They had fought for days and lost thousands of men but had not made any progress in their invasion. The Persian king brought out a prisoner (or it was a traitor who came on his own free will, the story is disputed) who was tortured and asked for information regarding the battle. The prisoner (or traitor) told the Persians about a small trail above Thermopylae that only the local farmers knew about. It would allow the Persians to sneak up on the Greeks from behind and corner them in the pass of Thermopylae. Sometime during the night, the Kings Guard (the Persian kings elite soldiers) followed the secret pass and ambushed the Greeks. Leonidas, the Spartan king, decided that he and his Spartans would fight until the end to allow the other Greeks to escape. When the Greeks had escaped, the Spartans knew this would be their last battle. Their weapons were in ruin, they were tired, hungry, and wounded, but they still fought on. The fighting got so savage at one time that the Spartans used their hands, teeth, sticks, and rocks to fight back the Persians. Eventually, the Spartan were backed into a corner and shot with volley upon volley of arrows until they all died. Even though the Spartans died, their deaths inspired the other Greeks to fight for
They had fought for days and lost thousands of men but had not made any progress in their invasion. The Persian king brought out a prisoner (or it was a traitor who came on his own free will, the story is disputed) who was tortured and asked for information regarding the battle. The prisoner (or traitor) told the Persians about a small trail above Thermopylae that only the local farmers knew about. It would allow the Persians to sneak up on the Greeks from behind and corner them in the pass of Thermopylae. Sometime during the night, the Kings Guard (the Persian kings elite soldiers) followed the secret pass and ambushed the Greeks. Leonidas, the Spartan king, decided that he and his Spartans would fight until the end to allow the other Greeks to escape. When the Greeks had escaped, the Spartans knew this would be their last battle. Their weapons were in ruin, they were tired, hungry, and wounded, but they still fought on. The fighting got so savage at one time that the Spartans used their hands, teeth, sticks, and rocks to fight back the Persians. Eventually, the Spartan were backed into a corner and shot with volley upon volley of arrows until they all died. Even though the Spartans died, their deaths inspired the other Greeks to fight for