Battle of Thermopylae at Thermopylae, the Persians sent a mounted scout to reconnoitre. The Greeks allowed him to come up to the camp, observe them, and depart. Xerxes found the scout's reports of the size of the Greek force, and that the Spartans were indulging in callisthenics and combing their long hair, laughable. Seeking the counsel of Demaratus, an exiled Spartan king in his retinue, Xerxes was told the Spartans were preparing for battle, and it was their custom to adorn their hair when they were about to risk their lives. Demaratus called them "the bravest men in Greece" and warned the Great
British Soldierflies and Their Allies British Soldierflies and Their Allies British Soldierflies and their allies (an illustrated guide to their identification and ecology) is a book by Alan E. Stubbs and Martin Drake, published by the British Entomological and Natural History Society in 2001. A second edition was published in 2014. It is a sequel to an earlier volume, "", and covers the following families of flies, which collectively are known as the "Larger Brachycera": Acroceridae, Asilidae, Athericidae, Bombyliidae, Rhagionidae, Scenopinidae, Stratiomyidae, Tabanidae, Therevidae, Xylomyidae and Xylophagidae. The book introduced English names for all included species, the first time this has been done in a