The Spartans (documentary) the Spartan constitution into the militarised state we know of today. Homosexuality among men and boys was mandatory. The training of Spartan youths is explained, from their enrollment in the Agoge system right through to their attainment of citizenship. The class structure of the Lacedaemonian state (Helots, Perioeci, and the soldier-citizens themselves) is also covered. The episode ends with the battle of Thermopylae, in which 300 Spartans, including their king, Leonidas, were killed in action defending Greece from a Persian invasion. Part 2 opens with the retreat of the Persians, after Thermopylae and the battle of Salamis. Athens, which had
Battle of Thermopylae (279 BC) Aetolians all joined the defence - the old and women joining the fight. Realising that the Gallic sword was dangerous only at close quarters, the Aetolians resorted to skirmishing tactics. The Gauls destroyed Kallion, on the borders between Eurytania and Aetolia, committing horrible atrocities, but the resistance of the entire Aetolian population at the site Kokkalia, where also the elderly and the women and children fought, dealt a decisive blow to the Galatian threat. According to Pausanias, only half the number who had set out for Aetolia returned. Eventually Brennus found a way around the pass at Thermopylae but the