ermopylae is at some distance from
the Isthmus of Corinth, and that of the states which would be protected
by making a stand at the pass, some were without the isthmus and some
within. These states, in sending each a few hundred men only to
Thermopylae, did not consider that they were making their full
contribution to the army, but only sending forward for the emergency
those that could be dispatched at once; and they were all making
arrangements to supply more troops as soon as they could be raised and
equipped for the service. In the mean time, however, Xerxes and his
immense hordes came on faster than they had expected, and the news at
length came to Leonidas, in the pass, that the Persians, with one or two
millions of men, were at hand, while he had only three or four thousand
at Thermopylae to oppose them. The question arose, What was to be done?

Those of the Greeks who came from the Peloponnesus were in favor of
abandoning Thermopylae, and falling back to the isthmus. The isthmus,
they maintained, was as strong and as favorable a position as the place
where they were; and, by the time they had reached it, they would have
received great re-enforcements; whereas, with so small a force as they
had then at command, it was madness to attempt to resist the Persian
millions. This plan, however, was strongly opposed by all those Greeks
who represented countries _without_ the Peloponnesus; for, by abandoning
Thermopylae, and falling back to the isthmus, their states would be left
wholly at the mercy of the enemy. After some consultation and debate, it
was decided to remain at Thermopylae. The troops accordingly took up
their positions in a deliberate and formal manner, and, intrenching
themselves as strongly as possible, began to await the onset of the
enemy. Leonidas and his three hundred were foremost in the defile, so as
to be the first exposed to the attack. The rest occupied various
positions along the passage, except one corps, which was stationed on
the mountains above, to guard the pass in that direction. This corps was
from Phocis, which, being the state nearest to the scene of conflict,
had furnished a larger number of soldiers than any other. Their division
numbered a thousand men. These being stationed on the declivity of the
mountain, left only two or three thousand in the defile below.

From what has been said of the stern and savage character of the
Spartans, one would scarcely expect in them any indication