robot guy

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— John McCrae

The movie 300, which is breaking all sorts of box office records, has of course embellished the story of the defense of the pass of Thermopylae for dramatic effect. Here is a documentary which tells the whole story of the battle.

Update: the videos I originally posted here have been removed from YouTube. So, here are some other documentary videos that tell much the same story.



Update: Nearly 2500 years of alluvial deposits have filled in much of the Gulf of Malis, and what was once a pass a mere 14 meters wide is now several kilometers of farmland. This is the pass of Thermopylae today, viewed from the East (click on the image for a larger version):