Thermopylae

American  

[ther-mop-uh-lee] / θərˈmɒp əˌli /

noun

1. a pass in E Greece, between the cliffs of Mt. Oeta and the Gulf of Lamia: Persian defeat of the Spartans 480 b.c.

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Thermopylae British  

/ θəˈmɒpəˌliː /

noun

1. (in ancient Greece) a narrow pass between the mountains and the sea linking Locris and Thessaly: a defensible position on a traditional invasion route from N Greece; scene of a famous battle (480 _bc ) in which a greatly outnumbered Greek army under Leonidas fought to the death to delay the advance of the Persians during their attempted conquest of Greece

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Example Sentences

“Thermopylae” salutes the Spartan soldiers who held off the Persians at that famous mountain pass, and nods at Cavafy’s poem of the same name.

From Washington Post

Speaking at the 2020 World Economic Forum, Mr. Gore had compared climate change to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and historical battles, including the Battles of Thermopylae, Agincourt, the Bulge and Dunkirk.

From Washington Times

His Spartans at Thermopylae, who refused to surrender to a vastly larger invading army — and whom the Zelensky administration invoked after the siege of Mariupol, which it styled “the Thermopylae of the 21st century.”

From New York Times

They included a grab bag of survivalist skills, shooting practice, martial arts training and home-school history lessons that focused mostly on the American Revolution and the battle of Thermopylae.

From BBC

Thermopylae is widely considered one of history’s most glorious defeats, in which 300 Spartans held off a much larger Persian force in 480 B.C. before finally succumbing.

From Seattle Times