Is "Sparta 300 Warriors" true?

"Four thousand southern Greeks fought here against three million Persian troops."

This is an inscription written by Saimon Nittis, a famous Greek poet, to commemorate the Battle of Hot Springs Pass in Greece in 480 BC.

The battle of Wenquanguan was another confrontation between Persia and Greece after the marathon 10.

After the death of Darius, king of Persia, his son Xue Xisi succeeded to the throne. Xue Xisi vowed to level Athens, conquer Greece and wash away the shame of losing the snow marathon.

Xue Xisi prepared for this expedition for four years. He mobilized the entire Persian empire, which is said to have a population of 5 million. According to the poet Saimon Nittis, there are 3 million people in the world. In the spring of 480 BC, Xue Xisi led Lu Haijun to Greece, which was aggressive and arrogant.

When the Persian army arrived in the Hellers Strait (now called the Da Daniil Strait), Xue Xisi ordered the slaves and craftsmen embedded in the army to build bridges at once. Hardly had the bridge been repaired when it was blown away by a strong wind. The king of Persia was furious. He not only killed the bridge builder, but also ordered the chain to be thrown into the sea, saying that he would lock the sea. He also took a whip and whipped the sea to punish it for stopping him from moving forward. This is of course a very childish and ridiculous move. However, some pretentious and arrogant emperors are often such ridiculous figures.

The overpass was finally built. The craftsmen lined up 360 boats, connected them to the coast with thick ropes and covered them with boards. The bridge is divided into two roads, one for people to walk and the other for mules and horses to walk. Railings were installed on both sides of the bridge to prevent people from falling into the sea. The king of Persia rode eight chariots drawn by white horses, and under the protection of 65,438+/kloc-0,000,000 "immortal troops" wearing garlands, he crossed the bridge in a mighty way. It took all the Persian troops seven days and seven nights to complete.

Most of the soldiers in the Persian army were forcibly recruited, including many different nationalities. Some people described the Persian army at that time as follows: Persians and Medes wore colorful robes and scales, holding short swords and spears; Assyrians wear helmets and hold flax shields and sticks; Parthians and spiny mannequins with bows and axes as the main weapons; There are Indians in robes; There are Arabs wearing tunics and long bows on their right shoulders; Some Ethiopians wear leopard skin or lion skin and paint their bodies red and white. They use bows made of palm trees, arrows made of flint and spears with antelope horn tips. There are also Thracians, who wear fox skins, long bright cloaks, javelins and small shields; In addition, there are people of all ethnic groups in the Caucasus, whose helmets are decorated with ox ears, holding leather shields and short spears. The Persian army has so many people, so many kinds and so many weapons and equipment that it looks like a big exhibition of armies and armaments of all ethnic groups.

At this time, the Greek city-states strengthened their unity in order to repel the Persian attack. More than 30 city-states formed an anti-Persian alliance, and the Greek Coalition forces were commanded by Spartans.

In June 480 BC, Persian troops entered the demobilization pass in northern Greece. There are two sulfur hot springs near the mountain and the sea, so they are very close to the "hot springs". The pass is very narrow, only one chariot can pass, which is the only way from northern Greece to central Greece. As the poet Saimon Nettis wrote in his inscription, the Greeks deployed only a few thousand troops here. When the Persian army approached, the king of Sparta went to Onida and took 300 men to fight. Why didn't he bring more people? Because the Olympic Games were being held at that time, according to Greek custom, there was no war during this period.

The king of Persia was arrogant because of his large number of soldiers. He sent a message threatening the Greek defenders, saying that there were too many Persian soldiers, saying that the arrows shot by soldiers alone could dim the sun. The Spartans replied, "Great, we can kill ourselves in the shade!" " "Two days later, the soldiers sent by the king of Persia to spy on the movements of the Greeks came back and reported that the Spartans piled their weapons aside, some were doing soft exercises, and some were combing their hair. The king of Persia was really confused. A surrendered Greek explained, "This is the custom of Spartans. Before going out, they must comb their hair and prepare to die. " The king of Persia snorted from his nostrils. He didn't expect these hundreds of Spartans to dare to confront his million-strong army. He ordered the Spartans guarding the customs to be captured alive.

The Persian army swaggered into the pass, thinking that the Spartans would escape. To their surprise, they were greeted by sharp Greek spears. Although there are many Persian soldiers, the place is too small to use on the narrow pass. The Spartans guarding the city gate showed their well-trained fighting skills, one by one like tigers and lions, pouncing on the enemy. They are condescending and use spears that are much more powerful than Persian knives. Persians have fallen. The king of Persia rose from his throne three times, frowning, shaking his beard and growling angrily. Finally, he ordered the guards of 10000 to fight, but they still couldn't attack.

Just as the king of Persia was at a loss, a Greek traitor named Epibatius came to report that there was a replicable path behind the pass. Wang Daxi of Persia ordered the traitor to lead the way and led a group of guards to go overnight. They crossed the canyon, crossed the stream, climbed the cliff, crossed an oak forest and approached the top of the mountain. There are 1000 soldiers guarding the city of Foces. The Persians thought they were Spartans and dared not go up to fight. When they heard the traitor say that the defenders were not Spartans, they were relieved to attack. The defenders were defeated, and the Persian soldiers did not pursue them, and continued to go straight to their destination-Wenquanguan.

Leonidas, king of Sparta, learned that the traitor was collaborating with the enemy, so he transferred the troops of other city-states to the rear, leaving only 300 soldiers to fight with him. 700 soldiers from the city-state of Cesbia volunteered to stay and fight alongside the Spartans.

The Persians swooped down on the mountain pass with absolute superiority. Spartans between Scylla and Charybdis fought bravely. They stabbed with spears, and when they broke, they waved their swords. Suddenly, the Spartan king was injured and fell, and the Persians crowded up. Spartan repelled the enemy's four attacks and defended his commander-in-chief to the death. Their number is getting less and less, and they are gradually compressed into a small hill. Although many Persian soldiers were killed, more and more people rushed up, which seemed endless. They shot at Spartans with arrows as dense as migratory locusts. Finally, the pass was captured. All the brave defenders of the hot spring pass died. The body of the Spartan king fell into the hands of the Persians. The king of Persia ordered his head to be cut off and put on a spear for public display.

It is said that only 298 bodies of Spartans were found on the battlefield after the war. It turns out that two Spartans didn't take part in the battle. One has an eye disease and cannot fight in Shangguan; One was ordered to go out, delayed time on the way and missed the battle. The two men returned to Sparta alive. People in their hometown say that they are cowards, and they look at them with angry and contemptuous eyes, but no one pays any attention to them. One of them couldn't stand the insult and committed suicide. The other bravely killed the enemy in the later battle and died on the ground. However, the Spartans refused to bury him in the cemetery of the glorious dead.

Later, in memory of Spartan King Leonidas and his men, a lion statue was built at omolo Pass. The statue is engraved with:

"Past guests, please take a message to the Spartans.

Said we faithfully fulfilled our promise and slept here. "

During the hot spring pass, Spartan delayed the Persian army's offensive with heroic fighting and covered the retreat of the main force of the Greek Coalition forces.

Persian troops occupied Athens with heavy casualties, but all they got was an empty city. In a rage, the king of Persia set fire to the city.