Читать книгу The Herodotus Encyclopedia - Группа авторов - Страница 425

CHRISTOPHER BARON

University of Notre Dame

A mountain path leading around the narrow pass at THERMOPYLAE in north‐central Greece (7.216). In 480 BCE, after two days of failed attempts to dislodge the Greek forces, the Persians learned of the Anopaea path from EPHIALTES, an inhabitant of nearby Malis. Late that evening, Persian troops led by Hydarnes ascended the Anopaea, chased away the Phocian contingent assigned to guard the mountain, and descended on the rear of Thermopylae, arriving on the morning of the third day and soon annihilating the remaining Greek force of 300 Spartans.

The route of the path has long been a source of scholarly dispute (e.g., Pritchett 1982, 176–210), in part due to the fact that the landmarks Herodotus names—Melampygus (“Black‐bottom”) Rock, Seats of the Cercopes, and even the settlement of ALPENUS—cannot be identified with any certainty. The most recent discussion (Sánchez‐Moreno 2013, 313–20) suggests the quest for certitude is futile, since even in antiquity the route was probably a loose collection of pathways rather than a well‐marked trail.

SEE ALSO: Asopus River (Trachis); Hydarnes son of Hydarnes; Landscape; Malians; Persian Wars; Phocis; Treachery