10 Euros Battle of Thermopylae

Issued as part of Greece's ongoing "Greek History and Civilization" series, this coin commemorates the 2,500th anniversary of the 480 BC battle in which a Spartan-led coalition held the coastal pass against the Achaemenid Persian force under Xerxes I for three days before a local resident, Ephialtes of Trachis, revealed the mountain path that allowed the Persians to encircle the defenders. The Spartan king Leonidas dismissed most of the allied troops and remained with his 300 Spartans, roughly 700 Thespians, and 400 Thebans — the Thespians, often overlooked, stayed voluntarily and died to the last man.