Leonidas at Thermopylae

**Leonidas at Thermopylae** *An interactive text by B.B* [[Start->Start]] [[Bibliography->Bibliography]]

The scout tells you that a traitorous farmer has informed the Persians of another route around Thermopylae, a very succesful battlefield for you, as the narrow nature of the battlefield allows your smaller forces with superior hoplites to easily slaughter any soldiers the Persians foolishly attempt to send through, and that they will be going through a pass to avoid the battlefield. [[Ignore the Scout's Warning->Continue Waiting]] [[Plan Your Next Move->Decision Time]]

You decide the scout's news cannot possibly be that important, and ignore him. You continue to prepare for the next days battle with the Persians, but when the next day comes, the Persians do not appear for a long time, and begin to wonder whether you should go find that scout and hear what he has to say. [[Go Find Scout->Learn of Other Route]] [[Continue Waiting->Continue Waiting]]

You decide to continue waiting for the Persians, who are able to get their army around on the goat path, and attack from behind and slaughter you. THE END

Abrams, Dennis. Xerxes. New York, NY: Chelsea House, 2008. http://online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=11113&itemid=WE49&articleId=1007782. Adkins, Leslie, and Roy A. Adkins. Handbook to Life in Ancient Greece, Updated Edition. N.p.: Facts on File, 2005. http://online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=11113&itemid=WE49&articleId=236130. Kirby, John T., ed. Classical Greek Civilization, 800-323 B.C.E. Vol. 6 of World Eras. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2001. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=cinc13591&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CCX3035100108&it=r&asid=e43a712960207 999c245547e4c7410bb. Kuiper, Kathleen. Ancient Greece: From the Archaic Period to the Death of Alexander the Great. Edinburgh, Scotland: Britannica Educational Publishing, 2011. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=cinc13591&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CCX4037100051&it=r&asid=bd7e304e855fb a35886d38a4c8d97109. Nardo, Don. The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece. Edited by Robert B. Kebric. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2007. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.dop=GVRL&sw=w&u=cinc13591&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CCX3205000456&it=r&asid=eb7aea7d02e5e 1d7226400a0795ae50b.

You know that the Persians will soon be at the pass, but you can't decide whether you should send the other armies to go fall back, and defend the pass with your Spartan army, or if you should fall back with them. You know that there is strength in numbers, but also know that your much smaller Spartan army will likely do more damage to the Persian forced if you go alone. [[Send Back the Others and Go Alone->Cut off the Persians]] [[Fall Back with the Rest of the Armies->Fall Back]]

You decide to take your army of 300 to the pass to cut off the Persian army. You are waiting to fight, but some of your soldiers are uneasy due to the much larger numbers of the Persians, which will likely kill your entire army, and ask if you are sure you want to stay. [[Stay and Fight->Fight the Persians]] [[Fall Back and Meet the Rest of the Army->Go to Athens]]

You decide that the Persian numbers are likely too great to overcome, and fall back to meet the rest of the Greek armies, who inform you that the Persians are attempting to march to Athens and destroy it. The other armies are going to march to Athens, and ask if you want to come with them. [[March to Athens->Go to Athens]] [[Return Home to Sparta->Go Home]]

You decide to stay, telling the soldiers, "If you think that I should rely on numbers, then not even the whole of Greece is enough, since it is a small fraction of their horde. But if I am to rely on courage, then even this small number is quite adequate." The Persians finally arrive, and you fight valiantly, chopping down their numbers significantly. Eventually, the numbers of the Persians are too great, and their hoplites overpower yours and kill you and all of your troops, but not until you have lowered their numbers greatly. [[The End->Died at Thermopylae]]

(set: $athens to (random: 1,2)) (if: $athens is 1)[You arrive at Athens, but you are too late. Athens has been burned by the Persians, and any survivors have been taken prisoner. The Greek armies make a plan to chase them, but you have grown weary and consider returning home instead of continuing the chase. [[Chase Persian Army->Chase Persian Army]] [[Return to Sparta->Go Home]]] (if: $athens is 2)[You arrive at Athens just as the Persian army arrives, and prepare for battle. [[Defend Athens->Defend Athens]]]

You return home to Sparta, knowing there was more that you could have done to prevent awful things from happening. You survive, but you are unhappy and do not know what to do. [[Live out the Reign->Return Home End]] [[Realize it was Your Fault->Suicide]]

You have fought valiantly, and the rest of the Greek armies are inspiried by your noble sacrifice and eventually defeat the cowardly Persians. You and your troops are remembered as heroes by all. THE END

After somehow managing to defeat the much larger forces Persians, you return home to Sparta, where you live out the rest of your reign and are remembered as a hero, although an extremely lucky one, for your amazing feats in battle. THE END

You are remembered as a leader who just could have done more. You are considered a hero for your sacrifice at Athens, but your loss leads to the Persians taking over Greece. THE END

The other Greek leaders inform you that the next city the Persians will be looking to take is Megara, and tell you that is where their armies will be heading to next. You and your troops wish to defend Greece, but it is obvious they are exhausted and have almost lost all hope that they can defeat the Persian forces. [[Defend Megara->Defend Megara]] [[Give Up the Chase->Go Home]]

(set: $alive to (random: 1,10)) (if: $alive is 1)[Your brave hoplites fight valiantly, and even though your Greek forces have much smaller numbers than the Persians, you somehow manage to fight them off and defeat them. You can now return home to Sparta. [[Return a Hero->Glorius Return]]] (else:)[The much larger numbers of the Persian forces easily slaughter your tiny Greek forces and you and all your troops are killed in battle. It was a very poor idea to take your forces, minuscule compared to theirs, into such a wide and open environment. [[The End->Died at Athens]]]

You survive to live the rest of your reign, but always feel like there was more you could have done and are remembered as a cowardly and weak king. THE END

You realize everything that happened was because of poor decisions you have made. You fall on your sword and end your reign early. THE END

(set: $megaraalive to (Random: 1,25)) (if: $megaraalive is 1,)[You arrive at Megara just before the Persian forces, and prepare to fight. The hoplites clash, and after a very long battle, your paltry Greek forces barely defeat the Persians and you return home, albeit with a much smaller Spartan contingent. [[Return Home->Glorius Return]]] (else:)[You arrive at Megara just before the Persian forces, and prepare to fight. After a very short battle, your inadequate forces are exhausted from the chase, and are easily defeated by the vastly larger forces of the Persians and you are slaughtered handily along with your troops. [[Died at Megara->Died at Megara]]]

While you are remembered as a hero for your sacrifice at Megara, the Greeks always feel you should have cut off the Persians, as it would have slowed the Persians down and allowed the other troops to stop them at Athens. THE END

You are Leonidas I of the house of Agiad, the brave warrior king of Sparta, in the tenth year of your reign, after having taken over for your step-brother Cleomenes. You have been fighting the Persians in a brutal battle at Thermopylae, a very important site known as a gate to the rest of Greece.The Persians badly want to take Thermopylae, as it will allow them to easily enter the rest of Greece and easily take over. You are attempting to rest up after a hard day of battle, when you are approached by a scout who tells you he has something important to tell you. [[Talk to Scout->Learn of Other Route]] [[Ignore Scout->Wait for Persians]]