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Seven. The last three were to hold the pass to provoke a sea battle in the nearby strait, which was the purpose of holding the pass. The Greek fleet faled to defeat the Persian fleet, so holding the pass uned out to be of no avail.

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12y ago

The Greek historian Herodotus gives the Greek casualty figures at one to four thousand ; there is no definitive answer .

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Q: How many days did the Greeks hold back the Persians at Thermopylae?
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Why couldn't the Greeks hold the pass at Thermopylae?

They did hold it for three days, to force a sea battle against the Persians. When the Persians won the sea battle, the Pass had no further use, and the Greek force was withdrawn. The Spartan and Thespian contingents stayed holding the pass to let the other city contingents escape.


How long did the Greeks hold off the Persians?

It took two days to hold them off


What did Ancient Persians live in?

persians used to be located in what now a days is the country of Iran. hhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh.......


Is it true in ancient Greece 300 soldiers held off 200000 Persian elite troops for 3 days?

No, 7,000 Greek armoured warriors and 9,000 light infantry held the pass for 3 days against 180,000 Persian infantry and cavalry. This was to force the Persians to try to bypass the position with their fleet, with the Greek fleet waiting to pounce. The Greeks lost the naval battle and so the blocking force was withdrawn. The Spartan (300 armoured warriors and 2,100 light infantry) and Thespian contingents stayed to cover the retreat and were all killed, bravely protecting their allies' escape. Folklore: At the battle of Thermopylae 300 Spartan hoplites held of the entire Persian army. They were, however massacred at the end when a traitor from the Spartans led the Persians along a goat track through the mountains. The Persians could then come upon the Spartans from the rear and they were slaughtered to a man. EwwwwwThe header says it all. I'm guessing this is a "300" fan posting the above answer. Yes, a Greek force held off the Persian advance by King Xerxes I for 3 days at Thermopylae. BUT, the tell is, Ephialtes (the greek traitor) was not Spartan, he was a local who lived at Malis, not far from the battle site. The exact number of Persians is unknown, Herodotus records over 5000000, but it was probably nearer the given number in the question. There were not just 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, the were supported by 7000 other Greeks from all over the south of Hellas. These included more Spartans, not Hoplite troops but inferior light infantry. The Persians were held off until the third day of fighting, when Leonidas (the Spartan King and Leader of the Greek force) was killed. The Greeks were desperate to recover his body and much pushing back and forth ensued until the Spartans reached and recovered his corpse. The Greeks, now angry, fought all the harder and by the end of the battle, although surrounded (they had been betrayed by the afformentioned Ephialtes) The Persians had to finish them off with arrows. Only the Spartans, Thespians and Thebans perished at Thermopylae. Leonidas sent all but the Thebans home (The Thebans' loyalty to Hellas was questionable) but the Thespians stayed anyway as they too felt they should stand and sacrifice themselves in order that all of Greece should stand together against the Persian armies. The Thespians, often forgotten, played a major role in Thermopylae, their sacrifice, you could argue, was greater than that of the Spartans. It was illegal for a Spartan to abandon the field of battle (even the Spartan messenger Leonidas sent back to Sparta was exiled and died in shame) but the Thespians had every right to leave, and didn't. The battle of Thermopylae in 480BC stands as a MAJOR turningpoint in global history, before September 480BC the idea that there is something worth more than life itself was very sparse, but now, to sacrifice your life for a glorious cause is regarded as a noble and beautiful thing to do.


What year did the battle of Thermopylae start?

It started and ended within three days in 480 BCE.

Related questions

What battle did 7000 Greeks including 300 Spartans hold off the Persians for 3 days?

The battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.


Where were Greek forces able to hold the Persians off for two days?

The pass at Thermopylae in 480 BCE.


Why couldn't the Greeks hold the pass at Thermopylae?

They did hold it for three days, to force a sea battle against the Persians. When the Persians won the sea battle, the Pass had no further use, and the Greek force was withdrawn. The Spartan and Thespian contingents stayed holding the pass to let the other city contingents escape.


How long did the Greeks hold off the Persians?

It took two days to hold them off


How did Leonidas beat the Persians?

He commanded a blocking force at the Pass of Thermopylae which was withdrawn after three days. The force was withdrawn after three days and the Spartan and Thespian contingents remained to cover their withdrawal. They were all killed, so he hardly beat the Persians.


How many Persians died from the 300 Greeks?

My guess is that you're talking about the Battle of Thermopylae. The Persians lost about 20,000 men, but there weren't "300 Greeks" ... there were 300 Spartans, in a mixed force totaling around 7,000 Greeks in all. They managed to hold off the Persian army for around a week, including two days of actual fighting.When the (much larger) Persian army found a way around the narrow pass to outflank the Greeks, the Spartan general Leonidas and a force of about 300 Spartans (and around 1200 other Greeks from various cities) remained to hold off the Persians while the bulk of the Greek force escaped to warn the cities of Greece that the Persians had taken the pass and were on their way. This rear guard was essentially annihilated on the third day of fighting. All told, the Greeks lost between 2,000 and 4,000 men in the battle.


Did the Persians win Greece and give it to Sparta?

Uh.... no. The Persians lost the war with Greece, and they didn't "give" Sparta anything. It would be more accurate to say the Spartans "gave it to" Persia, with "it" in this case being "a Grecian urn of whoop-ass": at the Battle of Thermopylae between the Persian Army and a Greek force commanded by a Spartan general, the Persians lost 10 times as many men as the Greeks did. However, since they had 15-20 times as many men to start with, the Persians did manage to take the pass after being held off by the Greeks for about a week (including three days of actual battle).


How long did the Spartans hold off the Persians?

Two days. The third day of the battle can perhaps be counted as well, although by then the Persians had been shown a way around, the Spartans remained to block the pass at Thermopylae until they were destroyed.


How did the Greek ships differ than those of the Persians in the battle of Thermopylae?

The battle of Thermopylae was on land - a small Greek land force holding the pass for three days. The purpose of holding the pass was to encourage the Persians to use their fleet to bypass the blockage and the Greek fleet was waiting to pounce on the Persian ships in the narrow waters between Thermopylai and the island of Euboea at Artemesion, which is the name of the naval battle you are asking about.The Greek ships were lighter and more manoeuvrable than the Persian ships. The Persians relied on closing with the opposition and boarding. The Greeks relied on avoiding and ramming their opponents.Unfortunately for the Greeks it didn't work. After three days of skirmishing then close battle, they lost the sea battle of Artemesion and retired back to Salamis to try again. The delaying force at Thermopylai, its delaying mission complete, withdrew covered by a reargued of 2,300 Spartans and 1400 Thespians who were all lost.


How might the Persian Wars have ended if the Spartans had not followed the Persian at Thermopylae?

The Spartans did not 'follow' the Persians - they were part of a blocking force which delayed the Persian army for three days, and had no effect on the following two-year campaign which defeated the Persians at the battles of Salamis, Plataia and Mycale.


How did the battle Thermopylae help Athens even though the Greeks lost?

The Greeks lost in the battle of the hot gates, but the 300 held the place for the rest of the army and navy to win now that the 3 days that were forbidden to fight were over.


How might the Persian wars have ended if the Spartans had not slowed at Thermopylae?

The Persian Wars would have proceeded the same if the Spartans had not slowed the Persians at Thermopylae. The reason the Spartans wanted to hold up the Persian advance was to force a sea battle in the Artemisium Strait to destroy the Persian navy.The Persians won the sea battle, and it had to be refought later at Salamis. After the failure of the sea battle, the blocking force at Thermopylae was withdrawn. The battle had no effect on the outcome of the invasion.No difference whatsoever, the Persians simply moved on with a three day delay of no effect.