The Messenger's Mistake
In 480 BC, the shadow of the Persian Empire looms over Greece. King Xerxes, leading a million soldiers, sends a messenger to the city-state of Sparta. The messenger demands "Earth and Water"—a sign of total surrender. King Leonidas of Sparta looks at the messenger with cold eyes. With a single kick, he sends the Persian into a deep well, shouting, "There is plenty of earth and water down there!" The war has begun.