He remarks that Simonides, Aeschylus, and Herodotus viewed Thermopylae as a battle against "Eastern centralism and collective serfdom", which opposed "the idea of the free citizen of an autonomous polis".
Dia menyatakan bahwa Simonides, Aeschylus, dan Herodotus melihat Thermopylae sebagai pertempuran melawan "sentralisme Timur dan perhambaan kolektif", yang menentang "gagasan warga bebas dari polis otonom".