Xerxes had spent years planning his invasion of Greece. It was to be his 'divine punishment' for his father Darius' crushing defeat at Marathon in 490 BC. Now, a decade later, he had spared no ...

This formation was known as a ‘phalanx’. A hoplite had to pay for his armour himself, unless his father was killed in battle. Then he was given his father's equipment. Enemy soldiers saw only ...