In 480 B.C., the mighty Persian king Xerxes led a massive force to the narrow mountain pass called Thermopylae, anticipating no significant resistance in his bid to conquer Greece. But the Greeks, led by Leonidas and a small army of Spartan warriors, took the battle to the Persians and nearly halted their advance. Paul Cartledge's riveting, authoritative account of King Leonidas and the legendary 300 illuminates this valiant endeavor that changed the way future generations would think about combat, courage, and death.

Setting the awful scene -- The ancient world in 500 BCE: from India to the Aegean -- The dynamics of empire: Persia of the Achaemenids, 485 -- Hellas: the Hellenic world in 485 -- Sparta 485: a unique culture and society -- Thermopylae I: mobilization -- Thermopylae II: preparations for battle -- Thermopylae III: the battle -- The Thermopylae legend I: antiquity -- The Thermopylae legend II: from antiquity to modernity -- Thermopylae: turning-point in world history -- Appendix 1: the invention of history: Herodotus and other ancient sources -- Appendix 2: Herodotus's Persian Muster-lists: a translation -- Appendix 3: Herodotus: antidote to fundamentalism.