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Xerxes tempts the rejected Spartan outcast Ephialtes with promises of wealth, pleasure, and status in exchange for the location of the hidden path behind the Spartan lines. Driven by a lifetime of resentment and a desire for the validation denied to him by Leonidas, Ephialtes agrees to betray his people and kneels before the Persian King.
XERXES: Your Gods were cruel to shape you so, friend Ephialtes. But I am kind. Everything you could ever desire. Every happiness you can imagine. Every pleasure your fellow Greeks and your false Gods have denied you. I will grant you... for I am kind.
EPHIALTES: Yes.
XERXES: Embrace me as your King
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