Rue des Thermopyles

The more you walk around the 14^th arrondissement, the more you discover some really charming streets, narrow alleys… Here is another one with the name Rue des Thermopyles. The name of the street is a bit surprising, it refers to a coastal passage in Greece, Thermopylae, where a number of battles have taken place,

…. the most famous obviously between the Greek / Spartan and Persian forces in 480 BC (illustrated by Jacques-Louis David in 1814) and the – hopefully – last one in 1941 between Greek and German forces. 

           

There is actually not much else to say about the street – I found no names of famous inhabitants… you can just enjoy the atmosphere and right now especially the wisterias.

The street ends with a little “jardin partagé” (garden shared by the inhabitants)… and some street art.

The famous personality I was looking for can be found in the prolongation of the street, the Square Alberto-Giacometti… and the nearby address where this artist had his studio for 40 years, from 1926 until his death in 1966, at no. 46, rue Hippolyte-Mandron. Picasso, Braque… and especially Samuel Beckett were frequent visitors.