Was Leonidas a bad leader/general?
I was just listening to the episode about Thermopylae (I know, it’s 5 years old at this point) but Tom was narrating and said Leonidas was a bad leader and was the reason thermopylae was a decisive defeat for the greeks. He mainly cited the fact that he let the pass be found and the decision to have most of his forces retreat while he stays and dies giving the Persians a strategic victory and also killing an important leader. I have no standing to dispute his argument but if you go by the numbers herodotus cited, 7000 troops total and 4000 greek casualties through the 3 days of fighting, what other option did Leonidas have? force the 3000 survivors to hold out maybe 2 more days, even if the Persians never found the secret pass. they hold out and 2-3 days max before they are entirely wiped out. Those extra days could buy crucial time to prepare but it just seemed like a harsh criticism of someone who had basically no other options