Battle of Thermopylae: Leonidas and the 300 Spartans

This is Thermophylacus, Greece, 480 BC. That's the Persian army, and this is the only road into Greece.

It's fifteen meters wide, mountain on one side, sea on the other.

So it doesn't matter how many they have.

Only the front row can fight. Forward.

Quick fact. It's not three hundred. There are seven thousand Greeks here.

The three hundred are the king's bodyguard, and every one of them was picked because he already had a son.

So if he dies, his family line continues.

You're not Persian. You're not Spartan. Sit.

This is Leonidas, King of Sparta.

Eat well. Tonight, we eat in Hades. He actually said this. Here's why.

This morning, a local shepherd showed the Persians a secret path over the mountain. They're already behind us. Leonidas knows it.

He just sent the other seven thousand home.

He's staying.

Before the battle, Xerxes sent a message, "Hand over your weapons."

Leonidas sent back two words, "Molon labe".

Come and take them.

Go home. Tell them what you saw.

By tonight, all of them are dead. Today, there's a stone at this spot.

It says, "Go tell the Spartans we did our duty."