480 BC. A large Persian army approached the borders of Greece; a small detachment of warriors from Sparta, led by King Leonidas, went out to meet the invaders. The Persian king Xerxes offered the Spartans to lay down their arms, but the heroes decided: “To win together or to die together!” The battle lasted four days and four nights; Xerxes sent his best guard — the “Immortals” — into battle, and they perished under the swords of three hundred Spartans.