The document summarizes ancient Sparta and the Battle of Thermopylae. It describes Sparta emerging in the 10th century BC along the Eurotas River with a government that was a combination of monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy. In 480 BC, at the narrow mountain pass of Thermopylae, 300 Spartans led by King Leonidas held off the massive Persian army for three days before being betrayed and killed, allowing the rest of Greece to unite and drive Persia from their land. The Battle of Thermopylae was a pivotal moment in the Persian Wars between Greece and Persia between 490-478 BC.