Battle of Thermopylae

Have you ever been to Thermopylae?

Leonidas Pelekanakis reportedly had no other health problems

Hollywood actor Gerard Butler, who played the role of King Leonidas of Sparta in the movie "300," will be in the Peloponnesian for events marking the 2,500-year anniversary of the Battle of Thermopylae, the city's honorary ambassador Roi Danali-Apostolopoulou confirmed.

Scottish actor Gerard Butler will be in Sparta on March 14 to run as a torchbearer for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, a local mayor said Thursday.

Speaking to state-run broadcaster ERT, Petros Doukas said the actor will also be in the city in June to attend the celebrations for the 2,500 years of the Battle of Thermopylae.

The two sides of a commemorative Greek 2-euro coin bearing an ancient Greek soldier's helmet and struck to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the 480 B.C. Battle of Thermopylae is seen during a presentation at the Bank of Greece in Athens on Tuesday.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent a message of unity during an event held at the Zappeion Mansion on Wednesday to mark the 2,500-year anniversary since the Battle of Thermopylae and the Battle of Salamis.

Lithuanian runner Aleksandr Sorokin won the 35th edition of Spartathlon, one of the most challenging and historical ultra-marathon races, in Sparta on Saturday.

Sorokin, 36, touched the feet of the statue of ancient Spartan King Leonidas in the center of Sparta before dawn around 5.00 am local time, covering non stop 246 kilometers from Athens in 22 hours, 4 minutes and 5 seconds.

BY MARIANNA KAKAOUNAKI

Sometimes men are faced with impossible odds, hopelessly outnumbered or facing a merciless enemy with better weapons or other overwhelming advantages. Occasionally these terrible odds are overcome, as in the battles of Rorke’s Drift and Stalingrad. Other times, such as at the Alamo or Thermopylae, the bravest stood and fought to the bitter end with valiant efforts worthy of remembrance.

The trial of Golden Dawn leadership and members resumes Monday in Athens after a summer recess with more testimonies of witnesses to the murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas.

Fyssas was stabbed to death to murder by Golden Dawn member Giorgos Roupakias in a suburb of Piraeus in September 2013.