King Leonidas and his Spartans

There was a movie based on it that was accurate, but not accurate enough. The war that happened with the 300 Spartans started because a Delphic oracle warned him that either Sparta would be destroyed or the king would be killed. He chose the second option, and so it would be. Leonidas was the half-brother of King Cleomenes I of Sparta. After Cleomenes' suicide, Leonidas was made king because Cleomenes had died without a son or other closer male relative.Sparta was absolutely a militaristic society. She personified DUTY-HONOR-COUNTRY. Mothers would tell their sons "bring your shield home or be on it." King Leonidas, a Spartan, had agreed to help stop the invading Persians, and took 300 hand picked troops plus 1000 helots (citizen soldiers) and marched to Thermopylae on the North coast of Greece. Leonidas would have taken far more soldiers except for a religious holiday that apparently was more important. On the way to Thermopylae he picked-up about 7000 more troops as had been preplanned.
Thermopylae was the best of three possible defensive areas in which Xerxe's invading army had to advance. This mountain gap along the coast was about 60 feet wide, and was the best location for a blocking action. The word was "stand and die," but this was only meaningful to the 300 Spartans. After three days of fighting and having killed countless numbers of Xerxe's elite troops, they were finally overrun and the 300 Spartans were killed to the man, including King Leonidas. The other 7000 either departed or surrendered.