The narrow passage that leads from Locris to Thessaly between the foot of Mt Kallidromo and the Malian Gulf, determined the fate of the Spartans and Thespians in a historic battle in 480 B.C., where with ‘Molon lave’ (Come and take them) as the banner of King Leonidas, they fought the multitudes of Persians, sacrificing their life for the homeland. Near the hot springs, where believers were once healed and thanked the mythical hero Heracles, the ruins of the Phocian wall tells of the pride and bravery of the warriors who did not hesitate to stand up to the shade of Xerxes’ arrows.

The epitaph by Simonides of Ceos on Colonus hill, where the battle was sealed, is an ultimate tribute to the glorious ancestors and their sacrifice:

“Go tell the Spartans, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie”.

Opposite this hill is a modern monument depicting a battle-ready Leonidas between the personified statues of Eurotas river and Taygetus mountain range, while in 1997 a monument was created to honour the fallen Thespians.