Others said that
a strong fleet was necessary for success. The two parties led by
Aristides (for the army) and Themistocles (the leader of the
bigger-navy men) fought each other bitterly and nothing was
done until Aristides was exiled. Then Themistocles had his
chance and he built all the ships he could and turned the Piraeus
into a strong naval base.
In the year 481 B.C. a tremendous Persian army appeared
in Thessaly, a province of northern Greece. In this hour of
danger, Sparta, the great military city of Greece, was elected
commander-in-chief. But the Spartans cared little what happened
to northern Greece provided their own country was not
invaded, They neglected to fortify the passes that led into
Greece.
A small detachment of Spartans under Leonidas had been
told to guard the narrow road between the high mountains and
the sea which connected Thessaly with the southern provinces.
Leonidas obeyed his orders. He fought and held the pass with
unequalled bravery. But a traitor by the name of Ephialtes
who knew the little byways of Malis guided a regiment of Persians
through the hills and made it possible for them to attack
Leonidas in the rear. Near the Warm Wells--the Thermopylae
--a terrible battle was fought.
When night came Leonidas and his faithful soldiers lay dead
under the corpses of their enemies.
But the pass had been lost and the greater part of Greece
fell into the hands of the Persians.
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