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.)
Manius Acilius Glabrio (consul 191 BC) Manius Acilius Glabrio (consul 191 BC) Manius Acilius Glabrio was a Roman general and consul of the Roman Republic in 191 BC. He came from an illustrious plebeian family ("gens") whose members held magistracies throughout the Republic and into the Imperial era. Glabrio was a tribune of the plebs in 201, plebeian aedile in 197, and "praetor peregrinus" in 195. As consul, Glabrio defeated the Seleucid ruler Antiochus the Great at the Battle of Thermopylae, and compelled him to leave Greece. He then turned his attention to the Aetolian League, who had persuaded Antiochus to declare war against Rome, and