from lifting his shield high enough to be of use for the phalanx. Ephialtes becomes despondent due to Leonidas' refusal and throws himself off a cliff. The Spartans and their allies successfully hold off the Persians for two days and nights. During a break in the fighting, Xerxes meets with Leonidas and offers wealth and power in exchange for his surrender. Leonidas declines, and battle continues. Meanwhile, Ephialtes awakes from his suicide attempt and decides to betray the Greeks by telling the Persians about the existence of a small pass that allows Xerxes to attack them from behind. Learning of the Persian maneuvers the Greeks realize their position is indefensible, but the Spartans and a few others refuse to retreat. Before engaging the Persians for the last time, Leonidas orders one Spartan (Dilios) to return home so that he might survive to tell their story. On the third day Xerxes has the Spartans surrounded, their remaining allies (Thespians) already dead. He gives Leonidas one final chance to surrender and kneel to him. After some hesitation, Leonidas finally complies and throws down his arms and kneels. This, however, is a trick by Leonidas, and signals Stelios, a loyal Spartan soldier, to jump from his back and kill a general. The Spartans fight. Leonidas throws his spear at Xerxes, intending to make the "God-King" bleed, and succeeds. The Spartans are killed to the last man by a storm of arrows. The story then shifts about a year later and ends as now-Captain Dilios relates the heroic sacrifice of Leonidas and his Spartan comrades to his troops before the historic Battle of Plataea. Criticisms Writer Alan Moore has criticized 300 as being historically inaccurate, with particular reference to the characters' attitudes towards homosexuality: Miller, in the letters page of the series, replied to accusations of homophobia from a reader regarding the phrase "Those boy-lovers": Writer David Brin has also criticized 300 as being historically inaccurate, with particular reference to the bravery and efficacy of the non-Spartan Greeks: During the Battle of Marathon, ten years previous to Thermopylae, the Spartans had been obligated to honor the Carneia, a religious festival during which military engagements were forbidden. Once the religious prohibition was lifted, the Spartan troops covered the 220 kilometers (140 mi) to Athens in a quick three days and arrived only one day after the battle had taken place. The Spartans toured the battlefield