Tell them in Lacedaimon, passer-by
That here, obedient to their word, we lie,Ὦ ξεῖν’, ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε
Simonides of Ceos (556 B.C. – 468 B.C.)
κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.
Translated into English by F L Lucas as an English heroic couplet
Sparta was known as Lacedaimon
In 480 B.C. 300 Spartans under King Leonidas held off thousands of Persian Invaders at the narrows of Thermopylae, allowing time for a larger defending Greek force to rally. All Spartans perished, but the Greeks ultimately triumphed.
