Thermopylae was the granddaddy of all hopeless actions fought for the noblest of reasons. We sit after 24 centuries to hear the echoes as they reverberate across the ages and the message remains strong. In preparation for this article, I did a search on two of the Internet's most popular engines, Alta Vista and Google. I typed in the phrase "battle of Thermopylae" and got 5165 hits on Alta Vista and 9250 on Google. This battle remains in our collective experiences, and each succeeding "last stand" is viewed through the lens of Leonidas. We have many modern interpretations, including the film "The 300 Spartans", to which I thrilled as a youngster (in a TV release), and several books, including William Golding's "The Hot Gates" and Frank Miller's comic book epic "300". The basic story and the myths that grew up have their parallels in other last stands in many cultures. Some 12 centuries afterward, Roland, the paladin of Charlemagne, died holding the pass at Roncesvalles against the Saracen host. In the end he is betrayed like Leonidas, by Gan. Roland asks for a report, and is told, "Marsilius is here in arms and all the world is with him", something akin to the Spartans being told that the sky will darken with Persian arrows. Instead of predicting to dine in Hades, Roland, after blowing his famed horn and splitting rock with his sword Durindal, is given the last rights and dies before Charlemagne can arrive. The American Thermopylae is the Alamo. The Texas revolution started with a small band of men who were ordered to surrender the cannon. They replied, "Come and take it", echoing Leonidas' remark to Xerxes. There are also parallel myths of raids to the enemy's camp. Both events have their legends of survivors and both brand them as cowards. To the Spartans, it was two soldiers who had legitimate reasons, but were ostracized. One committed suicide and the other died at Platea. The Alamo had Louis Rose, the only man to refuse to cross Travis' legendary "line in the sand" and escape the massacre to later become "the most hated man in Texas" (He moved to Louisiana and died there). Leonidas and Travis both died early in the final assault. Leonidas was cut down and his men battled over his body. Travis ran to the wall and managed to fire his shotgun before a lucky shot to his forehead killed him within seconds. Legends say that Jim Bowie was hoisted on bayonets and that Crockett was cut down after being captured. Leonidas was cut up and his head mounted on a pike. The mission of the Spartans was to delay the Persians so that the Greeks could complete their fleet. They succeeded and destroyed the Persians at Salamis. The Alamo was meant to delay Santa Anna so that Houston could gather his army, and it was also successful, as the later battle of San Jacinto proved. Camerone was the French Thermopylae. On April 30, 1863, 62 men of the 3rd Company, 1st Battalion of the French Foreign Legion, were escorting a convoy when it was set upon by 850 cavalry and 1200 infantry belonging to Mexicans loyal to the deposed president Benito Juarez. The company holed up in a two-story hacienda that offered an excellent field of fire. The Mexican officer, Colonel Milan offered an honorable surrender, to which the French commander, Captain Danjou replied, " I am sorry, but no, you will have us only when you kill us." Nine hours later, all but three of the company were dead. Danjou died in the first hour. The battle raged from room to room at the end, until finally, the last 3 were cornered. Surrender this time was accepted. 300 Mexicans had fallen dead or wounded. When learning that these last three had continued to hold up nearly 2000 men, Milan exclaimed, "These are not men, they are demons". The Camerone version of "Go tell the Spartans" was written by a survivor, Cpl. Berg: "My colonel, the third company of the first battalion is dead, but it did enough that in speaking of it one could say, `it had nothing but good soldiers"'. The wooden hand of Captain Danjou is still displayed with honor on the anniversary of the battle. The list could go on for quite a while. Other actions come to mind such as the fall of the Philippines, Stalingrad, Verdun, Dien Bien Phu, even the Iraqi attack on the maintenance unit containing Jessica Lynch, but the theme is the same. By a twist of logic, a defeat turns into a victory. Glorious, though doomed, last stands become the turning points of history. The valor of the defeated inspires their nations of origin to continue the fight. Their actions become rallying cries. While I have no reports of anybody crying "Remember Thermopylae!", I am sure many Spartans did remember it, and the markers and statues today prove it. The original "Go tell the Spartans" marker lasted over 700 years. William Golding said it best in the "Hot Gates": I knew now that something real happened here. It is not just that the human spirit reacts directly and beyond all argument to a story of sacrifice and courage, as a wineglass must vibrate to the sound of the violin. It is also because, way back and at the hundredth remove, that company stood in the right line of history. A little of Leonidas lies in the fact that I can go where I like and write what I like. He contributed to set us free. What greater tribute can there be for those heroes whose story has passed through the spoken word, to the written word, and now the digital word? Back to Table of Contents -- Against the Odds vol. 2 no. 2 Back to Against the Odds List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2003 by LPS. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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