Battle of Salamis
After Thermopylae, Persian forces occupied and burned Athens. The Athenians had evacuated the city, following a Delphic oracle interpreted by Themistocles as promising salvation through a 'wooden wall' — their fleet. The Greek fleet of some 380 triremes gathered in the strait of Salamis while Xerxes watched from a throne on the heights above. Themistocles was outvoted by allied commanders who wanted to withdraw the fleet to the Peloponnese. In a celebrated act of strategic cunning he sent his slave Sicinnus with a secret message to Xerxes claiming that the Greeks were about to flee and urging immediate attack. Xerxes, eager for victory, ordered his fleet of some 1,200 ships to enter the strait by night and block all exits. At dawn the Greeks appeared to be withdrawing. As the Persians advanced in the narrow waters their formation became disordered. Greek triremes turned and charged. The bronze rams of the heavier Greek ships smashed through Persian hulls with devastating effect. Persian ships, unable to maneuver in the tight strait, collided with each other. The battle became a rout. Artemia I of Halicarnassus, a Persian ally, reportedly rammed one of her own ships to escape — Xerxes, watching, reportedly said 'My men have become women, and my women men.' The Persian fleet lost perhaps 200 ships; Greek losses were about 40. Xerxes, fearing the Greeks might destroy his pontoon bridges across the Hellespont and trap him in Europe, began withdrawing with the bulk of his army. He left Mardonius with an elite force to continue the campaign — which would end the following year at Plataea. Salamis effectively saved Greek civilization from Persian conquest.
- Year: 480 BCE
- Category: Military
