some historical records claim that Xerxes had a force of up to 2.5 million soldiers, it was spon arriving at the banks of the Echeidorus River, his soldiers proceeded to drink it dry. These large numbers are almost certainly huge exaggerations. It is more likely that Xerxes had between 100,000 and 300,000 soldiers on his march, which would have been an astoundingly large number for the ancient world.
However, many Greek city-states were distracted by the Olympics and religious festivals, delaying their response. Knowing they couldn’t wait for others to act, Sparta decided to act. Despite having a reputation for being the best fighters in Greece and possessing a strong professional army, they sent only 300 hoplites of royal bodyguards to defend the "hot gates," due to also being influenced by the ongoing religious festival, buying valuable time for the rest of Greece to prepare.
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