d for his final effort. He began by
solemn religious services, in the presence of his army, at an early
hour; and then, after breakfasting quietly, as usual, and waiting, in
fact, until the business part of the day had arrived, he gave orders to
advance. His troops found Leonidas and his party not at their
intrenchments, as before, but far in advance of them. They had come out
and forward into a more open part of the defile, as if to court and
anticipate their inevitable and dreaded fate. Here a most terrible
combat ensued; one which, for a time, seemed to have no other object
than mutual destruction, until at length Leonidas himself fell, and then
the contest for the possession of his body superseded the unthinking and
desperate struggles of mere hatred and rage. Four times the body, having
been taken by the Persians, was retaken by the Greeks: at last the
latter retreated, bearing the dead body with them past their
intrenchment, until they gained a small eminence in the rear of it, at a
point where the pass was wider. Here the few that were still left
gathered together. The detachment which Ephialtes had guided were coming
up from below. The Spartans were faint and exhausted with their
desperate efforts, and were bleeding from the wounds they had received;
their swords and spears were broken to pieces, their leader and nearly
all their company were slain. But the savage and tiger-like ferocity
which animated them continued unabated till the last. They fought with
tooth and nail when all other weapons failed them, and bit the dust at
last, as they fell, in convulsive and unyielding despair. The struggle
did not cease till they were all slain, and every limb of every man
ceased to quiver.

There were stories in circulation among mankind after this battle,
importing that one or two of the corps escaped the fate of the rest.
There were two soldiers, it was said, that had been left in a town near
the pass, as invalids, being afflicted with a severe inflammation of the
eyes. One of them, when he heard that the Spartans were to be left in
the pass, went in, of his own accord, and joined them, choosing to share
the fate of his comrades. It was said that he ordered his servant to
conduct him to the place. The servant did so, and then fled himself, in
great terror. The sick soldier remained and fought with the rest. The
other of the invalids was saved, but, on his return to Sparta, he was
considered as stained with indelible di