Before battle was joined they say that someone from Trachis warned him how many Persians there were by saying that when they fired their bows, they hid the sun with the mass of arrows. Dianeces, so the story goes, was so dismissive of the Persian numbers that he calmly replied, 'All to the good, my friend from Trachis. If the Persians hide the sun, the battle will be in shade rather than sunlight.'
More from Herodotus
The Lacedaemonians fought a memorable battle; they made it quite clear that they were the experts, and that they were fighting against amateurs.
Permalink to quote #23 Stranger, tell the people of Lacedaemon That we who lie here obeyed their commands.
Permalink to quote #25 Although he had plenty of troops he did not have many men.
Permalink to quote #22