Ephialtes—The Most Notorious Traitor in Ancient Greek History

Ephialtes—The Most Notorious Traitor in Ancient Greek History

Ephialtes betrayed King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae. Public Domain Ephialtes of Trachis, whose name later came to mean “nightmare” in Greek, is regarded as one of the most notorious traitors in the history of Greece. Ephialtes played a significant role in the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC by leading the Persian forces, under King Xerxes I, through a mountain pass called Anopaea, which bypassed the Greek defenses.…