battle of Thermopylae

1 9.4

A famous 480 BC battle where a small Greek force led by Leonidas resisted a much larger Persian army

proper noun

: batalla de las Termópilas

The heroic stand of Leonidas and his men during the battle of Thermopylae is remembered as a symbol of courage and sacrifice.

Examples

Some Greeks would even claim it had occurred on the same day as one of the famous battles of Thermopylae and Salamis, crucial contests that led to the defeat of the Persian invasion of Greece, also in 480 B.C.

Academic text (2011)
In 480 B.C., the brave Spartans fought valiantly in the battle of Thermopylae against a much larger Persian army led by Xerxes.
During the battle of Thermopylae, the small Greek force displayed extraordinary bravery despite being vastly outnumbered.

Synonyms

Thermopylae

vsbattle of Thermopylae

3 9.9

A place in ancient Greece where a small Greek army fought a much larger Persian army in 480 BC

is the battle event that records the resistance and ultimate defeat in 480 BC

Surface Forms

battle of Thermopylae main

Morphology

battle + of + Thermopylae

This is a straightforward place-based event name: 'battle' + 'of' + place means the battle that took place at Thermopylae, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will understand it denotes a specific military engagement at that location. They may not know the historical details or significance, but the core meaning is fully compositional and follows a cross-linguistically common naming pattern.

Etymology

Battle of Thermopylae was a real fight in 480 BC where a small Greek force led by King Leonidas held a narrow mountain pass and fought to the end against a much larger Persian army. Because of that brave last stand, the name battle of Thermopylae is now used as a picture of 'brave resistance' or standing firm against 'overwhelming odds'.