The Battle of Salamis

Salamis (Greek: Σαλαμίς) is the closest island to the port city of Piraeus.  Salamis is mentioned in Homer’s writings and according to the legend it was named after the nymph Salamis the mother of Cychreus, the first king of the island.  It is said to be the birthplace of Ajax and Euripides.  Recent prominent sons are G. Karaiskakis, a hero of the revolutionary war of 1821 and the poet and playwright A. Sikelianos. 

Salamis is known for the battle that bears its name, the decisive naval victory of the allied Greek fleet, in 480 BC.  To halt the Persian advance during the second Greco-Persian war, the Greek City States decided to block the pass of Thermopylae, while an Athenian-dominated navy engaged the Persian fleet in the nearby straits of Artemisium.  Famously, the vastly outnumbered Greek army held the pass of Thermopylae for three days before being outflanked via a mountain path. Much of the Greek army retreated, before the 300 Spartans and few Thespians who had continued fighting at the pass were surrounded and killed. The simultaneous sea battle at Artemisium was up to that point a stalemate; however, when news of Thermopylae reached them, the Greek fleet retreated to Salamis, since holding at Artemisium was pointless.  The Persian navy sailed south and blocked both entrances of the Straits of Salamis.

Although heavily outnumbered, the Greek Allies were persuaded by the Athenian general Themistocles to engage the Persian fleet to battle. Because the Persian ships were large in size and too numerous they struggled to maneuver in the straits and became disorganized. Seizing the opportunity, the Greek fleet that was formed by small triremes scored a decisive victory.

When King Xerxes I who was watching the battle from mount Egaleo (Greek: Αιγαλεω) realized his fleet was decimated he retreated with much of his army, leaving his general Mardonius to complete the conquest of Greece.  However, the following year, the remainder of the Persian army was defeated at the Battle of Plataea and the Persian navy at the Mycale.  The battles of Salamis and Plataea marked a turning point in the course of the Greco-Persian wars. A number of historians believe that a Persian victory would have hindered the development of Ancient Greece, and by extension western civilization, thus making the Battle of Salamis one of the most significant battles in human history.

Themistocles (Greek: Θεμιστοκλῆς) c. 524–459 BC) was an Athenian politician and general who convinced the Athenians to increase its naval power.  During the first Persian invasion of Greece, he fought at Marathon, and was possibly one of the 10 Athenian generals in that battle.  During the second invasion, he was in command of the Greek allied navy at the sea battles of Artemisium and Salamis. According to his plan, the Allies lured the Persian fleet into the narrow Straits of Salamis, where their movements were difficult as their ships were large in size and number.  The decisive Greek victory at Salamis was the turning point in the invasion and made it pre-eminent among the classic naval battles.