It's actually a pretty interesting question. Hector, if he existed, lived at ~1200 BC, would have fought with bronze weapons. Stylistically, it was an era of single combat and/or chariot warfare, that was gradually replaced by phalanx warfare. read more
Leonidas I of Sparta. ( Wikimedia Commons ) The Persian Invasions . The new king Leonidas did not have an easy task ahead of him. Several years earlier, the Persians under king Darius I had invaded Greece, primarily in order to punish the city-states of Athens and Eretria, who had supported the cities of Ionia during their revolt against Persian rule. read more
Sparta received a request from the confederated Greek forces to help in defending and protecting Greece against the Persians, who were powerful and invading. Sparta, led by Leonidas, visited the Delphic oracle who prophesized that either Sparta would be destroyed by the invading Persian army, or the king of Sparta would lose his life. read more