Bret Devereaux

The Carneia doesn't seem to have been over before the battle (Herodotus speaks of Spartan intentions to leave Sparta, but not them actually leaving (Hdt. 7.206.1)). But by road, Thermopylae is more than 150 miles from Sparta. At least ten days marching.

So Leonidas' problem is 'how do I hold the pass for 15+ days before my army arrives' and he managed...three days. Not a great plan.

we can assume and play out the plan in endless scenarios 2500 years later and exactly to your point he was brave enough to go knowing clearly he would die yet the outcome is the same his stand helped Themistocles win that is the history and that is the point

Except that he did *not* know that he would clearly die. Our sources are clear on this point: Thermopylae was not a suicide mission. It was an attempt at a decisive, victorious engagement. All 300 Spartans expected to go home at the end and 298 of them did not.

And the stand at Thermopylae didn't meaningfully hinder Xerxes. The losses were not significant and week long delay (Xerxes didn't attack immediately) didn't matter in anyone's plans. Thermopylae didn't actually accomplish any key operational objective.

historians will debate this statement

LOL, buddy look, you've got a historian right here telling you what the primary source material says about the battle to your face. I read ancient Greek, I am a PhD-having ancient military historian, I teach the same at a university. Not sure what else you want.

i don't have a PHD, but have a major in history, certainly read ancient greek better and have modern military training ... what is your point? all your points are based on a movie ... not history historians for the last 2500 years have told a different story