Statue at Thermopylae, Greece where Leonidas and 300 Spartans held back the mighty Persian Army until they were finally killed. Their heroism was an inspiration to the Greeks through the ages. Even in World War Two when the Greek armed forces defeated an invading Italian Army, political cartoons likened the Greeks of the 20th Century to the Greeks at Thermopylae, a Davy vs Golliath scenario which the Greeks have excelled not only in war but in sports as well.