 The title comes from a quote by Herodotus, the Greek historian,  about the famous Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. 300 Spartan  soldiers held a mountain pass against the entire Persian army; they  all gave their lives, but the delay allowed Greece to prepare for  their victory at Salamis. The epitaph of the Spartan soldiers reads  "Stranger, go tell the Spartans that here we are buried, obedient to  their orders."