Greece 2 Euro 2020 Battle of Thermopylae - Leonidas Coincard

Greece has issued a 2 Euro coin with the theme 'The Battle of Thermopylae'. This bloody conflict can be seen as a battle in which an ant takes on an elephant. Under the leadership of the Spartan leader Leonidas an army of 4000 men (300 of whom were Spartans) had to compete against an army of a million. Spartans were seen as elite fighters - the best in the world. Leonidas chose a strategic place in the mountains where one side was a steep cliff and the other was a steep mountainside. The Greeks lined up in a phalanx, an arrangement of Greeks with a dense row of shields with outstretched spears (lances). This arrangement was several rows deep. Because they could not be surrounded they were almost impenetrable. Even the elite infantrymen of the Persians, known as the Immortals, could not get through this barrier. In the end the Persians managed to overpower the Greeks because the Greek Ephialtes told the Persians about another mountain pass. A film, entitled '300', has been made about this battle. On the face of this 2 Euro coin is a Spartan (Corinthian) helmet. At the top is the Greek text which translates as '2500 years, Battle of Thermoplyae'. At the bottom of the coin, also in the Greek language, is the text 'Greek Democracy'. This coin, as described, is mounted in the standard Greek Coincard.