Then was fought the memorable battle of Thermopylæ (gates of the hot
springs, from hot springs situated there), in which the Spartan Leonidas
with a mere handful of men held the whole Persian army at bay in the
narrow pass of Thermopylæ; but, a way around the pass being shown the
Persians by a treacherous Greek, they were able to attack Leonidas in
the rear. Part of the Greek forces retreated on learning of this
movement of the Persians, but Leonidas with three hundred Spartans and
seven hundred Thespians refused to retreat, and, advancing against the
overwhelming numbers of the enemy, sold their lives as dearly as
possible.
This little remnant of the Greeks, armed only with a few swords, stood a
butt for the arrows, the javelins, and the stones of the enemy, which at
length overwhelmed them. Where they fell they were afterwards buried.