Thermopylae

Thermopylae, the hot gates, is among the most storied battlefields in history. Here, in 480 BC, a small Greek force led by the Spartan king Leonidas held the narrow coastal pass against the vast invading army of the Persian king Xerxes. For three days the defenders blocked the defile; on the last, betrayed by a mountain path, Leonidas and his 300 Spartans, with their Thespian and other allies, fought to the death rather than retreat. Their sacrifice bought time for the Greek cities and became the ancient world's greatest symbol of courage against the odds.

The landscape has changed profoundly since. In antiquity the pass was a slender strip between the cliffs of Mount Kallidromo and the sea; over the centuries the Spercheios river has silted the shoreline outward, so that the modern road now runs across a broad coastal plain and the sea lies several kilometres away. Reading the ancient battle onto today's ground takes imagination, but the setting still holds its weight.

The focus for visitors is the Leonidas monument, erected in 1955 beside the old national road, a striking bronze statue of the king flanked by cypress trees and marble reliefs. Across the road rises Kolonos hill, the low mound where the last defenders are believed to have made their final stand, marked by a memorial stone bearing the famous epitaph. A modern visitor centre, opened in 2010, uses film and multimedia to explain the campaign.

Giving the place its very name, the sulphurous hot springs that made this the hot gates still steam and flow nearby, cascading into open-air pools where visitors can bathe free of charge, a curious and welcome counterpoint to the solemn history.

Thermopylae is a roadside site rather than a destination in itself, easily seen in an hour or two. It lies about 16 kilometres southeast of Lamia, the natural base, and sits directly on the main route north from Athens towards Thessaloniki and the road to Meteora, making it an easy and moving stop on a longer journey.