Unearthed (2016–…): Season 5, Episode 6 - Finding Sparta's 300 - full transcript

The Spartans...

The greatest warriors
of ancient Greece.

"Spartans" became a byword
for heroism and courage.

These fearless fighters

carved their names into legend

at Thermopylae...

In an epic battle

that changes
the course of history.

What the Spartans achieved at
Thermopylae was immortal glory.

Ancient sources claim
300 Spartans

hold off an army
of more than 1 million men,



but how much of this
blood-soaked tale is true?

For thousands of years, people
have wanted to know the truth

of what actually happened here.

Today, investigators
use satellite technology

and weapons tests

to reveal the secrets
of this monumental clash.

- Ah!
- Oh!

To unlock the truth
behind these ancient warriors,

we'll rebuild the battlefield
of their greatest conflict...

Reconstruct their lost city
in the mountains

and reveal the hidden evidence
of their courageous last stand.

captions paid for by
discovery communications

Thermopylae, central Greece...

Today, the Kallidromo mountains



loom over a peaceful landscape,

but 2,500 years ago,

these slopes ring
with the sound of war.

The battle of Thermopylae
has become

one of the most famous
battles in history.

At this ancient battlefield,

two great armies collide

in a clash
of extraordinary proportions.

Legend has it that in 480 B.C.,

the Persian king Xerxes
invades Greece

with an army
of more than 1 million men.

To reach the Greek capital,

they have to squeeze through
the narrow coastal pass

at Thermopylae,

but one thing stands
in their way...

300 elite spartan warriors
armed to the teeth.

The 300 Spartans hold off
the Persian forces for 3 days,

killing tens of thousands.

Is there any truth to this
incredible war story?

Historian Ian MacGregor Morris
is on a quest to discover

what really happens
at Thermopylae.

He wants to know where reality
lies within the legend,

but the stories
come from ancient texts

written after the fighting ends.

The writers
were not at the battle,

so we always have to be
very careful reading them.

Ian first wants to
examine why the Spartans

take on what seems
like a suicide mission.

His investigation starts here at
the ancient sanctuary of Delphi.

This is where the spartan road
to war begins.

Delphi was a crucial
place in the lead-up to the war.

It was a site of gossip,
people spreading ideas,

rumors of the coming threats.

In 480 B.C., Sparta
is just one small city-state

in a divided Greece.

Persia is a superpower

that's conquered two-thirds
of the known world.

Now it's hell-bent
on crushing Greece.

Legend says that the spartan
king and commander, Leonidas,

sends emissaries to Delphi

to seek advice
on the gathering storm.

They gain an audience
with Delphi's magical priestess.

Known as the oracle, she
can supposedly tell the future.

Before any major undertaking,

Spartans would ask
the approval of the oracle.

2,500 years ago,

Delphi is home to a grand temple
dedicated to Apollo,

the god of truth and prophecy.

Legend has it that deep
in the bowels of the temple

is a forbidden room...
The inner sanctum of the oracle.

Here, the essence of Apollo
leaks through the floor,

sending the priestess
into a deep trance.

She predicts that if
the Spartans fight Persia,

either their city
will be destroyed,

or their king will die.

Can this prophecy of doom

convince the Spartans
to go to war?

To find out, Ian first
wants to discover

if there's any truth behind
the story of the priestess.

Incredibly, the fumes
that fuel the oracle's visions

could have
a real-world explanation.

Ian searches for evidence
on the mountainside

where Delphi is built.

This jagged spike of rock
is a clue.

And what we see here
is evidence of a fault line

running under the landscape
through this part of Greece.

It is evidence of great
geological activity.

Earthquakes have
shaken these mountains

for thousands of years.

They push rocks like this
out of the ground.

Ian thinks the same
seismic activity

could be responsible
for the oracle's visions.

Ruptures caused
by this violent movement

could have released
trapped gases,

and these vapors emerging
from the earth

could've inspired the legends

and the stories of the
intoxication of the priestess.

These hallucinogenic
vapors send the oracle

into an otherworldly trance.

For the ancient Greeks,

it's a terrifying
and convincing spectacle.

We have this evidence
that it had a very real impact

on people's lives.

Again and again in our sources,

the Spartans regularly
sent officials here

to ask key questions
of the priestess.

Ian thinks there's
a grain of truth

to the story of the oracle.

The prophecies of the priestess
were taken very,

very seriously, indeed.

The oracle the Spartans received
did not give them much choice.

It made the actions of Leonidas
absolutely necessary.

The spartan king

believes in the oracle's
premonition of his death.

For him,
it's a sign of his destiny,

that he must sacrifice himself
in battle

to save Sparta
from Persian tyranny.

Driven by the prophecy,

Leonidas readies
his troops for war.

Convinced they're marching
to their deaths,

he selects
only experienced warriors

who leave behind sons
to keep their lineage alive.

It's clear they can't face
the coming threat alone...

but in the lead-up to battle,

many Greek states
would rather submit to Persia

than take on Xerxes' huge army.

With the invasion of Xerxes,
only certain Greek states

saw a mutual interest
in fighting side by side.

But Ian believes
Leonidas taking a stand

against the invaders

inspires rival states
to join Sparta at war.

He made a very deliberate choice
to symbolically resist Persia.

This in itself is an incredibly
heroic stance

to encourage the rest
of the allies to come together.

In the summer of 480 B.C.,

Leonidas mobilizes 300
of his finest warriors.

On the road to war, other forces
join them from all over Greece.

As Leonidas marches
over 200 miles to Thermopylae,

he picks up troops
from over 30 Greek states.

The 300 Spartans fighting alone
is a modern myth.

On the Eve of battle,
the Greeks are 7,000 strong.

The Spartans will form
the front line

against the gigantic
Persian army,

which is said to be
the largest in the world.

Legend has it, they hold off
the relentless enemy attack

for three days,
but are the stories accurate?

Now, investigators can finally
reveal the secrets

of how Leonidas and his warriors
fight back against annihilation.

Thermopylae, Greece, 480 B.C...

King Leonidas marches here

with 300 elite spartan warriors

joined by 7,000 Greek troops.

Ancient sources estimate
the opposing Persian army

to consist of 1 million men.

It's said the Spartans
fight them off for three days.

It's an incredible feat,
but is it true?

Ancient writers say
the Spartans make their stand

at a narrow pass flanked
by mountains and the sea.

They claim it's key
to the spartan battle plan.

Ian MacGregor Morris,
an expert on Sparta,

has come to the battle site

to see if legend
matches up with reality.

Below me is
the battlefield of Thermopylae,

but what we see here
is utterly different

from what is described
in our sources.

The sea is miles away.

The cliffs are not
particularly steep here.

It seems like
the sources are flawed,

but in the 2,500 years
since the battle,

the scenery here
has changed dramatically.

Blowing away the modern
landscape

reveals a mix of salt,
sediment, and marine fossils,

a clue that this
isn't always dry land.

It leads to a shelf of brilliant
white travertine rock

laid down by
mineral-rich hot Springs.

At the time of the battle,
this is 60 feet lower

and right on the waterline,
creating a narrow strip of land

between the sea
and the mountains.

This hidden landscape fits the
description of the battlefield.

Is this really where
the Spartans face off

against the Persians?

Where I'm standing would've been
the coastline in 480 B.C.

Opposite me... sheer cliffs.

Ian thinks
the landscape is a key factor

in the spartan battle plan,

but hot springs have helped
bury the original battlefield

in a strange
sulfurous landscape,

making it tough for Ian
to be sure he's at the spot

where the fighting takes place.

He climbs to higher ground

searching for the evidence
he needs

and finds what could be
the remains of an ancient wall.

The legend says the Spartans
use it to defend their camp.

These large blocks,
we can see their size

and how they've been shaped,

are typical of the years
of Greek history

before the invasion of Xerxes,
and where we are here,

just above
the pass of Thermopylae,

it's highly probable
that this is the wall

that our ancient sources
mention.

For Ian,
the wall is further proof

that the sources are accurate.

At the bottom of this slope

is where the Spartans clash
with the Persians.

The location of the wall
implies that many of the details

we read in those ancient sources

all tie in with what
we actually find here.

Now that he's found
the right location,

Ian thinks the spartan decision
to fight here

is an ingenious tactic.

When you reach Thermopylae,

Leonidas knew
with comparatively few men,

the best way to stop
the Persians

was to block the road
at the narrowest point

that couldn't be outflanked.

Ian uses geological data

to reconstruct the coastline
in 480 B.C.

He marks out the dimensions
of the ancient pass

to calculate how many men
it would take to defend.

We see how close we are
to the cliffs here.

In this space,

we could fit perhaps
20 spartan warriors in a line,

a wall of bronze
blocking the road into Greece.

The data reveals
a narrow battlefield

that suits
the small spartan army,

but it plays havoc with
the Persian plan of attack.

The Persians could not utilize
their huge numbers.

The narrowness of the road meant
that Persians were funneled in

to face the Greek line.

A narrow battlefield
means the Persians

can't overwhelm the Greeks
with their huge numbers,

but does it really help
the Spartans

to fight off a million men?

A clue lies in
a long-lost structure

that the Persian king builds
on his way to Thermopylae.

To move his army into Greece,

Xerxes must cross a mile-wide
stretch of sea

separating Asia from Europe.

According to legend, he anchors
700 ships in the strait

and has them lashed together
with thick ropes.

His men lay wooden planks
across the top

and cover them earth
to make a roadway.

This creates
two huge pontoon Bridges

that carry the massive
Persian war machine

into Europe in just seven days.

But do the Greeks really face

the biggest army
in the ancient world?

Ian looks for answers
in carvings

on the tomb of Xerxes,
the Persian king.

There are 30 different peoples

illustrated on this relief,

including the wealthiest nations
in the known world.

This indicates
the vast resources

that Xerxes could call upon
when he wanted to raise an army.

Xerxes certainly
has the means to assemble

a massive military force,

but Ian thinks the size of
his army is wildly exaggerated.

How would you supply them
with water, with food,

with necessary medicines?

The reality of logistics
and necessity

means that he would've been
marching,

at the most, 100,000
rather than millions.

The Persian army may
not be a million strong

as the ancient texts claim,

but it's still over 10 times
larger than the Greek force.

It's said that before
Xerxes attacks,

he gives the Spartans
one last chance to surrender.

Some sources tell us
that the final demand of Xerxes

was simply that the Spartans
surrender their arms.

Supposedly, Leonidas replied,
"come and take them."

The stage is set for one of the
most famous battles in history.

To stand a chance, the Spartans
must not only hold their line,

but kill thousands of Persians
in the process.

Can 300 Spartans
really take the fight

to an enemy
of such massive proportions?

What makes them the most
effective military force

on the planet?

The battle of Thermopylae.

A spartan-led Greek force
of 7,000 men

take on what
investigators believe

are 100,000 invading Persians.

Legend says the Spartans
fight off

this gigantic enemy
for three days.

Can it be true?

When we look at the size
of the two armies,

we might expect the Persians

to overcome the Greeks
very quickly,

but that's not what happened.

Day one of the battle...

The spartan front line tears
into the Persian infantry.

They were well-drilled.
They were professional,

and they knew
what they were expecting.

The narrow terrain
at Thermopylae helps them

to even the odds,

but how do these warriors cut
down such a formidable enemy?

The Persian army
is a sea of light weapons...

Bows, Spears and daggers.

The Spartans are built
like tanks.

Beneath their bronze shields

is a thick layer
of shock-absorbing wood.

Their hand-molded bronze armor
covers their face and body.

Their iron swords are short,
but deadly in close combat.

Their long wooden Spears
with vicious double tips

are lethal weapons.

Armed to the teeth,
the Spartans fear no one.

Ex-royal marine Dr. Nic Fields

studies the tactics
of the soldiers

on the spartan front line.

He thinks their success is due
to a tight military formation,

where fighters close ranks
and lock shields.

It's called the phalanx.

As the phalanx is formed,

the front line
becomes a wall of shields

that can defend and attack.

The shield is the phalanx,
and you can see why here...

The overlapping,
protecting the man

from the bottom of his helmet
to his knee.

The spear is used to thrust
over the top rim,

so it can only be used in one
direction to jab, jab, jab, jab.

It's a formation
that relies on discipline,

coordination, and trust.

The shield only covers
half his body,

and therefore, he has to rely
on the man standing next to him,

to the right, to the actually
cover the exposed side,

and therefore, it's very
important they actually

keep the formation.

Locked into their ranks,

the Spartans form
an impenetrable barrier,

but they don't wait
for the Persians to engage.

The phalanx is a war machine
that can advance on the enemy.

From the Persian point of view,

it must have been
a, psychologically speaking,

quite the frightening effect,

and all you see
is this mass of bronze

and spearpoints
advancing towards you.

It would've just simply
rolled over the Persian line,

no contest.

The phalanx crushes the first
waves of Persian infantry.

Determined
to break the spartan line,

Xerxes sends in the immortals.

These elite warriors are
just as tough as the Spartans,

armed with Spears
and large shields,

but at the moment of impact,

the phalanx has
a final advantage.

The spartan spear
is nearly 3 feet longer

than the Persian spear.

This was a far batter weapon

when it came to actually
coming into close combat.

You can see even
from that distance,

he can have a clear shot
at our exposed face

of our Persian warrior there.

Nic believes the Persians
have no answer

to the power of the phalanx.

Xerxes would've expected
the battle to be over

in five minutes,
but the Spartans had

the best military hardware
available at the time.

In close combat,

the Persians crush against
the spartan shields

and right into their spears.

Even large volleys
of Persian arrows

can't penetrate
the Spartans' tight formation.

Even for Xerxes'
unstoppable force,

the phalanx
is an immovable object.

Their superior tactics
and lethal hardware

give the spartan soldiers
a huge advantage

over their Persian rivals,

but for Nic, it's warrior unity
that keeps it all together.

The phalanx represents
this idea of a community,

but a community
on the battlefield.

They knew the guys either
to the left of them,

to the right of them,
behind them,

and in front of them.

That was the strength
of the Spartans.

The Spartans are brutally
efficient fighting machines.

At the end of the first day,

their determination to fight on
is as strong as ever.

What gives these men
such a brutal killing instinct

in the face of endless assault?

Incredible evidence from
the lost city of Sparta

reveals a remarkable warrior
society like nothing ever seen.

Day two of the battle
of Thermopylae...

Once again, the Spartans
use their superior weapons

and tactics to slaughter wave
after wave of Persian infantry.

What makes these men
unstoppable killing machines?

A clue lies over 200 miles away.

This is Sparta,
the birthplace of the 300.

Archaeologist Maria Tsouli
is on a quest to find out

what life is like in 480 B.C.

She uncovers a city
that was once the most powerful

in all of Greece.

At the time of Leonidas,

spartan has temples, monuments,

and a market square
at its heart,

just like other Greek cities,

but that's where
the similarities end.

Scattered around the center

are the modest dwellings
of the Spartans.

Sparta is no gleaming Metropolis

but a patchwork of basic brick
houses and military barracks,

and unlike other Greek cities,
it has no wall around it,

only farmland.

Sparta doesn't need walls.

It has warriors.

Maria investigates how
such a simple city

can produce fighting machines
like Leonidas and his men.

She explores a temple
in the heart of the city.

Ancient authors describe
how at this altar,

young Spartans have to endure
a horrifying initiation rite.

Do these barbaric scenes
really happen?

First, Maria checks for evidence

that the altar dates
to the time of the Spartans.

Mortar on the smaller stones
suggest they're not old enough,

but at the base
of the structure,

she finds traces
of spartan construction.

At the edge of the temple,
Maria finds more proof...

Foundations of a huge structure

that appears
to surround the altar.

Maria thinks the presence
of the amphitheater

confirms the ancient stories.

The whipping ritual is more than
just a sadistic spectacle.

Maria believes it prepares
young Spartans

for life as warriors.

A brutal military regime

emerges from the ruins
of this lost city.

From birth, Spartans
are bred for hardship.

Mothers bathe their
newborn sons in wine,

believing it
will make them tougher.

At the age of 7,
boys must leave home

and start their brutal
military training.

Deliberately starved
and exposed to the elements,

they learn to outwit
and outlast opponents in battle.

By the age of 20,

they're lean-and-mean
fighting machines,

ready to join the army
of Sparta.

Warriors rule Sparta.

It's a city feared
throughout ancient Greece.

For Leonidas and his men,

a life devoted
to military training

builds up to one moment
at Thermopylae.

Here, 300 Spartans
hold their line

and stand strong against
the mighty Persians,

but on the evening
of the second day,

the Persian king Xerxes
discovers a fatal flaw

in the spartan battle plan.

How do the Persians finally
break the spartan line,

and how do Leonidas
and his men respond

when facing certain death?

Dawn on day three
at the battle of Thermopylae...

For two days,
Leonidas and his men

have fought heroically
against impossible odds.

Now, they gear up once more

to cut down
a new Persian offensive,

but an incredible discovery
from the battlefield itself

could reveal how the Persians
finally defeat the Spartans.

At the narrow pass,

the Spartans hold strong
against the Persians,

but there's a clue that they
abandon their safe position.

One mile to the south is a hill

where archaeologists discover
scores of Persian arrowheads.

The iron is corroded,
but they are lethal weapons

designed to inflict
brutal injury.

They're evidence of a massive
aerial barrage.

Are these the missiles that end
the battle of Thermopylae?

Ian MacGregor Morris thinks
the arrowheads could reveal

what happens in the final
moments of the battle.

He's come to Athens,
where the ancient finds

are kept in
controlled conditions.

These arrowheads are
the most significant piece

of tangible evidence
we really have

about what took place there.

We see the three-winged
arrowhead,

which is probably the most
commonly used form of arrowhead

in the Persian army.

The very location these were
discovered,

it was perfectly possible
that it was weapons like these,

maybe even some of these
weapons,

that killed the last
of the Spartans

pretty much as the sources
describes it.

The arrowheads seem to
confirm how the Spartans died,

but they don't reveal
why they die here.

According to legend,

the Persians are handed
a tactical breakthrough.

The ancient sources tell
us of the key turning moment

in the battle
when a lone traitor

offers to guide Xerxes
through the mountains

in return for gold.

If the stories are accurate,

Persian troops outflank
the spartan position overnight.

Does a traitor guide thousands
of heavily armed troops

across nine miles of mountains,

forcing the Spartans to retreat?

Is this really how the fighting
comes to an end?

To figure out, Ian hikes up
into the Kallidromo mountains.

He uses GPS data to investigate.

Each of these points
is a marker.

By tracking these parts,

it's possible
to determine routes

that the Persians
might've taken.

Near the summit,
he finds an old cattle trail,

a route he thinks
the Persians could've taken.

The path probably started here,
ascending this slope,

skirting the Southern slopes
of the summit of the mountain

and emerging here behind
the Greek forces in the pass.

The spartan phalanx
is finally outflanked.

Facing certain death,

Leonidas orders
almost all the allied troops

to retreat to safety.

But he and his Spartans join
the remaining allies

to stay and fight,

choosing this hill
for their last stand.

Leonidas' decision to stay here

is the moment in history
that he is being judged a hero.

He does not want others
to fall needlessly with him.

The Spartans have no choice.

If their king stays,
they stay also.

But there's a final question...

How do the Persian arrows
finally break through

the spartan defenses?

Dr. Nic fields works
with archery specialist

Chris Varigmarin to
investigate what happens next.

So what would've
finished them off

in those final minutes
of the battle?

To test the power
of the Persian arrows,

Chris takes aim at a wooden
replica of a spartan shield.

The shield is their last line
of defense

against thousands of archers.

Wow.
That's a good shot.

From 50 feet,
the light arrow is deadly.

Originally, this shield had
a very thin layer of bronze

on its face, but, wow.

That's definitely gone through.

At the last stand, the spartan
defenses are finally overcome.

In a hail of arrows,

3 days of brutal warfare
comes to a bloody end,

finally handing Persian victory
to king Xerxes.

All the evidence suggests

that the battle stories
of the Spartans

are based on incredible
real events at Thermopylae.

The accounts given by
the ancient sources

are remarkable accurate.

The legends reveal that after
slaying all the Spartans,

the Persians display
the severed head of Leonidas

to Mark their triumph.

With the spartan king
vanquished,

Xerxes can now unleash
the full might of his army.

He pushes past Thermopylae,

ravaging the Greek cities
in his path.

When he finally reaches Athens,

he finds it deserted

and burns it to the ground.

As Xerxes' invasion continues,

the conquest of Greece
looks inevitable.

So is the last stand
of the Spartans

just a needless display
of courage?

Some believe that
the spartan sacrifice

is more than
just a heroic death.

Does the courage of the 300
at Thermopylae

help the Greeks win the war

and turn the Spartans
into legends?

Over three days at Thermopylae,

300 fearless Spartans
and their Greek allies

fight and die at the hands
of a huge Persian army.

The spartan decision
to go down fighting

looks like a futile gesture,

but does their sacrifice
help the Greeks win the war?

A clue could lie here
off salamis,

an island that guards
the waters surrounding Athens.

Marine archaeologist
Yannis Lolos

investigates mysterious
submerged ruins

at Ampelakia bay.

In the weeks after Thermopylae,
Persian naval reinforcements

clash here
with an allied Greek fleet.

It's a vicious sea battle that
decides the outcome of the war.

Yannis thinks
the sunken remains here

can reveal how the allies
gain the advantage.

He uses drone technology
to help him identify

the strange structures.

The foundations of large
square buildings

stretch out into the water.

Further into the bay, a circle
of stones comes into view.

Yannis thinks the ruins here

are part of a huge
defensive structure.

This bay is ancient Greek
naval station.

Pottery fragments on the beach
suggest an earlier harbor

is operational at the time
of the invasion.

Yannis thinks this natural
harbor conceals the Greek fleet

as the Persians arrive.

He travels to higher ground
to get a defender's view.

The hills around the harbor
block their view of the bay.

The Persians
sail into the channel

unaware the Greeks are waiting.

Using the same tactics
as the Spartans at Thermopylae,

Greek naval commanders
bottleneck the Persians.

Skilled Greek marines
ram the Persian ships

and destroy their enemies
in vicious hand-to-hand combat.

Xerxes is defeated,

and the Persians retreat
back home,

but Yannis believes
ultimate Greek victory

owes more to the 300 Spartans
than just their tactics.

The heroic Spartans
sacrifice their lives

to buy Greece valuable time.

At the heart of the battle
of Thermopylae is a true story,

one of courage and unity in
the face of overwhelming odds.

The ancient sources
were not writing myth.

They were writing history.

The sacrifice
of the 300 Spartans

helps the Greeks win an epic war
with Persia

and allows them to
carry on experimenting

with a strange new idea...
Democracy.

The battle of Thermopylae
has often been seen

as a turning point
in western civilization.

The Spartans hold off
an entire Persian army

in a battle that has its roots
in a city unlike any other

and a mysterious temple
in the mountains.

They fall in a rain of arrows,

but their glorious defeat
on the shores of Greece

lives on in legend.

The Spartans are true heroes
of the ancient world.