[stop_fascism]

At the time, there was only one Democracy among the Greeks, that was Athens. Athens was generally ridiculed by the rest of Greece for its form of government. The other Greek city states were a mixture of kingdoms, oligarchies, and the ever popular tyrannies.

The war between Persia and Greece was fundamentally about their differing view of man in society. Persians were subjects of there king (not free). Greeks were citizens (those who were not slaves, anyway) of their city/states (free). At the beginning of the War, the Persian King had demanded submission of the Greeks, and a number of states did, if fact, submit. However, the vast majority were not willing to give up their freedom, making war inevitable.

[metesky]

At the time, there was only one Democracy among the Greeks, that was Athens. Athens was generally ridiculed by the rest of Greece for its form of government. The other Greek city states were a mixture of kingdoms, oligarchies, and the ever popular tyrannies.

Ah! Someone who knows history.

And Cyber Ant, I was too tired to continue last night, but eventually the muzzies did conquer Greece, but under Suliman The Magnificent in the 16th century AD, about 2000 years after Thermopylae and the Muslim yoke was not cast off until the Greek Revolution in the early 19th century.