NOT THE ONE YOU ARE PROBABLY THINKING OF… THE BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE

The battle of Thermopylae in 279 BC, when an alliance of Greeks faced an army of Celts, is an important but lesser-known battle, overshadowed by the more famous battle of 480 BC, when the Persians invaded Greece.

By Myke Cole and Michael Livingston

"The” Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC is one of the most famous battles in history. The destruction of Leonidas has become a political lightning rod, an icon of stalwart resistance in the face of hopeless odds, and the primary basis for the cult of Spartan warrior supremacy. But the fight in 480 BC is just one of twenty-seven actions fought at Thermopylae. One of these many battles of Thermopylae was a dramatic defence of the pass against a confederation of Celtic invaders in 279 BC. It’s surprising that this battle isn’t better known, as it’s one of the more comprehensively documented, with accounts from Pausanias, Justin, Polybius, Strabo, and others. Perhaps it is lost to obscurity because it lacks the drama of the fated figures of Xerxes and Leonidas, though…

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Ancient Warfare (Digital) - 1 Issue, AW XVII.2

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