By Robert Morley

Many historians consider the Battle of Thermopylae to be the greatest victory of all time. In this battle, less than 7,000 Greeks faced 2 million Persians. Consider those odds. Initially, it sounds like a slaughter waiting to happen. Yet the Battle of Thermopylae is considered a fantastic Greek victory. What made those vastly outnumbered Greeks think they could persevere? What made them such effective warriors? Two traits made these Greek warriors extremely successful. If we develop these traits, we too can become more successful in our lives and careers.

Late in the summer of 480 B.C., alarm bells were ringing throughout Greece; in fact, there was widespread panic in some of the eastern cities. King Xerxes of Persia, with 2 million men, was invading. Something had to be done if Greece was to survive. King Leonidas of Sparta took the lead. Amazingly, with 300 handpicked Spartans and 6,000 Greek allies, he marched to meet the coming Persian hordes.

The two armies met in the narrow pass of Thermopylae, bound on one side by sheer mountains and on the other by plunging ocean cliffs. Here, at Thermopylae, 6,300 Greeks fought off the bloody Persian assault for seven whole days. During these seven drawn-out, adrenaline-pumping days, the Persians crashed wave after wave of fierce warriors against the outnumbered Greeks. But the Greeks held their ground. Even the Great Persian King Xerxes’ elite warriors, known as “the immortals,” were repulsed. According to the historian Herodotus, at times the number of arrows the Persians shot blackened out the sun. Yet the Greeks continued fighting. They never gave up.

The first trait the Greeks exhibited in that battle was that they were masters at their craft, their chosen career. They were among the best warriors Greece had to offer. The 300 elite Spartan soldiers came from royal households and were trained as warriors from early childhood. They started training early in life and worked hard learning their profession. They drilled daily on strategy, tactics, arms and endurance. They trained with weights and learned to wrestle. By the time they became warriors, they had proven their proficiency with the spear, sword, short sword, and hand-to-hand combat. They were also trained in science, history, literature and the classics. The Spartans were elite not just because they were born elite, but also because of how hard they worked at becoming warriors.

Like those 300 elite Spartan warriors, if we want to become successful, we need to learn our trade. We need to make ourselves masters in our career of choice. Whether it is carpentry or environmental consulting, we need to train ourselves to be experts—and the training starts when we are young. It starts with the skills we learn in elementary school (as pre-teens in school, sports and at home) and it builds up with added skills we learn in high school and in university or as apprentices. If we work hard and persistently, we can become experts in our training just as the Spartans became experts with the weapons they trained with.

The second trait of the Greeks that made them so successful was teamwork. These Greeks were like brothers, especially the 300 Spartan warriors who grew up together. They had a sense of closeness and family that enabled them to work together. When they fought, they fought in a formation called the Phalanx. At the Battle of Thermopylae, like iron-armored linebackers, they aligned themselves in single row across the pass, seven or eight warriors deep, each warrior reinforcing his comrades. Shields and spears to the fore, they would link their arms and slam their shields together forming an impenetrable iron wall. When they moved, it was in unison, each warrior in step with his brother. When they charged and rammed into the enemy, it was together as one unit, amplifying the force of their impact, thereby increasing the odds of breaking their enemy’s lines.

One tactic the Greeks used to great success was a fake withdrawal. They would hold their lines; then upon command they would feign a retreat. The enemy, thinking that they had finally routed the Greeks, would break their lines to haphazardly chase after their fleeing prey. Then, upon another abrupt command, the Greeks would turn around as a single unit, reform the Phalanx, and together as one unit forcefully smash the disorganized enemy. During the Battle of Thermopylae, the Greeks employed this trick several times, each time with success. The Greeks faked the retreat successfully and formed a unified counterattack because they had trained together as brothers. They had a closeness that allowed them to know what their commrade was thinking and to anticipate his moves.

As we go through life, it is important to develop that type of closeness with our friends and, most importantly, our family. Of course, our closest friends should be in God’s Church. That way, when we or our friends or family face obstacles, or overwhelming odds, we will be able to support and help each other during these hardships. As we grow older and enter the workforce, it is also important to get to know and develop relationships with those we work with, especially if we are part of a team. There are many instances throughout history where less-skilled teams have overcome stronger opponents because they took advantage of efficient teamwork.

After six days of bloody battle, the Persians finally succeeded in finding a different route around the Greeks. Realizing that they were now out-flanked and the Persians were moving into position behind them, Spartan King Leonidas called his Greek allies together and told them that they were free to go home and defend their families. He said they had done their duty, they had persevered and held the Persians off beyond his expectations, buying Greece the valuable time it needed to assemble an army capable of facing the Persian invasion. But as for him and what was left of his 300 Spartan warriors, he said, they would stay to delay the main body of the enemy for as long as possible.

Amazingly, the six long days of fighting had cemented bonds of brotherhood among the Greeks so tightly that about 400 of them refused to leave the Spartans. These few men determined to fight to the end, so they could buy their friends and families as much time as possible to prepare. All day long they fought, now surrounded by thousands of Persians.

Eventually King Leonidas fell in battle. At this point, the Persians, sick at losing so many men, offered to spare their opponents’ lives if they just turned over the dead body of their king. The Greeks refused, continuing to fight to the end. Finally, the Persians overwhelmed the few die-hard Greeks who were left with a never-ending barrage of arrows and javelins. Herodotus estimated that it took 20 Persians to take the life of one Greek at Thermopylae.

Even though these brave Greeks died, they succeeded because they delayed the Persians long enough for the Greek cities beyond them to unite and assemble an army to fight the Persians. The Greeks’ success at Thermopylae ended up helping to save all of Greece. Beyond just holding off the Persians, those courageous Greeks created hope for their country. Those few outnumbered Greeks became heroes who inspired a whole country.

Look at what an impact just a few well-trained, dedicated warriors working together as a team can do. If we incorporate these strategies into our lives, becoming masters at what we do and using teamwork, we will succeed in even greater ways than the warriors of Thermopylae.