Unbeatin,

Spartan Legion Pub.

Brief Spartan History:

The Persians saw the wall being rebuilt but were not concerned by such a small force. They were more concerned with regrouping their army. The Persian army was so large (estimates vary, but about 200,000-250,000 is most agreed upon) that it took 5 days for the back to catch up with the front. They were literally drinking rivers dry. A spy was sent to see the defenses of the Greeks. The spy could not see past the wall, but was surprised to see the Spartans in front of the wall, combing their hair and doing gymnastics.

An envoy went to the Spartans to warn them to surrender. They explained that there were so many Persian archers that when the fired their arrows blotted out the sun. Leonidas responded "How pleasant then, if we’re going to fight them in the shade." Xerxes waited for five days expecting that the small Greek army would turn in flight as they saw the size of the Persian army opposing them. But the Greeks did not flee.

The first day of battle was mid August 480 BC. It started with the Medes attacking the Greeks in the Pass. The Greeks were able to defeat the Medes either by weapon, or by pushing them off the cliff into the sea. When there seemed to be a stalemate the Spartans would start to run back as if fleeing in fear. The enemy would run after them only to find the Spartans wheeling around and slaughtering more. At the back of the Persian line the commanders were whipping their men to storm forward. The Mede line grew thin and Xerxes sent in a second army, the Cissians, who did not fare any better than the Medes. Three times Xerxes is said to have jumped to his feet for concern over his army. As the first day ended the Greeks were still in the pass and many Persians were dead.

On the second day Xerxes sent another envoy to the Spartans. He told them that Xerxes had great respect for their courage and ability. If they put down their weapons and march away then Xerxes will let them live, and would place them at the head of the Persian army, as it’s first unit. When the envoy asked what answer he should give Xerxes Leonidas told him "Molon labe"-- come and take them. Xerxes proceeded to send in the 10,000 Immortals, his best troops commanded by his brother, Hydarnes. Like the Spartans, they were professional disciplined soldiers. But they did not have the armor and weapons to match the Greeks. Again, the results were the same, at the end of the day the Greeks still held the pass, but Xerxes had lost a brother and many of the Immortals. Now the whole Persian army was demoralized to see the crack Immortals defeated.

A traitor, Ephialtes, told Xerxes about the goat path. Xerxes had the traitor lead the Immortals around the path. He expected that the Immortals would be in position behind the army by noon the next day. Leonidas found out that the track was discovered. He dispatched most of the Greek troops to go back and wait for the next battle. The Thebians refused to leave and were given the position to protect the goat path. The Spartans would not withdraw. By this time many of the 300 Spartans were already injured or dead. Leonidas sent several back as messengers to save their lives. A couple of the older ones sensed what Leonidas was doing and refused to go, saying that they were a soldier and not a messenger. Two of the Spartans had lost their vision due to infection. One insisted on fighting anyway and was led blind into the battle. The other was led back to Sparta and soon regained his vision, but was treated by some as a coward. He proved his valor in the battle of Plataea, but was considered too reckless at that battle. Spartans believed that a man’s valor should keep him solid in the line, neither allowing him to run back as a coward, nor leave the line forward in recklessness. Either action would leave a hole in the line and endanger the other Spartans.

On the third day the remaining Spartans attacked with the aim to do as much damage as they could. Leonidas was killed and there was a fight to retrieve his body. The Spartans finally retrieved his body and retreated to a small hillock nearby. The Immortals found the Thebians unprepared on the path and quickly killed them. They came through the gate to surround the Spartans. Xerxes did not wish to risk further casualties and ordered his archers forward. Volleys of arrows finally killed the Spartans.

After the battle the body of Leonidas was identified. He was decapitated and his head put on a stake. The bodies of the Persian dead were quickly buried to hide the fact that so many were killed by such a small group. In all, about 1,000 - 2,000 Greeks died, while the Persians lost more than 20,000.

This is the greatest standoff in our known history and the story of the men we honor.

Welcome to the Spartan Legion webpage. We are a Lastchaos-usa guild located primarly on Server-4. We are currently a rank3 guild with 25+ members and growing. We are only recruiting for a limited time and you must be lvl 20+. We will be a strong end-game pvp guild very interested in castle sieges. We currently have one brother guild LegionofSouls, they will be our allies once the system is added to the game. If you are interested in joining our guild please post in the Lastchaos-usa guild section at our link or post in our forums recruitment section.

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