Audiobook The Fight at the Pass of Thermopylae: Great Battles of History written by J. M. Gardner. The Battle of Thermopylae is without doubt the most famous battle in European ancient history. It has inspired many poems, stories, and movies, most recently Frank Miller's 300. Vastly outnumbered Greek soldiers fought with all their might and held off the Persian army for seven days, before the rear-guard was annihilated in one of history's most famous last stands.