Battle of Salamis

Victory over the Persians assured Greek independence and set the stage for a golden age.

Date: Probably September 23, 480 b. c.e.

Category: Wars and battles Locale: Saronic Gulf in Greece

Summary In 490 b. c.e., King Darius the Great of Persia (r. 522-486 b. c.e.) invaded Greece at Marathon. He wanted to punish Athens for its support of his Ionian Greek subjects and at the same time expand his empire into Europe. The Athenians defeated the Persians, forcing them to withdraw. Darius was succeeded by his son Xerxes I (r. 486-465 b. c.e.), who invaded Greece with a large army in 480 b. c.e. Athenian statesman

Greeks celebrate after their victory over the Persians at the Battle of Salamis. (North Wind Picture Archives)

Themistocles used the ten-year interval between the two invasions to make his city the leading power in Greece.

After an inconclusive battle at Artemesium and a Persian land victory at Thermopylae, the allied Greek fleet fell back to the vicinity of the Saronic Gulf. Themistocles wanted the Greeks to engage the Persians in the narrow channel between Salamis (SA-luh-muhs) Island and the mainland. If they did, superior Persian numbers would be neutralized.

As a ruse, Themistocles sent Xerxes a secret message that the Greek fleet was going to retreat. Xerxes took the bait. The Persian fleet, numbering about eight hundred triremes, was composed of subject peoples such as the Phoenicians. The Greek fleet had some three hundred triremes, the bulk coming from Athens. Superior Greek—especially Athenian—seamanship won the day. The Persian fleet was barely able to maneuver and was easy prey. A surprise flank attack by (Greek) Aeginetans and Megarans completed the victory.

Significance Xerxes retreated, abandoning the gains won to that point. The Persian king went home, leaving his army with Mardonius. Mardonius suffered a major defeat at Plataea, ending the Persian invasion.

Further Reading

Meier, Christian. Athens: A Portrait of the City in Its Golden Age. Translated by Robert Kimber and Rita Kimber. New York: Metropolitan Books, 1998.

Strauss, Barry. The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter That Saved Greece—and Western Civilization. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004. Wallinga, H. T. Xerxes’ Greek Adventure: The Naval Perspective. Boston: Brill, 2005.

Warry, John. Warfare in the Classical World. London: Salamander Books,

1980.

Eric Niderost

See also: Greco-Persian Wars; Marathon, Battle of; Plataea, Battle of; Themistocles; Thermopylae, Battle of; Trireme; Xerxes I.