The Legend of Thermopylae

I AM ONE OF 300

History provides artists with countless inspirational moments, characters, and tales. No other historical subject has ever been such a fertile field for artistic endeavor as the long list of military conflicts and military leaders. One such example of this phenomenon is the famous last stand of Leonidas and his 300 Spartan knights at Thermopylae.


From movies to novels to graphic novels, Thermopylae has given inspiration to over a dozen literary and film projects that I can think of without even doing research. Poets, novelists, screen writers, even songwriters have been inspired by the tale of Leonidas and his “personal guard.”

If you are unfamiliar with the story, here is a very short retelling of the tale: the Persians were marching west to conquer Greece (or, possibly, Western Europe.) The various Greek city states needed to respond but, for a number of reasons, their response was dependent on the actions of Sparta. Sparta was involved in a religious festival which required that its armies not take the field. Leonidas, understanding the dire nature of the moment, chose three hundred of his Spartan knights (only those who had sons and, presumably, those he had faith in and who he knew would die for him) and marched to Thermopylae to slow the Persians down. Supported by their helots and Greeks from other cities, the Spartans had tremendous success. Unfortunately for them, a local Greek, for whatever reason (and this has been a subject of debate and a source of color for the story), lead a force of Persians through a circuitous route behind the Spartan line. Surrounded, the Spartans fought to the last man. Their sacrifice roused the Greeks to unite and, finally, to defeat the Persians.

The courage it took to occupy the pass and defend their homes, families and way of life against such an enemy has gone down through time as an example of nobility, selfless service to country, and just plain guts. To commemorate this feat of arms, we’ve designed a t-shirt for you. Red, like the Spartan battle cloak, and featuring a period depiction of a Spartan warrior dispatching a Persian foe, the t-shirt reads “I AM ONE OF 300.”

Leonidas chose 300 of his warriors to accompany him on his final journey. He picked Spartans that he knew he could trust, that he knew trusted him, and that he had complete confidence in their abilities. Each of us are one of someone else’s “300” and we all have those we trust and who we would fight and die for. Wear this shirt proudly; give it as a gift to those who are one of your “300”; and never forget the sacrifice of Leonidas and his companions and their effect on the world we live in today.