Thermopylae
Hot Gates location
Thermopylae is a narrow coastal pass in central Greece, site of a famous 480 BCE battle where a small Greek force led by Spartan king Leonidas held off a vastly larger Persian army for three days before being overwhelmed.
The name means "hot gates," referring to nearby hot springs.
Thermopylae has become shorthand for heroic last stands against impossible odds: a Thermopylae moment, making their Thermopylae.
Ancient Spartan warrior-king
- hoplitesAncient Greek heavy infantry
- phalanxMassed infantry formation
- 300Three times one hundred
- agogeGreek training regimen
Lacedaemon · helots · Laconia · krypteia
Ancient Greek historiographer
- XerxesAchaemenid king of kings
- MarathonGreek town, ancient battle site
- SalamisGreek island, ancient battlefield
- AtheniansCapital Greeks
Corinthians · oracle · Delphi · antiquity
Exceptional courage under duress
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
- valorCourage in danger
- gloryExalted honor and praise
- epitaphText honoring the deceased
Simonides · monument · memorial · freedom · defiance · underdog · outnumbered · duty
Narrow passage limiting movement
Achaemenid king of kings
- ImmortalsThose beyond death
- phalanxMassed infantry formation
- betrayalBreaking of trust
- encirclementSurrounding enemy forces completely
Leonidas
Ancient Spartan warrior-king
agoge · Lacedaemon · helots · Laconia · krypteia
Herodotus
Ancient Greek historiographer
- XerxesAchaemenid king of kings
- MarathonGreek town, ancient battle site
- SalamisGreek island, ancient battlefield
Athenians · Corinthians · oracle · Delphi · antiquity
heroism
Exceptional courage under duress
epitaph · Simonides · monument · memorial · freedom · defiance · underdog · outnumbered · duty · honor
chokepoint
Narrow passage limiting movement
Xerxes
Achaemenid king of kings
encirclement · flanking · Thebans · rearguard · massacre
300
Three times one hundred
- Greek placesAthens, Thessaloniki, Corfu, Crete, Rhodes
- Central GreeceAttica, Delphi, Thebes, Lamia, Mount Parnassus
- ancient worldancient Greece, ancient Rome, ancient Egypt, pyramids, pyramid
- Battle SitesGettysburg, Normandy, Waterloo, Antietam, Stalingrad
- BattlesAntietam, Leipzig, Gettysburg, Waterloo, Bunker Hill
- Epic BattlesTrojan War, 300, Gladiator, Braveheart, Lord of the Rings
Thermopylaeopen plain
Broad, unobstructed flat terrain
flatland · steppe · open field · steppes · prairie
ThermopylaeSalamis
Greek island, ancient battlefield
Marathon · decisive victory · Austerlitz · rout · conquest
Thermopylaecapitulation
Complete yielding to demands
surrender · submission · collaboration · Vichy · appeasement
temperature, thermal, thermos, thermostat, thermometer, pyre, thermals, pyromania, thermostats