300 Spartans...Thermopylae

The first time I rode through the mountains to Thermopylae from Athens it was with a sense of great anticipation. This was a very special place to me, a place I’d wanted to see since I was a kid. I’d been interested in Greek history since I first read a children’s book about Theseus and the Minotaur. But the story of the 300 Spartans held a fascination for me that never waned.

To ride down from the mountains to the coast was a great trip in itself. But arriving at the site of that famous battle was a major surprise. The archaeological site of Thermopylae could be completely missed if there were no signs. It was nothing but a widened spot in the highway with a memorial statue dedicated to the Spartans. And it stood on a flat plain with no ocean, no cliff and no narrow pass that should have been just wide enough for two chariots.The "Hot Gates" were nowhere to be seen.

I pulled off onto the shoulder of the highway and shut off the bike. There was a bus load of Japanese tourists who were busy taking pictures in front of the monument so I sat and waited while the crowd milled around. It was then that I noticed a smell in the air of rotten eggs. Across the highway there was a little road that led into a grove of trees. I started up the bike and rode over toward the smell of sulfur. Half way down the little road was an empty building which had once been a restaurant but was now run down with the front door half open. Past the old building was a paved area with on old rusted fence in front of a stream with a small waterfall. I went there and took a look but there were no signs to designate whether this was the hot springs.

To the right was a dirt road that led through some trees so I went to check out where it led. I’m glad I decided to investigate the dirt road because it led to the source of the smell. I’d found the sulfur springs that give Thermopylae its name. This was the source of the hot gates of history. This was worth my trip here over land and time. I stood on the spot where Leonidas stood. I took a knee and said a prayer.

I thought of all the stories about Leonidas I’d read over the years. When the Spartan King had left his home on that suicide mission, his wife had asked him what he expected of her. He’d said “Marry a good man and have good children.” When the Persian King Xerxes, who led an army of half a million, told Leonidas to lay down his arms, the Spartan replied only “Come and take them.” On the morning of that final day of battle, the Spartans and Thespians knew they’d been betrayed and although they could have escaped, they would not retreat. During their final meal that morning Leonidas said to his men “Eat well my friends for tonight we dine in Hades.”

Taking off my boots I sat on the edge of the pool and put my feet in. Very slowly I put my feet in, because it was very, very hot. It was a shallow pool with greenish water that bubbled in places from the vents underground. The pool was fed from one end and flowed down to where it eventually joined the falls in the parking lot. I spent an hour there just soaking in the good feeling of the history as well as the water. It was about 11am and getting hot, so I finally rode over to the monument which was quite impressive. There was also a small monument commemorating the 700 Thespians who had remained with the Spartans when all was lost. I was later to visit Thespies where they were from, a small countryside village with few residents today. Brave men from a forgotten little place. Heroes.

Across from the monument is a hill with a crude set of stairs called the Hill of Kolonos. This is supposedly where the Spartan last stand happened. At the top of the tree lined path is a clearing in a grove of pines with a plaque with the famous words of Simonides…

"Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie."

There are poppies everywhere here, as though designating where the Spartans and Thespians fell under that rain of Persian arrows that blocked out the sun.

Looking down from the hill over the highway there was a wide flat plain that stretched to the sea in the far distance, kilometers away. 2,500 years ago, this place was much different before earthquakes and plate tectonics changed the landscape. So many things have changed since Greece stood together against impossible odds. And eventually won. We in the West owe Greece  a great debt of gratitude for the democracy we enjoy today.

I love Greek history and I love this country for biking. These are two things I enjoy most. Although Canada is my home, Greece holds a spell over me and I need to see these mythical places for myself while I still can. I’m not young and I made a promise to myself that Thermopylae was top on my list. I made it. To stand here meant something to me and that’s all that mattered.


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