Battle of Thermopylae 480 BC - myths vs reality

As for Plataea, well:

The enemy outnumber us a paltry three to one, good odds for any Greek ;)


We need some of these against the EU, where are they?
 
Afaik, Greeks had around 10,000 men and Persians had around 80,000 men. but Persians never mentioned that "Greeks fought like hell" or something.

I don't think there is any reliable way to guess the Persian numbers. 80,000 is no more arbitrary than Herodotus's 1 million. I don't think anyone seriously thinks 1 million is accurate anymore, but I have seen scholars who argue that 250,000 is plausible. Keep in mind that this was an army that could not be supplied locally and had to be supplied by the Persian navy. After Salamis, a substantial number had to be withdrawn (although probably supplemented to a degree by Greek allies). So 80,000 strikes me as on the low side for Thermopylae.
 
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