Thermopylae

Thermopylae and Plataea are two famous battles fought during the Persian Wars. In 480 BC the Persian army crossed the Hellespont and marched down through Thrace, Macedonia and Thessaly while the fleet kept pace with it offshore. The Greeks under the supreme command of the Spartan king Leonidas decided to hold the pass of Thermopylae. Leonidas’ men fought to the last man showing great courage.

Thermopylae remains a symbol o heroic resistance to the present day. Plataea was the site of the Greek victory in 479 BC over the Persian army left in Greece after Salamis. The decisive battle of Plataea finally liberated Greece from the threat of Persian domination and ensured Greek independence and freedom, thus making possible the Greek golden age.