Demophilus ( el, Δημόφιλος ''Demophilos''), according to

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...

, was the commander of a contingent of 700 Thespians at the

Battle of Thermopylae The Battle of Thermopylae ( ; grc, Μάχη τῶν Θερμοπυλῶν, label=Greek, ) was fought in 480 BC between the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I. Lasting o ...

(480 BC). His father was Diadromes (). Demophilus and his men fought at the battle and at the end they stood along with the 300 Spartans at the last stand, all were killed. The ancient Greek traveler and geographer

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC *Pausanias of Sicily, physician of th ...

also wrote about the stay of the Thespians at Thermopylae together with the Spartans. After the Battle of Thermopylae, the Persian army burned down the city of

Thespiae Thespiae ( ; grc, Θεσπιαί, Thespiaí) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek city (''polis'') in Boeotia. It stood on level ground commanded by the low range of hills which run eastward from the foot of Mount Helicon to Thebes, Greece, Thebe ...

. The citizens had fled to the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

. Later, the Thespians fought against the Persian army at the

Battle of Plataea The Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place in 479 BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Greek city-states (including Sparta, Athens, C ...

(479 BC). Demophilos is immortalised in many books and movies. In the 1962 movie ''

The 300 Spartans ''The 300 Spartans'' is a 1962 CinemaScope epic film depicting the Battle of Thermopylae. Made with the cooperation of the Greek government, it was shot in the village of Perachora in the Peloponnese. The working title was ''Lion of Sparta''. It ...

'', Demophilus was portrayed by the Greek actor Yorgos (George) Moutsios. In

Thermopylae Thermopylae (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: (''Thermopylai'') , Demotic Greek (Greek): , (''Thermopyles'') ; "hot gates") is a place in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur ...

there is a monument, next to the monument of

Leonidas Leonidas I (; grc-gre, Λεωνίδας; died 19 September 480 BC) was a List of kings of Sparta#Heraclids, king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and the 17th of the List of kings of Sparta#Agiad dynasty, Agiad line, a dynasty which claimed d ...

, in memory of him and his men. There is also a monument to Demophilus in the modern

Thespies Thespies ( el, Θεσπιές; before 1934: ''Erimókastro'') is a village in Boeotia, Greece. A former municipality, which included the village, shared the same name. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Aliartos, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demophilus Battle of Thermopylae 5th-century BC Greek people Ancient Greeks killed in battle 480 BC deaths Greek people of the Greco-Persian Wars Year of birth unknown Ancient Boeotians