Bond...James Bond wrote:Since it was ultimately a defeat I doubt it was the reason for our democracy today. I'd call Thermopylae a delaying action with Pyrrhic consequences. I'd say the naval victory at Salamis Bay saved the Athenian principle of democracy. But Athenian democracy isn't really democracy today so...
Salamis was probably one of the most influential battles in history, as without it concepts like democracy might not have survived persian rule in Greece.
Salamis wouldn't have happened had Thermopylae not delkayed the Persians long enough for Greeks (And the bulk of the Spartan military) to bug out. Had Thermopylae not happened and allowed the Greeks time to gather the fleet needed to defeat the Persians in Salamis Bay they would have had to try and defend the Isthmus of Corrinth against an amphibious assault by the Persians. Instead they put a sizable chunk of Xeres' force on the bottom of Salamis Bay.
No, there was nothing pyrrhic about Thermopylae for the Greeks. Thermopylae was the battle they lost in order to win the war.