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
Battle of Thermopylae (191 BC) Battle of Thermopylae (191 BC) The Battle of Thermopylae was fought in 191 BC between a Roman army led by consul Manius Acilius Glabrio and a Seleucid force led by King Antiochus III the Great. It was the first major battle of the Roman–Seleucid War. The Romans were victorious, and as a result, Antiochus was forced to flee from Greece. At the outbreak of the war in 192 BC, Antiochus crossed from Asia Minor to Greece with a small force, expecting the various states in the region to support him as a fellow Hellene in resistance to Roman hegemony. However,