When the battle looked to be lost to the Persians, Leonidas dismissed all the various Greek contingents, save his 300 Spartans and 400 Thebans whom he believed to be traitors who might turn on him. Demophilos and his 700 Thespians refused to abandon their Spartan comrades and stayed to face the numerically superior Persians. The Spartans and Thespians at Thermopylae all perished and became an enduring monument to heroism, valor and sacrifice.