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Modern Description: The defile owes its name to the hot therapeutic springs there and to its strategic position on the route from the North to Central and Southern Greece. It was the headquarters of the Pylaean Amphictyony that is the religious and political centre of the Greeks living around the Maliac gulf. It was here that the battle of Thermopylae was fought between the Greeks led by the Spartan king Leonidas and the Persians (480 BC). Parts of the fortifications and defensive works have come to light in the area, as well as dispersed graves of various periods. Ruins of a stoa and a stadium have been excavated 2.5 km W of Kolonos hill. The sanctuary of Demeter Amphictyonis at ancient Anthele was renowned in antiquity. There is evidence of sulphurous baths with bathtubs, which were renovated by Herodes Atticus, and an altar to Herakles.
The ancient fortifications were repaired by Justinian I (6th century).
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermopylae
Wikidata ID: Q194450
Trismegistos Geo: 3614

Info: Archaeological Atlas of the Aegean

(Archaeological Atlas of the Aegean, Ministry of the Aegean)

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