Abstract

Conflicts among historians over the battle at Thermopylae in 480 B.C. tend to center around supposed inconsistencies between ancient sources, particularly Herodotus, and the modern topography of the region. The area, however, is one of extensive tectonic activity, fluctuations in sea level, and sediment deposition. Any attempt to reconstruct ancient events on the basis of modern topography alone is therefore bound to be misleading. Precise paleogeographic reconstruction would require a large-scale drilling program. This study involved the drilling and analysis of seven core holes in sediments infilling the Gulf of Malia. Results clearly demonstrate a Holocene epoch marine incursion to the far west of the Malian embayment and subsequent considerable variation over time in the physiography at Thermopylae. We have reconstructed the shoreline for ca. 480 B.C. and examined variations in the morphology of the middle gate with respect to the width of the pass. Geological and geomorphic evidence suggest that the pass at Thermopylae was closed for long portions of recorded history and may therefore have had less relative importance as a route into southern Greece.