THERE is a little narrw passageway with the muntainsnne side and the watern thether thrugh which the Persians had t g t reach Athens. This pass is called Thermpylae， and yu might guess what Thermpylae means if yu ntice that the first part is like Therms bttle， which means ht bttle. As a matterf fact， Thermpylae meant Ht Gateway and was s named because this natural gateway t Greece had ht springs near by.
The Greeks decided that it was best t stp the Persians at this gate-t g t meet them there first befre they reached Athens. In such a place a few Greek sldiers culd fight better against a much larger number.
It als seemed wise t send picked Greek trps t meet the Persians， the very best sldiers in Greece with the very bravest general t lead them.
The Spartan king， wh was named Lenidas-which in Greek means like a lin was chsen t g t Thermpylae， and with him seven thusand sldiers- seven thusand sldiers t blck the wayf tw millin Persians！ Three hundredf these were Spartans， and a Spartan was taught that he must never surrender， never give up. A Spartan mther used t say t her sn：
"Cme back with yur shieldrn it."
When Xerxes fund his way blcked by this ridiculusly small bandf sldiers， he sent his messengersrdering them t surrender， t give themselves up.
What d yu suppse Lenidas replied？
It was what we shuld expect a Spartan t answer， brief and t the pint； that is， lacnic. He said simply：
"Cme and take us."
As there was nthing left fr Xerxes t d but fight， he started his army frward.
Fr tw days the Persians fught the Greeks， but Lenidas still held the pass， and the Persians were unable t get thrugh.
Then a Greek traitr and cward， wh thught he might save hiswn life and be given a rich prize by Xerxes， tld that kingf a secret pathver the muntains by which he and his army might slip thrugh and get arundLenidas and his sldiers wh blcked the way.
The next mrning Lenidas learned that the Persians had fund the secret path and were alreadyn the way t pen him in frm behind. There was still a chance， hwever， fr his men t escape， and Lenidas tld all thse wh wanted t d s t leave. Thse wh remained knew that the fight was abslutely hpeless and that it meant certain death fr allf them. In spitef this， hwever，ne thusand men， including all the three hundred Spartans std by their leader， fr， said they：
"We have beenrdered t hld the pass， and a Spartanbeysrders， and never surrenders， n matter what happens."There Lenidas and his thusand men fught t the bitter end until all exceptnef their number was killed.
The gateway t the cityf Athens was nwpen， and things lked very bleak fr the Greeks， fr there was nthing t prevent the Persians frm marchingver the dead bdiesf Lenidas and his men straightn t Athens.
The Athenians， wndering what was t happen t them， hurriedly went t theracle at Delphi and asked what they shuld d.
Theracle replied that the cityf Athens itself was dmed， that it wuld be destryed， there was n hpe fr it， but that the Athenians themselves wuld be saved by wden walls.
This answer， as was usually the case in whatever theracle said， was a riddle， the meaningf which seemed hard t slve. Themistcles， hwever， said that he knew the answer. Yu remember that it was he wh had been wrking s hard t have a fleetf ships built. Themistcles said that theracle meant these ships when it spkef the wden walls.
The Athenians， fllwing the suppsed advicef theracle， left their city as Themistcles tld them and wentn bard the ships， which were nt far away， in a bay called Salamis.
The Persian army reached Athens and fund it deserted. They burned and destryed the city as theracle said. Then they marchedn t the Bayf Salamis， where the Athenians weren bard the ships. There，n a hillverlking the bay， Xerxes had a thrne built fr himself s that he culd sit， as if in a bx at the theater lking at a play， and watch hiswn large fleet destry the much smallernef the Greeks with all the Atheniansn bard.
The Greek fleet was cmmanded，f curse， by Themistcles. His ships were in this narrw bayr straitf water， smewhat in the same way that the sldiersf Lenidas had been in the narrw valley at Thermpylae.
Themistcles， seeing that the Bayf Salamis lked smewhat like the Passf Thermpylae， had an idea. He made believe he was a traitr like the traitr atXerxesn his thrne watching Battlef Salamis坐在宝座上观看萨拉米斯战役的薛西斯Thermpylae and sent wrd t Xerxes that if the Persian fleet divided andne half stayed atne endf the strait and thether half clsedff thether endf the strait， the Greeks wuld be penned in between and caught as in a trap.
Xerxes thught this a gd idea， s he gaverders t have his ships d as Themistcles had suggested. But Xerxes， sitting smilingn his thrne， had the surprisef his life. The result was just theppsitef what he had expected. With the Persian fleet separated in tw parts， the Greeks in between culd fight bth halvesf the divided fleet separately， and the space was s narrw that the Persians" ships gt in the wayf eachther and rammed and sank theirwn bats.
The Persian fleet was cmpletely beaten， and the prud and bastful Xerxes， with mstf his army and all the navy that was left， made a hasty retreat back t Persia the way they had cme.
This was the last time the Persians ever tried t cnquer little Greece.
If Themistcles had nt had his way and built such a strng fleet， what dyu think wuld have becmef Athens and Greece！
【中文阅读】
波斯人要到雅典必须穿过一个狭窄的通道，通道一边是群山，一边是河水。这 个通道叫 Thermpylae（塞莫皮莱），如果你注意到这个词的第一部分和 thermsbttle（热水瓶）这个词有点像 1，你大概就能猜出它是什么意思了。事实上，塞莫皮莱意思 是"温泉关"，之所以叫这个名字，是因为这个通往希腊的天然关口附近有滚热的 温泉。
希腊人决定最好在这个关口阻挡住波斯人--抢在他们到达雅典前，先在那里 迎战他们。在这样一个据点，少数希腊士兵就可以胜过人数占绝对优势的敌人。
希腊人决定派出自己的精兵良将，一支由最勇猛的将军率领的全希腊最好的战 士组成的军队去迎战波斯军队，这似乎是一个明智的决定。
斯 巴 达 国 王， 名 叫 列 奥 尼 达 -- 这 个 名 字 在 希 腊 语 里 的 意 思 是" 像 一 头 雄狮"-- 被大家推举出来去温泉关，七千名士兵随同他前往--七千名士兵要去 抵挡二百万人的进攻！其中有三百人是斯巴达人，而斯巴达人所受的教育就是永不 投降，永不屈服。一个斯巴达母亲过去经常对儿子说：
"要么举着你的盾回来，要么躺在上面回来。" 当薛西斯发现自己前行的路被这一群少得可怜的士兵挡住时，就派使者命令他们投降，放弃抵抗。 你们猜列奥尼达怎么回答的？
那是我们意料之中的斯巴达人的回答，简洁扼要，也即"拉科尼亚回答"，他简 单地说了句：
"来抓我们吧。" 除了开战，薛西斯别无他法，只得命令军队向前挺进。
波斯人和希腊人激战了两天，但是列奥尼达仍然据守关口，波斯人无法通过。 这时，希腊一个怕死的叛徒为了活命和得到薛西斯的厚赏，向薛西斯国王泄露了能越过那座山的一条隐蔽的小路，由着这条路，他和他的军队可以悄悄溜过去包 围守关的列奥尼达和他的士兵。
第二天早晨，列奥尼达得知波斯人已经发现了那条秘道，而且已经从后面向他 包抄过来。不过，他的士兵这时要逃离还来得及，于是列奥尼达叫那些想要逃走的 人马上离开。坚持留下来的人心里明白继续战斗必输无疑，这也意味着他们所有的 人必死无疑。尽管如此，仍有一千名士兵忠于自己的领袖，其中包括所有三百名斯 巴达人，因为他们说：
"我们接到命令来守关，不管发生什么，斯巴达人都会服从命令，绝不投降。" 列奥尼达和他的一千名勇士苦战到最后，直至全部阵亡，只有一人活了下来。
1 therm表示"热"--译者注。
通往雅典城的通道畅通无阻了，希腊人的处境看上去一片黯淡，因为没有任何 东西可以阻挡波斯人踏着列奥尼达将士们的尸体朝着雅典长驱直入了。
雅典人不知道将有什么灾难降临在自己身上，就慌忙跑到德尔菲的神庙请求神 谕告诉他们该怎么办。
神谕回答说雅典城在劫难逃，注定要被摧毁，没有任何希望了，但是雅典人自 己却会被木墙拯救。
这个回答是个难解之谜，神谕任何一个回答，通常总是这样让人费解。但是， 泰米斯托克利却说他懂神谕的意思。你还记得吧，就是他为了让一支舰队组建起来 一直辛苦工作着。泰米斯托克利说神谕所讲的木墙就是指这些舰船。
雅典人遵照神谕那个被信以为真的建议，听从了泰米斯托克利的吩咐，离开了 他们的城市，登上舰船躲避，船就停在离城不远的一个叫萨拉米斯的海湾里。
波斯大军到达了雅典，却发现城内空无一人。如神谕所说，他们烧毁了雅典。 随后他们又朝着雅典人舰船停泊的萨拉米斯海湾进发。在一个俯瞰海湾的小山上， 薛西斯命人给自己建了个宝座，这样他就可以坐在那儿观看自己的庞大舰队摧毁满 载着全城雅典人的、小小的希腊舰队，就好像在剧院的包厢里看一出戏。
希腊的舰队当然由泰米斯托克利统率。他的船只停在狭窄的海湾，或者说狭窄 的水道里，有点像列奥尼达的士兵守在温泉关的狭窄山谷里一样。
泰米斯托克利看到萨拉米斯海湾和温泉关通道有几分相似，就想出了个主意。 他假装自己是个叛徒，和温泉关战役中的那个叛徒一样投靠波斯人，他捎信给薛西 斯献计说，如果波斯舰队分为两部分，一半守在海湾的一头，另一半封锁住海湾的 另一头，希腊人就会被夹在其中，就像落入陷阱里的猎物一样被逮到。
薛西斯觉得这是个好主意，于是下令要他的舰船按照泰米斯托克利建议的那样 去做。但是，微笑着坐在宝座上的薛西斯，遇到了他人生中最意想不到的事。战役 结果正和他预期的相反。随着波斯舰队一分为二，中间的希腊人恰好可以分别攻击 分在两头的波斯舰队，由于空间非常狭小，波斯人的舰船彼此挡路，反而把自己的 船只撞沉了。
波斯舰队被彻底打败了，骄横自大的薛西斯带着他的大部分陆军和所有幸存的 海军从原路狼狈地撤回了波斯。
这是波斯人最后一次企图征服弱小的希腊。 如果泰米斯托克利没有权力可以自主行事，就不能建起这样一支强大的舰队，那你想雅典和希腊会是怎样的命运啊！
