Battle of Thermopylae
A small Greek force led by King Leonidas of Sparta held the pass at Thermopylae against the massive Persian army.
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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