thermopylae

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.

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

from Greek thermos “hot” (see thermal) + pylai, plural of pyle “gate; mountain pass, entrance into a region” (see pylon). In reference to nearby hot sulfur springs. Often simply hai pylai “the gates.”