The Malians were a Greek tribe that resided at the mouth of the river Spercheios in Greece. The Malian Gulf is named after them. In the western valley of the Spercheios, their land was adjacent to the Aenianes. Their main town was Trachis. In the town of Anthele, the Malians had an important temple of Demeter; an early centre of the Delphinian Amphictiony. According to Herodotus, the Malian Ephialtes of Trachis betrayed the Spartans and their allies in the Battle of Thermopylae, helping the Persians surround the Greek army. In 426 BCE, the Malians asked Sparta for help in their war against the Oetaeans. The Spartans then founded the town Heraclea Trachis in place of Trachis.