Battle of Thermopylae in popular culture Battle of Thermopylae in popular culture The Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BCE has long been the topic of cultural motivation, as it is perhaps the most famous military last stand of all time. This "against all odds" story is passed to us from the writings of the Greek Herodotus, who was not present at the battle himself. He relates the story of 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians defending the Pass of Thermopylae against almost "2 million" Persians on the third day of the battle. (For the first two days, the Greek force had numbered somewhere between 5,000 and 7,000.)
Leonidas at Thermopylae full view of the background which resulted from the removal of trees and branches from the earlier sketch. Classical male figures were included from the beginning of David's sketches for "Leonidas at Thermopylae". In "Leonidas at Thermopylae", it is implied that the war is deeper than just the main figures in the foreground, with hundreds of other warriors in the battle too. In the foreground, we see that chaos has broken out and the army seems to be in shambles, while the leader of the army remains calm as the war progresses around him. The emphasized man in the center,