The line comes from the 2006 film 300, directed by Zack Snyder and based on Frank Miller's graphic novel. Gerard Butler plays King Leonidas of Sparta, who shouts it to his men before the Battle of Thermopylae against the Persian army. The scene became one of the film's most quoted moments and spread widely through trailers, parodies, and meme edits in the late 2000s. It remains popular because the delivery is instantly recognisable and works both seriously for motivation and ironically for trivial situations.