The beleaguered Greek force of Spartans, Thespians, and their hostage Thebans were now of course aware that the Persians had them bottled up in the place of the Hot Gates, and the Greek scouts coming in from the heights confirmed the case. Thus it was that, once the troops engaged on this fatal day, the Spartans sallied forth from their ramparts and flew in the face of the Persian forces ascending in the narrow pathway. By this time, the Greeks had shivered their battle lances and were fighting with swords, battle-axes, daggers, bare hands, and teeth. Theirs was the heroism and desperation of doomed men as they gathered back to back on a hillock in the pass where the Persian bowmen inundated them with flight upon flight of heavy war arrows. Immediately prior to the day's engagement, a Trachinian scout had told Dieneces, a Spartan swordsman, that the barbarians were so many that their arrow-flights would darken the sun. Dieneces replied: "These are excellent tidings. If the Medes darken the sun, we shall have our fight in the shade."
By the time the last of the Spartans had retreated to the hillock, Leonidas had been killed in action, and so had Xerxes' two brothers. Apparently the Spartans carried Leonidas' body with them to the hill, where they all went down in a shambles together. Thus the three hundred Spartans perished at Thermopylae, and with them fell their faithful Thespians.
Shortly before the last of the fighting Greeks fell, the Thebans had tried to surrender to the frustrated and enraged Persian front line, who executed the Thebans as they tried to give themselves up. Xerxes did permit most of the remaining Thebans to surrender to his tender mercies, whereupon he branded their bodies with the royal mark, thereby granting them perpetual infamy.
