Leonidas in Defence with Spear

The Spartan defensive line — the phalanx — was the most disciplined formation of the ancient world, and Leonidas exemplified its principles. This figure shows him braced behind shield with spear levelled, the textbook stance that turned three hundred men into an immovable wall. Every line of the body teaches the lesson Sparta lived by: that defence, held with absolute conviction, is the most aggressive act of all.