In 480 B.C., a huge Persian army, led by the inimitable King Xerxes, entered the mountain pass of Thermopylae to march on Greece, intending to conquer the land with little difficulty. But the Greeks, led by King Leonidas and a small army of Spartans, took the battle to the Persians at Thermopylae and halted their advance—almost. It is one of history’s most acclaimed battles, one of civilization’s greatest last stands.

Renowned classical historian Paul Cartledge looks anew at this history-altering moment and shows how its repercussions affect us even today. The invasion of Europe by Xerxes and his army redefined culture, kingdom, and class. The valiant efforts of the Greek warriors, facing a huge onrushing Persian army at the narrow pass at Thermopylae, changed the way future generations would think about combat, courage, and death.

Paul Cartledge, professor of Greek history and chairman of the classics faculty at Cambridge University, is widely acknowledged to be the world's leading expert on the subject of Sparta and the Spartans. He is academic consultant to the BBC and PBS for the series The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization.