The phrase was reportedly the defiant response of King Leonidas I of Sparta to Xerxes I of Persia when demanded to lay down their arms and surrender, at the onset of the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC).
The phrase was reportedly the defiant response of King Leonidas I of Sparta to Xerxes I of Persia when demanded to lay down their arms and surrender. This was at the onset of the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC).