CHAPTER XIII. OF THE BATTLE OF THERMOPYLÆ.

these words, they came to the help of the Greeks at Trachis. All of these had commanders of their own, for every city one; but he that was most admired and had the chief command of the army was a Spartan, Leonidas by name, being the twenty-first in descent from Hercules, and having obtained the kingdom in Sparta contrary to expectation. For he had two brothers that were older than he, to wit, Cleomenes and Dorieus, and so had no thoughts of the kingdom. Nevertheless, when Cleomenes died without male offspring, and Dorieus also was dead, having perished in Sicily, the kingdom came to Leonidas, for he was older than Cleombrotus. (This Cleombrotus was the youngest of the sons of Anaxandrides.) This Leonidas had to wife Gorgo, the daughter of Cleomenes; and now he went to Thermopylæ, taking with him three hundred men according to the custom of the kings of Sparta. These three hundred he had chosen from such as had male children. On his way he took with him the four hundred men of Thebes, their commander being Leontiades. Now the cause why Leonidas made much account of taking these men rather than any other of the Greeks was this. It was commonly laid to the charge of the Thebans that they favored the cause of the Persians. For this cause he summoned them to the war, seeking to know whether they would send the men or would plainly refuse the alliance of the Greeks. And the Thebans, though they wished otherwise, nevertheless sent the men. The Spartans indeed sent on Leonidas and his company beforehand, purposing themselves to follow. For they thought that when the allies knew that these were already gone, they would also make ready; and they feared lest these should favor the Persians, if they themselves should be seen to linger. And they purposed, when they should have kept the feast—for it chanced to be the feast of the Carneia—to leave a garrison in Sparta, and to follow with their whole force. And the rest of the allies were minded to do the same thing; and it so befell that the festival of Olympia was being kept at this time. But when they sent these men before them, they had no thought that matters at Thermopylæ would be brought to an end so speedily.