Dienekes

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Dienekes (Greek: Διηνέκης) (died 480 BC) was a Spartan officer present at the Battle of Thermopylae. He was acclaimed the bravest of all the three hundred Spartiates selected to fight in that battle. Herodotus related the following anecdote about Dienekes:

"Although extraordinary valor was displayed by the entire corps of Spartans and Thespaians, yet bravest of all was declared the Spartan Dienekes. It is said that on the eve of battle, he was told by a native of Trachis that the Persian archers were so numerous that, when they fired their volleys, the mass of arrows blocked out the sun. Dienekes, however, undaunted by this prospect, remarked with a laugh, 'Good. Then we will fight in the shade.'" - Histories, 7.226

Dienekes is one of the main characters in Steven Pressfield's novel Gates of Fire. His name is not used in Frank Miller's graphic novel 300. However, his statement about fighting in the shade does appear in that work and the film based on it; the name of the character who delivers it is Stelios.