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
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