18
BEFORE 1000 CE
1
BATTLE MAP OF SALAMIS
This map from 1825 shows the Persian and Greek eets clustered at the
narrow entrance to the Gulf of Eleusis, east of the island of Salamis. The Greek line (north) consisted of
the Athenians on the left and the Spartans and Aeginetans on the right. The Persians tried to block the
Greek rear by sending an Egyptian detachment to sail northwest around Salamis, but their plot failed: it
was the Persian eet that had to retreat, and it was ambushed by the Aeginetans as it did so.
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19
SALAMIS
◼
480 BCE
Triremes, which had three banks
of oars on each side, rst appeared
in around 700
BCE, and formed the
backbone of eastern Mediterranean
eets for the following four centuries.
Fast and highly maneuverable, they
were capable of sailing through an
opposing line and turning around
to attack from the rear. Many were
also equipped with metal spikes
designed for ramming enemy
vessels. The discovery of a silver
mine in around 483
BCE gave
Athens funds to build 200 triremes;
without these ships it would have
struggled to face the large Persian
trireme force.
TRIREMES
1 An Athenian trireme, complete with
oarsmen, depicted in bas-relief, c.400 BCE.
Salamis
480 BCE
◼
WESTERN GREECE
◼
SPARTA AND ATHENS VS. PERSIA
GRECO–PERSIAN WARS
The Persian king Xerxes captured
northern Greece and burned the city of
Athens in September 480
BCE. He then
intended to transport his army by sea
to move against the Spartans. In the Gulf
of Eleusis, the Greek navy, led by the
Athenian admiral Themistocles and the
Spartan Eurybiades, blocked the narrow straits opposite the island
of Salamis, thereby denying Xerxes use of the harbors of Athens.
The Persian otilla that approached on the night of September 28,
drawn in by rumors artfully spread by Themistocles that the Greeks
might escape, consisted of around 800 triremes (see below), more
than double the Greeks’ numbers.
Themistocles had chosen his location well. Once the Persians
sailed into the narrow straits, their numerical advantage was
nullied. Persian triremes plowed into each other and ships became
entangled in the wreckage. Seeing the disorder, Themistocles
pounced, and the Greeks smashed into the Persian line, their rams
splintering the enemy triremes or shearing their oars. Many vessels
were captured by Greek marines or sunk. A horried Xerxes, who
had been watching from a promontory high above the straits,
ordered a retreat. Having lost 200 ships, his navy was shattered
and he withdrew much of his army to Asia Minor. This gave the
Greek city-states invaluable breathing space to rebuild their
forces and nally drive the Persians out of Greece.
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