The Battle of Salamis
By 480 the Persian King Xerxes and his army had overrun much of Greece, and his navy of about 800 galleys bottled up the smaller Greek fleet of about 370 triremes in the Saronic Gulf.
The Greek commander, Themistocles, then lured the Persian fleet into the narrow waters of the strait at Salamis, where the massed Persian ships had difficulty maneuvering.
The Greek triremes then attacked furiously, ramming or sinking many Persian vessels and boarding others.
The Greeks sank about 300 Persian vessels while losing only about 40 of their own.
The rest of the Persian fleet was scattered, and as a result, Xerxes had to postpone his planned land offensives for a year, a delay that gave the Greek city-states time to unite against him.
It was a clear victory for the Greeks and the Persian attempt to conqueror the Peloponnese failed.
The Battle of Salamis was the first great naval battle recorded in history, with the Greeks winning one of the largest naval battles in history while Xerxes suffered a disastrous defeat.
Monument to the Ancient Greek Warriors of the Battle of Salamis 480 B.C.
By Achilles Vasileiou
Salamis
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