If you want to help in a Spartan victory, clear the battlefield of the dead, tend the...

Ephialtes:

There is nothing to forgive, brave King. I know what I look like... King Leonidas:
[quietly]
You wear the crimson of a Spartan. Ephialtes:
My mother's love led my parents to flee Sparta... lest I be discarded... King Leonidas:
Your shield and armor? Ephialtes:
My father's, sir! [pause] Ephialtes:
I beg you, bold King, to permit me to redeem My father's name by serving you in combat! [pause] Ephialtes:
My father trained me to feel no fear to make spear and shield and sword as much a part of me as my own beating heart! [pause] Ephialtes:
I will earn My father's armor, noble King, by serving you in the battle! King Leonidas:
[Ephialtes shows King Leonidas his thrust; it's good and the King is surprisingly impressed]
A fine thrust. Ephialtes:
[smiles]
I will kill *many* Persians! King Leonidas:
Raise Your shield. Ephialtes:
Sire? King Leonidas:
Raise Your shield as high as you can. [Ephialtes tries to raise his shield; he cannot as his physical disability prevents it] King Leonidas:
[calmly]
Your father should have taught you how our phalanx works. We fight as A single, impenetrable unit. That is the source of our strength. Each Spartan protects the man to his left From thigh to neck with his shield. [Leonidas takes his sword and shield to demonstrate] King Leonidas:
A single weak spot and the phalanx shatters. From thigh to neck, Ephialtes. [pause] King Leonidas:
I am sorry, my friend; but not all of us were made to be soldiers. Ephialtes:
[shocked]
But, I-! King Leonidas:
If you want to help in a Spartan victory, clear the battlefield of the dead, tend the wounded, bring them water. But as for the fight itself, I cannot use you