The Battle at Salamis

September, 480 BC ­ Straits between Piraeus and Salamis (small island near Athens, specifically in the straits between the mainland and Salamis) Naval Battle: Greeks had 371 smaller ships, while persian fleet consisted of 1207 ships. Lost many due to storms in Aegean Sea at Artemisium. Xerxes was confident in winning, set up a throne at shore to watch, on slopes of Mount Aegaleus. Was horrified when witnessed the horror that took place. Remarked that Artemisia was the only general to show some productive bravery. What happened at the battle of Salamis? ­ In 480 BC the Persian army invaded Greece with a large navy, the Greeks ruled the enemy naval ships into a narrow stretch of water between the Island of Salamis and the mainland of Greece. ­ Only around 100 Persian ships could fit in the gulf at a time so Greeks were able to destroy them wave by wave ­ Persians were ultimately trapped the Greeks were able to destroy them and win the battle causing the turning point of the Greek and Persian war. Battle Plan: ­ The overall strategy for the Persian Empire was to overwhelm the Greeks with a massive invasion force, and conquer Greece in a single campaigning season. ­ The Greeks, with the number of people they had, made best use of their numbers by defending restricted locations to keep the Persians in the field for as long as possible. ­ Learning from what happened from the Battle of Thermopylae, the Persians have known that a frontal assault towards the Greeks would be useless, now with the Isthmus, therefore, they wouldn’t be able to conquer Greece by land. ­ Also learning from Thermopylae, if the Persians were able to outflank the Greeks, their numbers would be destroyed, as well as the Allied Navy. ­ Therefore, if Xerxes could destroy the Allied Navy, the Persians would be in a stronger position to get the Greeks to surrender.

[The picture of the battle of Salamis, green represents Greeks, red represents the Persians.] Aftermath: Greeks won, marking the turning point in the Persian Wars. Greece was saved from being completely absorbed into the Persian Empire. Due to this loss Xerxes was furious and after the battle Athens was burned and looted. Even though it was a victory for Greece after this battle much of Greece was controlled by Persia.