Alexander at Thermopylae

Nothing much is left of this once so highly strategic pass. All we can see today is a flat rather fertile plain gently sloping down from tall mountain walls to the sea at the distant horizon.

Hard to imagine that it was here that the historical Battle of Thermopylae took place in 480 BC between Leonidas of Sparta and King Xerxes of Persia. For two full days Leonidas, the leader of the Greek city-states, was able to pin down the Persians at this pass until he was betrayed by a local resident who guided the enemy troops behind the Greek lines – a tactic that was to be used repeatedly by Alexander during his eastern campaigns. When Leonidas realized that he was trapped, he dismissed the bulk of the Greek army and fought a last stand with his 300 Spartans.

This act of bravery can only have fired Alexander’s imagination, especially considering that for him this battle took place less than 150 years earlier. Meanwhile, other battles had been fought here like the one his father led on his way to Chaironeia two years before and in which Alexander took part.

Today there is nothing to remind us of Alexander’s (or Philip’s) passage at Thermopylae, only a memorial monument erected in honor of the Spartan King Leonidas. The centerpiece is a most splendid modern statue of Leonidas in classical style carrying the famous inscription “Come and take them”, i.e. the words addressed by the Greeks to Xerxes who demanded their surrender. On either side of Leonidas runs a relief depicting battle scenes ending on the right-hand side with a marble figure of Taigetos, representing the highest mountain in the Peloponnese, and on the left-hand side the personified Evrotas, a river of Laconia. This monument stands pretty much at the edge of the old coastline that follows the adjacent modern highway.

It is here at Thermopylae that Alexander, after the murder of his father, summoned the members of the Amphictyonic Council, basically responsible for managing the oracle of Delphi. With their pledges of support, he can rally northern and central Greece to his cause – a minor detail in his later campaigns but a very important one in these early days of his kingship.

Thermopylae, meaning literally Hot Gates, is named after the hot springs that bubble up near the historical pass. The hot springs are still working today and it is quite exciting to sample the hot water temperature as the soldiers of Leonidas and Alexander must have done. What a rewarding way to get in close touch with the past.