Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1220: Confrontation at Thermopylae

Iphicrates nodded in relief. With Jason's declaration, his efforts had at least not been in vain.

He gazed toward the Thessalian camp, where flames already lit the night sky. Countless torches surged through the camp gates and stretched northward, forming a winding dragon of fire...

Iphicrates prayed silently, his expression solemn:

...

The departure of the Thessalian Army left the remaining troops unsettled. Over the following days, the Greek expeditionary army kept its camp gates firmly shut. Driven by concern, they also bolstered their defenses.

While placating the allied generals and soldiers, Iphicrates dispatched messengers to the allied states across the Peloponnese, warning them to strengthen their defenses.

Just as he had anticipated, Crotokatax acted on Plintors's advice after scouting the enemy's movements. He sent the First Legion marching swiftly north from Sparta to strike directly at the portion of the Greek expeditionary army besieging Mantineia. Having already received Iphicrates's orders, those allied forces retreated on their own, temporarily lifting the siege of Mantineia.

Failing to draw the Greek expeditionary army into battle, the First Legion continued its northward march, heading straight for Corinth on the Isthmus.

Upon receiving the news, Iphicrates did not lead his forces to the rescue. Instead, he kept the allied main force stationed at the Lepreon Camp, posturing as though he might assault the Davos Camp in Messenia at any moment. This threat forced Daionia to keep its troops in Messenia. Only the troops of the Greek expeditionary army that had previously besieged Mantineia trailed the First Legion; whenever the First Legion wheeled around to engage them, they quickly evaded. Still, their looming presence deterred the First Legion from attacking the heavily fortified Corinth.

...

Just as the fighting in the Peloponnese temporarily subsided, leaving both sides locked in an eerie stalemate, Jason led his army across the Gulf of Corinth. Landing at the Theban port of Creusis, they marched rapidly north, cutting through the Boeotia Region and crossing into Phocis.

By now, the Phocians no longer harbored the intense hostility toward the Thessalians they had shown months earlier. The two sides were now allies. Furthermore, facing the threat of the Daionian Army stationed to their north, Phocis desperately needed Thessalian aid. Consequently, the Thessalian Army was warmly welcomed by the Phocians, and generals from the Greek reinforcements even came out to greet them.

Following a brief discussion, Jason gained a general understanding of the northern situation: the Daionian Army had occupied Heraclea, captured Thermopylae, and even pushed south to besiege the City of Cytinium. Fortunately, thanks to timely reinforcements from the Athenians, the Phocians had repelled the Daionian assaults several times. Just yesterday, likely catching wind of the Thessalian Army's return, the Daionians lifted the siege on the City of Cytinium and withdrew.

After some deliberation, Jason decided to lead his army north along the coast to seize Thermopylae first, then push through into Lamia. He made this choice because the mountainous terrain of northern Central Greece was difficult to traverse and unsuitable for moving a large army. Moreover, the Daionian Army held Heraclea, guarding the northern gateway to the mountains. Having witnessed Daionia's defensive capabilities firsthand in the Peloponnese, he knew that failing to capture Heraclea swiftly would leave tens of thousands of his troops trapped within the mountains—an extremely dangerous prospect.

Jason knew well that while Thermopylae was renowned throughout Greece for being easy to defend and hard to attack, the Greeks had originally built the pass to fend off northern barbarians—primarily the Thessalians. Thus, it was fortified against the north but vulnerable to the south, serving as a one-sided barrier. This was precisely why the Persian army had captured it so easily in the past after sending a surprise detachment along a hidden mountain path to outflank it. Therefore, a direct assault from the south by the Thessalian Army should take the pass with relative ease.

Yet, when Jason led his army to that steaming coastline, he was left dumbfounded. A Daionian military camp stood directly in their path, wedged tightly between the mountains and the coastal cliffs. Just behind it rose the familiar stone walls of Thermopylae...

Earlier, Ephialtes had led the main force of his legion in a simultaneous frontal and flanking assault on Thermopylae. Though the defenders had taken precautions along the mountain paths, their numbers were simply too few. After a single day of fighting, the Twelfth Legion smoothly seized the pass.

Ephialtes, however, quickly noticed the pass's flaw. The Twelfth Legion's primary mission was to block the returning Thessalian Army, but Thermopylae offered no defense against an enemy approaching from the south. Still, this did not deter him. The narrow terrain of Thermopylae prevented large numbers of troops from deploying at once, making it ideal for a small force to hold off a larger one—a trait that applied equally against the south as against the north. Consequently, he called up the Engineering Brigade and ordered more than half his soldiers to construct a camp pressed right against Thermopylae. Meanwhile, he personally led three thousand men inland from the coast, surveying the terrain until they discovered the City of Cytinium, which they swiftly besieged.

His goal was no longer to expand his conquests, but to draw the enemy's attention and ensure the smooth construction of the camp.

Now, Jason stared at the Daionian camp ahead of him, feeling a headache building. In the Peloponnese, his army had already suffered enough while attacking Daionian camps. Yet, retreating was impossible. Only by throwing everything they had into breaching this camp could they return to Thessaly.

Once the order to attack was given, the Thessalian soldiers, eager to return home, were divided into units. Advancing along the narrow coastline, they launched continuous attacks against the Daionian camp.

For the first time since the Greco-Persian Wars a century prior, a bloody, large-scale battle erupted near Thermopylae.

However, compared to the Spartan army that had defended this spot a century ago, the Daionian Army holding the line today enjoyed far more advantages.

First, Daionia's defending forces were not at an absolute numerical disadvantage. The 12th Legion had 8,000 soldiers. Furthermore, to prevent any surprises, Ephialtes had preemptively compelled Lamia—which had already submitted to Daionia—to conscript 1,000 Citizen Soldiers as a reserve force for Thermopylae. Deducting the 1,000 Daionian soldiers garrisoned in the Lamia acropolis and another 1,000 in Heraclea, Ephialtes still had 7,000 men ready for battle. These troops could continuously pass through Thermopylae and into the camp to rotate in the defense. Meanwhile, after their recent fighting in the Peloponnese, the Thessalian Army had dwindled from its original 40,000 to just over 36,000 men. Their forces were only four times the size of the defenders, unlike the hundreds of thousands fielded by the Persians in the past.

Second, Ephialtes had learned from the Spartans' past mistakes. He built small defensive fortifications along all known mountain paths, garrisoning them with Samnite Soldiers specialized in mountain warfare to prevent any Thessalian sneak attacks. Additionally, the 12th Legion was composed of diverse troop types—heavy infantry, light infantry, javelinmen, and archers—working together in well-coordinated synergy. Deployed in the narrow coastal camp, this combined defense effectively stifled the Thessalian assaults.

Furthermore, Ephialtes had his men haul several of the legion's ballistae atop the walls of Thermopylae. The stone projectiles they fired could fly over the camp, inflicting maximum casualties on the densely packed Thessalian attackers.

As a result, despite launching fierce assaults on the camp for several days, the Thessalian Army achieved little and suffered substantial casualties.

While Jason waited in the rear, burning with anxiety over his continued failure to break the Daionian defensive line, the Thessalian soldiers preparing for the next assault stared in shock. The camp's wooden gates suddenly opened, and out stepped several dozen Thessalian men in civilian clothes. Shouting their names and their respective Thessalian city-states, they demanded to speak with the Citizen Soldiers from their hometowns.

When Jason's army had first approached Thermopylae, Ephialtes had immediately dispatched messengers to Thessaly, notifying the Supreme Commander, Patroclus, that the Thessalian main force had returned.

By this time, more than half a month had passed since the landing army captured Pherae and forced the surrender of Pharsalus. With Thessaly's major powers firmly under Daionian control, the landing army continued to divide its forces and capture territory. With the tide irrevocably turned, the remaining Thessalian city-states either surrendered or were conquered. During this period, the Daionian Army had essentially subdued both the northern and southern plains of Thessaly.

Even as the army advanced triumphantly, the Regional Administrator of the Thessaly Region, Hylos, and his officials were working tirelessly. While promising benefits to the commoners, they actively courted the prominent figures of the various city-states. Because Hylos and his officials hailed from Thessaly themselves, many of the locals began to accept them. Soon, a narrative began spreading across Thessaly: the King of Daonia was a true Thessalian, a descendant of Hades. Compared to the tyrant Jason, he was far more capable of protecting their lands, making him much better suited to serve as the Thessalian Tagus...

Simultaneously, the legendary tales of how Davos founded the Kingdom of Daunia and its rapid rise began circulating among the Thessalian people.

Patroclus was fully prepared for Ephialtes's report. He immediately enlisted the help of Hylos, who was already in Pherae handling the affairs of all Thessaly, to summon the prestigious Council members of the Thessalian city-states that had submitted to the Kingdom of Daunia. He then informed them in no uncertain terms: Jason was returning with his army, and Daionia was marshaling a hundred thousand troops within Thessaly to utterly crush him.

Many of these Thessalian Council members had witnessed Daionia's colossal army and terrifying combat prowess with their own eyes. Although Jason commanded a massive army of his own, most did not believe he could win. Because of this, they were deeply worried.