CSPSCentre for Spartan and Peloponnesian Studies

2500 years from the Battle of Thermopylae

480 BC – 2020 AD: 2500 years from the Battle of Thermopylae!  

Greece is set to celebrate the 2500-year anniversary of the Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis, which, according to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, ‘commemorates not just a historical event belonging to ancient Greek tradition, but one of the most crucial turning points in the history of mankind’. Celebrations are in preparation in the modern town of Sparti for the celebrations too, where also Scottish actor Gerard Butler, who famously played the Spartan king Leonidas I in the Hollywood epic film ‘300’, will be on March 14th to run as a torchbearer for the Tokyo Olympic Games! 

Upon the invitation of the Mayor of Sparti Dr Petros Doukas, CSPS Director Dr Chrysanthi Gallou joins the International Honorary Committee For the Celebration of the 2500 Years Anniversary from the Battle of Thermopylae – Sparta 2500, and the Centre will lead the academic-related events for the celebrations in the modern town of Sparti (more information on the programme will be available soon). 

In the International Honorary Committee Dr Gallou joins international personalities like George Windsor (The Earl of St. Andrews), Shaukat Aziz (fm. Prime Minister of Pakistan), Prince Nikolaos of Greece & Denmark, Aziz Syriani (Chairman, the Olayan Group, Saudi Arabia), Spyros Capralos (Chairman, The Hellenic Olympic Committee), Professor Emeritus Paul Cartledge (University of Cambridge), George Sakellaris (Chairman of AMERESCO), Tawfic Khoury (Executive Vice-Chairman, of The Consolidated Contractors Company of the Middle East), Deborah Wince Smith (President of the US Council on Competitiveness), Rosa D’ Amato (MP of the European Parliament, Italy), Chrysoula Zacharopoulou (MP of the European Parliament, France) and Bettany Hughes (historian, author and broadcaster).   

Find out more about Greece's preparations for the 2500-year anniversary of battles of Thermopylae and Salamis here.

Posted on Saturday 1st February 2020

Centre for Spartan and Peloponnesian Studies

University of Nottingham
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