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Thermopylae pass

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Thermopylae pass
DanM Offline
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#1
08-23-2007, 01:31 AM
I was looking on google earth and I saw a placemark someone made near thermopylae saying that this could be the pass. I think this might actually be true. But was thermopylae fought on a cliff overlooking the aegean, or in a valley? [Image: thermopylae.jpg]
Dan/Anastasios of Sparta/Gaius Statilius Rusticus/ Gaius Germanicus Augustus Flavius Romulus Caesar Tiberius Caelius (Imperator :twisted: <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_twisted.gif" alt=":twisted:" title="Twisted Evil" />:twisted: )
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hoplite14gr Offline
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#2
08-23-2007, 06:36 AM
Dan your answers might be here:

http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic. ... hermopylae

http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic. ... hermopylae

http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic. ... hermopylae

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DanM Offline
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#3
08-23-2007, 08:09 PM
Ok from what I read I believe it was on a cliff.
Dan/Anastasios of Sparta/Gaius Statilius Rusticus/ Gaius Germanicus Augustus Flavius Romulus Caesar Tiberius Caelius (Imperator :twisted: <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_twisted.gif" alt=":twisted:" title="Twisted Evil" />:twisted: )
Yachts and Saabs are for whimps!
Real men have Triremes and Chariots 8) <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_cool.gif" alt="8)" title="Cool" />8) !
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Jona Lendering Offline
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#4
08-23-2007, 09:01 PM
Quote:from what I read I believe it was on a cliff.
Yes, absolutely, and you can still recognize the line of rocks in the landscape, north (right) of the highway. On
this photo (I climbed into an electricity mast to make it),
[Image: thermopylae.JPG]
there is a line of dark green vegetation in the inner curve of the road, immediately right of the autobus; and you can see that the land is lower to the right hand of the photo, immediately right of the hill. So, the landscape has changed considerably. Next photo shows what used to be an undeep sea.
[Image: thermopylae_small.jpg]
As you see, the path between the hills and ancient sea is very narrow (or non-existent), and because it is -when all is said and done- a way to pass a mountain range, it is also called "mountain pass".

Here is some more photography.
Jona Lendering
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Paullus Scipio Away
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#5
08-24-2007, 10:06 PM
I think the reason for our young friend's question is that he has in mind a particular scene in "300" where the Spartans push Persians over a cliff ( I haven't seen it BTW, only parodies, which did raise a chuckle.....)
As you can see, Dan, no cliffs on the battlefield ! The Greeks formed a line between the cliffs and the sea ! (see Jona's second, modified photo.)
Jona's pictures of the site show all, and compare very well with similar ones, together with a model and photos of the route the Immotals took, in Peter Connolly's 'Greece and Rome at War'.(An excellent book by the way - put it on your Christmas or Birthday 'wish list' Smile ) )
The wider pass nowadays ( see first photo) is due to an accumulation of silt from the River Asopus over the years, the river is behind the 'spur' in the distance.
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DanM Offline
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#6
08-25-2007, 02:33 AM
Actually I got the cliff Idea from the history channel, so now I take it that thermopylae was basically a shore, right next to mountains.
Dan/Anastasios of Sparta/Gaius Statilius Rusticus/ Gaius Germanicus Augustus Flavius Romulus Caesar Tiberius Caelius (Imperator :twisted: <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_twisted.gif" alt=":twisted:" title="Twisted Evil" />:twisted: )
Yachts and Saabs are for whimps!
Real men have Triremes and Chariots 8) <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_cool.gif" alt="8)" title="Cool" />8) !
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Jona Lendering Offline
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#7
08-25-2007, 08:08 AM
Quote:now I take it that thermopylae was basically a shore, right next to mountains.
That's correct.
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Tarbicus Offline
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#8
08-28-2007, 07:32 PM
You should check this out: Thermopylae with overlaid map

Click on the 'VIEW IN GOOGLE EARTH' icon to automatically load it in GE, for those of you who don't know.
TARBICvS/Jim Bowers
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