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The Battle of Thermopylae, most famously known as the Battle of 300, took place in a coastal pass between mountains known as Thermopylae in 480 BC. Through the gap ran the perfect route for the Persians to use to invade and destroy Greece. The mighty Spartans were chosen to lead the last force of the Greek city states to fight against the much larger Persian army. When the two forces finally met on the battlefield between the mountains, the force of the Greeks, which consisted of 300 Spartans and roughly 6,000 other men from the surrounding provinces, went up against the army of Persia, which included 100,000 strong men well trained in the art battle. These few men from Greece were the last hope, the last ditch effort, for the survival of the country. If they were to fail, then Greece would fall. So, it seems obvious that each man would fight until every inch of his being could take no more and he was defeated in the final realm of death. This is what every man, especially those of Spartan links, did. This force of 6,300 Greek men fought against the 100,000 Persians, lasting for 3 whole days before the Persians were informed by a Greek traitor that there was a secret passage that the Persians could use to sneak around the Greeks and attack them from behind. On the fourth day of battle, the Persians launched their surprise attack and King Leonidas ordered all men but the Spartans to leave (even though a few brave men from the other city states remained) and they fought until they were all defeated.
This video was included because its offers a more in depth story and description of the battle. Its highly credibly and offers a much better insight into what happened at the gap of Thermopylae. It also helps enforce the idea of heroism, bravery, and courage tucked within the souls of the Greek. Its information value is quite great, as it has insights into their battle techniques as well and helps show the difference in size of the armies.
This story was one that went down in the record books as a tale of great bravery and valor. It proved to every historian the vigor and life in each Spartan soul. They would fight with every ounce of their being to protect themselves, their family, and their country. Still, they did not win the battle against the Persians. They were sorely defeated on that fourth day, when their final stand to save their country failed. They brought their entirety to the battlefield, as they always did, but they could not win the day. With this came the lesson that no amount of hard work could ensure a victory in war. It didn't matter how hard you fought or how strong you were, all that would matter at the end of the day is who had the last man standing. The Spartan's sad yet inspiring tale works as excellent back up for my guiding quote as it helps enforce the fact that no amount of hard work will win you the war, or the dream that you're shooting for.
I've included this video from the movie 300 to help give the reader a better idea of what the numbers really looked like. As you can see, the extremely small amount of Greek soldiers seem like one single stone rolling around in the midst of the ocean, the ocean being the Persians in this case. The video also builds and enforces the the idea that the Spartan men and their brethren were unusually hard fighters.