Artemisium

Artemisium (ärˌtəmĭshˈēəm) [key], cape, N Euboea (now Évvoia), Greece, named for a great temple of Artemis. Off the cape in 480 B.C. was fought a naval battle of the Persian Wars. The delay won by the defense of Thermopylae under Leonidas helped make it possible for the Greeks to ward off the Persian fleet, although the fighting was indecisive and the Greeks were eventually forced to withdraw.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.