Quote Originally Posted by Ludens
How about the 700 non-Spartan hoplites (not to mention the unknown number of helots) that also died at Thermopylae? Are they immortal as well? Or is their memory limited to those who study history?
Quote Originally Posted by I Am Herenow
Well, the whole Spartan militaristic way of life was also a heroic/tough/whatever thing, making them seem "better" to the layman, and thus it was they that were remembered. As they were the elite, they were most famous.
Yes, to the extent that popular history forgot there were others present who fought with equal bravery. Hence, to be remembered it isn't sufficient to be a hero. You need good PR as well.