Around 491–490 BC, Persian envoys arrived in Greece demanding the traditional tokens of submission: “earth and water.” Most cities complied. Athens and Sparta didn’t just refuse—they exploded. Ancient tradition held that heralds were protected by sacred custom. Killing them wasn’t merely illegal; it was religiously dangerous. According to Herodotus, the Athenians hurled the Persian heralds into a pit. The Spartans threw theirs into a well and coldly told them to “take earth and water” from there