Highlights in Central Greece

Both these battlefields lie beside main highways and are easily visited with a brief stop. A seasonal kantina (snack shop) is sometimes open at both battlefields.

Thermopylae

194km (120 miles) N of Athens on the Athens-Thessaloniki National Hwy.

One of the most famous battles in history was fought at Thermopylae in 480 B.C. when the Persian king Xerxes attempted to conquer Greece. To this day, historians speculate on how different the world might have been if Xerxes had succeeded and Greece had become a small part of the vast Persian Empire. If you find yourself on the Athens-Thessaloniki Highway, watch for signs alerting you to the larger-than-life statue of the Spartan king Leonidas, about halfway through the 6.4km-long (4-mile) Pass of Thermopylae that snakes between the mountains and the sea.

When Xerxes invaded Greece in 480 B.C. with about 100,000 men, soldiers from almost every city-state in south and Central Greece rushed to Thermopylae to try to stop the advancing Persian army. The pass is the only easy route from the north into Central and southern Greece, and if the Persians made it through the pass, Greece could be theirs. The statue of Leonidas -- the man who did most to delay the Persian advance -- marks the battlefield. The 6,000 or so Greek soldiers might have succeeded in holding the narrow pass of Thermopylae had not a traitor told the Persians of a secret mountain path that allowed a party of Persians to infiltrate the pass and outflank the Greeks. Ordering the main Greek force to retreat south, Leonidas and his 300 Spartans, along with several hundred other Greek soldiers -- with the certain knowledge of immanent death -- stood and fought a critical delaying action at Thermopylae. This gave the main Greek force time to retreat south to regroup, reinforce, and fight another day. When the fighting at Thermopylae was over, Leonidas and his men lay dead, but the Spartan king had earned immortal fame for his heroism. In 2007 the story was retold in the Hollywood film 300.

The name Thermopylae (Hot Gates) refers to the warm springs that bubbled here in antiquity, when the pass was considerably narrower than it currently is, now that centuries of silt have built up the seashore. Many of Thermopylae's springs have been partly diverted to spas, such as Kamena Vourla. Unfortunately, overdevelopment has seriously undercut the former charm of the nearby seaside towns. If you want a quick look at some of the springs, look for plumes of smoke after you park near the statue of Leonidas. If you don't see plumes, follow your nose: The smell of sulfur is strong.

Chaironeia

132km (81 miles) NW of Athens on the Athens-Levadhia-Lamia Hwy.

Just north of Levadhia, the Athens-Lamia Highway passes an enormous stone lion that marks the site of the common grave of the Theban Sacred Band of warriors, who died here in the Battle of Chaironeia in 338 B.C. It was at Chaironeia that Philip of Macedon, with some 30,000 soldiers, defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes and became the most powerful leader in Greece. It was also at Chaironeia that Philip's 18-year-old son Alexander first distinguished himself on the battlefield. Young Alexander, soon to be called "Alexander the Great," led the attack against the superbly trained Theban Sacred Band, which fought to the last man. Philip's admiration for the Thebans' courage was such that he allowed them the unusual honor of being buried where they fell on the battlefield.

The stone lion itself, sitting on its haunches with a surprisingly benign expression on its face, was probably erected by Thebes to honor the Sacred Band sometime after the battle. Some scholars think that the Thebans waited tactfully until after Philip's death in 316 B.C. to erect the monument. With the passing of time, the winds blew soil from the plain almost entirely over the lion. In 1818, two English antiquarians stumbled upon the lion's head; from 1902 to 1904 the Greek Archaeological Service conducted excavations on the battlefield and restored the lion here on the dusty plain of Chaironeia. The small site museum keeps irregular hours.