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 Leonidas at Thermopylae Leonidas at Thermopylae is an oil on canvas painting by French artist Jacques-Louis David. The work currently hangs in the Louvre in Paris, France. The massive painting has the dimensions of about thirteen feet by seventeen and a half feet and was completed in 1814. The convoluted piece took David almost fifteen years to complete, with him separating his work into two periods from 1799 to 1803 and 1813-1814. Leonidas at Thermopylae was purchased, along with "The Intervention of the Sabine Women", in November of 1819 for 100,000 francs by Louis XVIII, the king of France at