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That had everything to do with local geography. At the point where the Spartans and their allies had put up their blockade the terrain was very narrow. Even though the Persians according to legend had 'hundreds of thousands' of soldiers, at that specific point no more than a few hundred at a time could squeeze through, which meant that the Greek army always faced an even number of adversaries or even less.

Of course the Persians could send in fresh troops every time while the Greeks had to send out mostly the same troops each time. But the Persians were hindered by the rubble and the deaths of earlier fights and not all Persian troops were fit to be sent in. The many lightly-armed and auxiliary troops would have been no match for the heavily armed and close-combat specialist Greek hoplites.

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Where did the Spartans meet the Persians?

Thermopylae, as part of a force of 7,000 Greeks blocking the pass.


Who were the main combatants in the battle of Thermopylae?

The Trojan War took place in Greek Mythology during a time period where countries as they are known today did not exist. The war was fought between the city of Troy and the Achaens, who formed a collective of Greek city states. The city of Troy would have been located in modern-day Turkey.


Why were the Marathon and the Thermopylae important to the Persian War?

They were rallying calls for the Greeks. The Athenian success at Marathon demonstrated to the other Greek cities that the Persians could be beaten. Thermopylae became another symbol for Greek steadfastness which was used by the Greeks for propaganda on the superiority of the Greek warrior.


Did Sparta defeat Persia?

No. The Spartans defeated about 500,000 Persians along with about 1,700 Greeks. Later on in the war, they withdrew to defend Sparta and lost the war. The Spartans alone did not fight or defeat Persians and Persian allies. Many Greek city states allied and defeated Persians in land and sea battles in two separate wars. The only Greek defeat from the most famous battles in the two separate Persian invasions was in Thermopylae. And even then, few thousand Greeks died, including plus or minus 300 Spartans, while it is believed more than 20,000 Persians and their allies that included many Greeks, died in Thermopylae. So it was an honorable defeat.


What is the 'nickname' of Mexican American war battle called Cerro Gordo?

Thermopylae of the West because of the way that use of the terrain was vital to victory as the Persians had used it against the Greeks in the fall of 480 BCE.