Three hundred Spartans held a mountain pass against the entire Persian Empire — then a local resident sold them out for money.
In 480 BC, King Xerxes of Persia led one of the largest armies ever assembled — estimates range from 120,000 to 300,000 soldiers — on an invasion of Greece. A coalition of Greek city-states scrambled to stop them, and a narrow coastal pass called Thermopylae was chosen as the choke point.
Sparta's King Leonidas arrived with just 300 Spartans, though several thousand allied Greek soldiers joined him, bringing the total to roughly 7,000. For two full days, this force used the narrow pass to nullify the Persian numerical advantage, cutting down wave after wave of attackers in tight phalanx formations.
On the third day, a local Greek named Ephialtes — hoping for a reward from Xerxes — revealed a secret mountain path that bypassed the pass entirely. Persian forces marched through the night and emerged behind the Greek lines at dawn.
Leonidas sent most of the allied Greeks away to safety but remained at the pass with 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians who refused to leave, and around 400 Thebans. When Xerxes sent a messenger demanding the Greeks lay down their weapons, Leonidas reportedly replied: 'Molon labe' — 'Come and take them.'
The rearguard fought until nearly every man was dead. Xerxes was reportedly so enraged by the Greek resistance that he ordered Leonidas's head cut off and his body crucified — a severe breach of Persian protocol, which normally honored fallen enemy commanders.
Though Thermopylae was a tactical defeat, it bought time for the Greek fleet to regroup and for Athens to evacuate its citizens. Weeks later, the Greek navy crushed the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis — and the following year, Greek land forces destroyed the Persian army at Plataea, ending the invasion for good.
The battle became one of the most celebrated last stands in Western history. A stone inscription at the site read: 'Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie.' The phrase 'molon labe' is still used as a defiant slogan by military units around the world today.