34. Fighting roosters inspired Greek soldiers to save their country from the Persians
The great Greek general, Themistocles, is most famous for being a commander in the Battle of Marathon (490BC). This battle saw the Greeks soundly defeat the Persians, and marked a turning point in the Greco-Persian Wars. According to the historian Aelian, however, Themistocles had some surprising assistance. Leading his men to Marathon, he spotted a pair of fighting cocks, and made an impromptu speech to his troops. ‘These undertake this danger, neither for their Country, nor for their Country Gods… but that they may not be worsted, or yield one to the other’. Themistocles’s words certainly did the trick.