[26] Beneath is the number of Greeks who appeared on this occasion, according to the different representations of Herodotus, Pausanias, and Diodorus Siculus:
| Herodotus. | Pausanias. | Diodorus. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spartans | 300 | 300 | 300 | |
| Tegeatæ | 500 | 500 | Lacedæmonians | 700 |
| Mantineans | 500 | 500 | The other nations of the Peloponnesus | 3,000 |
| Orchomenians | 120 | 120 | ||
| Arcadians | 1,000 | 1,000 | ||
| Corinthians | 400 | 400 | ||
| Phliasians | 200 | 200 | ||
| Mycenæans | 80 | 80 | ||
| Totals | 3,100 | 3,100 | 4,000 | |
The above came from the Peloponnesus; those who came from the other parts of Greece were, according to the authors above mentioned:
| Thespians | 700 | 700 | Milesians | 1,000 |
| Thebans | 400 | 400 | 400 | |
| Phocians | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | |
| Opuntian Locrians | 6,000 | 7,400 | ||
| Totals | 5,200 | 11,200 | 7,400[c] |
[27] [Plutarch upbraids Herodotus for thus slandering the Thebans; and Diodorus says, that Thebes was divided into two parties, one of which sent four hundred men to Thermopylæ.[c]] [Bury[d] thinks it is certain that this tale was invented in the light of Thebes’ later Median policy.]
[28] [This was continued for seven days at Sparta. Various reasons are assigned for its institution; Theocritus says it commemorated the cessation of a pestilence.[c]]
[29] [According to Plutarch, Leonidas being asked how he dared to encounter so prodigious a multitude with so few men, replied: “If you reckon by number, all Greece is not able to oppose a small part of that army; but if by courage, the number I have with me is sufficient.”]
[30] [Diodorus Siculus speaks only of the Thespians. Pausanias says that the people of Mycenæ sent eighty men to Thermopylæ, who had part in this glorious day; and in another place he says that all the allies retired before the battle, except the Thespians and people of Mycenæ.[e]]
Remains of the Tomb of Leonidas of Sparta