Epic Moments The Battle of the 300 Champions that Decided a War DOCUMENTARY

In our video on the Spartan Royal Guard, we briefly mentioned the possibility that the Hypaeus took part in the famous Battle of the 300 Champions. However, we spent little time actually talking about this fascinating event, which stands as one of the few recorded instances of a war being decided by the outcome of a duel. In this case, a mass duel. It's too much of an epic moment in history to merely brush over, so today, I figured we would take a closer look at this incredible tale that somehow takes the opening scene from the movie Troy and dials it up to 11. This video was sponsored by King of Avalon. It's a mobile strategy game set in an Arthurian fantasy realm where players struggle to survive in a world plunged into chaos following the death of the king. As a city lord, you must survive by developing your settlement and army while forging alliances with other factions in a bid for supremacy. A central feature of the game is the young dragon at your side, which you can train up to become a powerful force for resource gathering, monster slaying, defense, or offense. The game is free to play with daily events to win rewards or unlock new skin such as the special Halloween edition, which will introduce a series of exciting updates to the game. Download King of Avalon now by using the link in the description below which enters you into their ongoing giveaway promotion, and enter our code to redeem an in-game starter pack. Train your dragon and conquer the world. The battle is supposed to have taken place in 546 BC as a part of the ongoing rivalry between Sparta and Argos. For context, let's quickly recap their history which would eventually see them face off dramatically on the field of battle. Both Sparta and Argos existed as close neighbors located a mere 70 kilometers apart as the crow flies. The two were ancient settlements which had first gotten their start in the early bronze age. Sparta for instance began as a series of villages tucked together along a river bend in the Eurotas valley of Laconia. These would gradually merge together to form the polis of Sparta as we know it, adopting a dual monarchy in the process. The city was of some note during the bronze age with the Mycenaean fortress and a few temples dotting the region but for the most part it paled in comparison with the contemporary powerhouses of Mycenae and Knossos. Argos meanwhile had been founded atop a pair of hills along the charados river in the argolis plain just a few kilometers from the coast. It too rose to some prominence in the bronze age and is mentioned alongside Sparta in the annals of homer's legendary trojan war. Both cities however would fall into decline at the end of the bronze age and spend the so-called greek dark ages in relative obscurity. They would emerge on the other side and start to climb to relevance in the early archaic. For Sparta this meant gradually taking control of the valley of Laconia followed in turn by the conquest of the western region of Mycenae. This granted them access to a huge pool of tributary grain and subjects for battle which in turn greatly increased spartan power. Meanwhile Argos had similarly grown by extending its influence over the argolis region and rising in power due to their agriculture, stock breeding, and lucrative system of land rent. Throughout this period both cities would largely be focused on their own local affairs and don't seem to have interacted with one another to a large extent, at least militarily, but as they continued their rise to power this would inevitably change. With their power bases now established by the start of the 6th century BC it appears that they were finally in a position to start rubbing elbows. However a few prominent cities still separated them across the regions of Arcadia and Canura. This meant that conflict often took an indirect form with all sorts of power plays involving intricate regional politics and military posturing. Herodotus tells us that Sparta looked to conquer the whole of Arcadia but on the advice of the oracle of Delphi decided to focus their efforts specifically on the city of Tegea. Whether or not this justification has any historical truth the decision made sense from a strategic perspective since Tegea is located just beyond the exit of the valley of Laconia and stands as a vital stepping stone for the projection of power into the wider greek world. Thus in the early 6th century BC Sparta and Tegea fought several wars across the borders of Laconia and Arcadia. Blows were traded on both sides. In one of these encounters it seems that the Spartans set off with high hopes of victory after interpreting a cryptic message from the oracle of Apparently they came bearing chains to enslave their foes but were ultimately beaten at the battle of the fetters by the Tegeans who used those same chains to bind the defeated Spartans. It was not until the middle of the 6th century BC during the reigns of the Spartan kings Anexandritus and Areson that Tegea was finally defeated. According to our scarce records it seems that it's around this time that Sparta and Argos were finally to come face to face in more direct conflict. We have evidence that there had been some smaller jabs exchanged previously such as at the battle of Hysia but now things were really heating up. As a part of these escalations Herodotus tells us that in 546 BC the Spartan army moved out with its allies to seize the lands around Theria which were within the sphere of influence of Argos. In response Argos mustered its army and marched out to meet them. The forces then encamped across from one another on the plains of Theria. A bloody fight loomed on the horizon. Perhaps fearing such a costly affair both sides appear to have paused and sent out delegations to begin talks. We know nothing of what was said beyond the agreement that there would be no pitched battle. Instead they agreed that the war would be decided by a fight between 300 champions from Argos and Sparta. To the victor would go the fields of Theria. Another condition of the agreement was that the two main armies would withdraw so as to prevent any intervention. And thus the battlefield was cleared of forces and the air stilled in anticipation for the unprecedented showdown. One can only imagine what it would have been like to have been chosen as one of these champions. To be told that the outcome of the entire war rested on your shoulders and that you were very likely to die in a winner take all competition. And yet at the same time what greater honor could there be for a warrior of this period. The combination of pride and fear, adrenaline pumping and nerves fraying must have had an incredible effect on their mental and physical health. I wouldn't be surprised if these soldiers had trouble holding down food or even sleeping in the run-up to the fight. It's not exactly clear what the criteria were for the selection of the champions. On the Spartan side though it would seem quite natural that the 300 here were the same 300 soldiers of the royal guard but we have no confirmation of this. Similarly on the Argive side we are told nothing. More than likely though the commanders already knew who their best troops were and would be able to pick out the best of the best quite readily. When the fateful day came both sides of champions descended onto the flat stretch of land between them. Perhaps they spent some time facing off from a distance hyping their comrades up and attempting to intimidate the enemy. Eventually though perhaps at some pre-arranged signal the battle began. We're told that the Spartan and Argive forces were evenly matched slowly whittling each other down until nightfall. Unfortunately however we know nothing of how the actual combat took place which leaves much to the imagination. Did they all form up and fight in mass ranks as in a traditional pitched battle of the classical period or did they fight as loose bands in the manner of a skirmish from the archaic period? My bet would be on the latter as this would be much more practical for such a small force and made room for individual duels to take place within this larger arena of the meta duel. In either case as the daylight hours bled away so too did the combatants. By nightfall only three men were left standing among the field of bodies. Two were champions from Argos, Alcanar and Chromios. Apparently they believed that they had won the fight and left the battlefield to spread word of their victory. However the third man left alive was a Spartan by the name of Othriades. When the others left he is said to have despoiled the enemy taking their armies back to camp and watching over the battlefield from his post. The following day both armies returned to discover the outcome of the duel. As one might imagine the presence of survivors on both sides caused a problem. Argos claimed victory as it had emerged from the battle with more men while Sparta claimed victory as it lay in control of the field and had to spoil the dead. The arguments were made increasingly forcefully until finally spilling over into actual violence. A larger brawl broke out resulting in the death of many from both sides but with Sparta ultimately emerging victorious. In the aftermath they were able to lay claim to the lands of Theria. However for Othriades the lone Spartan survivor this was a hollow victory that had seen all the men of his company slain. Rather than return home he killed himself on the battlefield to lay alongside them. As I said this is an incredible story from history with all the hallmarks of a Hollywood drama. However the question must be raised did it really happen? This is a matter of much dispute historically. The account of the battle comes primarily from Herodotus with only a few other authors referencing it more tangentially. This leaves us with a pretty incredible tale with very few reputable sources to back up its authenticity. What further pushes the story into the legendary side of things is the amount of post-hoc commentary baked into it. For instance Herodotus tells us that it is a direct result of this battle that the Spartans passed a law mandating that all men grow their hair long and that the Argives vowed to cut their hair short. This sort of thing hints at the battle being the product of a larger symbolic explanation for why things were the way they were such as the long-standing enmity between Sparta and Argos. However it is possible that there is some truth to the story. For instance in the later Peloponnesian war Argos is said to have officially challenged Sparta to a rematch. Yet while the Lacedaemonians declined the offer it shows that this sort of thing was at least in the cards. At the same time we know that individual duels in warfare were definitely a real phenomena even amongst the Romans who were known to strictly enforce discipline in their ranks. Duels which decided wars though were far far less common. Yet they were not unheard of. During the early Roman monarchy for instance a dispute with Alba Longa was supposedly settled by a fight between two sets of triplets. However this and basically all of the other examples I could dig up from places like the Iliad and the Viking sagas are covered in a thick film of legendary narrative which makes them very hard to verify as actual historical events. The closest confirmed example which comes to mind are the Aztec flower wars. These were small-scale fights organized between the elites of feuding powers in lieu of larger battles. However it's hard to take this one example and use it to prove that this sort of thing happened elsewhere. After all flower wars were highly religious and ritualized battles fought more for sacrifice and prestige than as a means to decide the outcome of a war. In fact they seem to have emerged out of conflicts that had otherwise become bogged down in a prolonged stalemate. In this case both sides might content themselves with these smaller symbolic victories but never gambled the fate of their empires on their outcomes. Unfortunately it seems that the idea of a champion's fight to decide the war is quite fleeting in our historical record. But if you actually know of any more credible examples I look forward to reading about them in the comments below. Anyways a huge thanks to our patrons for funding the channel and to many researchers, writers, and artists who made this video possible. If you liked this video definitely check out some of our other related content. See you in the next one!