King Xerxes launched a second invasion of Greece in 480 BC to avenge his father's failures a decade before. The massive Persian army of over 100,000 men was met by Leonidas and his force of 300 Spartans (and roughly 7,000 other soldiers) at a pass in Thermopylae. This three day stand turned the Spartans into martyrs and a rallying cry for the Greek city states. <br /><br />Subscribe to <a href="https://www.patreon.com/softcorehistory" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the Softcore History Patreon</a> for hundreds of hours of extra history content including episodes like this, listener voicemails, movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes. <br /><br />Download <a href="https://app.prizepicks.com/sign-up?invite_code=SOFTCORE&amp;af_xp=custom&amp;af_dp=prizepicks%3A%2F%2F&amp;deep_link_sub1=SOFTCORE&amp;deep_link_sub6=ROI&amp;source_caller=ui&amp;deep_link_sub4=25_26_season&amp;pid=softcore_history&amp;deep_link_sub2=softcore_history&amp;deep_link_sub3=podcast&amp;shortlink=SOFTCORE&amp;deep_link_value=sign-up&amp;deep_link_sub5=win_50&amp;c=Softcore%20History" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">thePrizePicks app</a> today and use code SOFTCORE to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup! That’s code SOFTCORE to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup! PrizePicks. It’s good to be right.<br /><br />Rob Fox<br /><a href="https://www.instagram.com/robfoxthree/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.instagram.com/robfoxthree/ </a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/RobFoxThree" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://twitter.com/RobFoxThree </a><br /><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@robfoxthree" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.tiktok.com/@robfoxthree </a><br /><br />Dan Regester<br /><a href="https://www.instagram.com/danregester/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.instagram.com/danregester/ </a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/dan_regester" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://twitter.com/dan_regester</a>