The Battle of Thermopylae was fought in 480 BCE between an alliance of Greek city-states led by King Leonidas I of Sparta and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I. Approximately 7,000 Greeks held the narrow coastal pass of Thermopylae against a Persian force numbering in the hundreds of thousands. The Greeks held the pass for three days before being outflanked. The sacrifice of the rearguard, including 300 Spartans, became a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds.
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