Map: Battle of Thermopylae (Phase 1)

In 480 BCE, the Persian army under Xerxes I fought against a coalition of Greek states under the leadership of Leonidas I of Sparta. In the first phase of the battle the two sides met at the narrow pass of Thermopylae. A group of Phocian soldiers was sent to guard the mountain pass that the Persians would eventually use to encircle the Greek army.