Battles & Wars › Greece, Rome & Han › Greco-Persian Wars
Battle of Salamis
September 480 BC· Battle· Europe
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
The Greek fleet, guided by the Athenian Themistocles, crushed Xerxes' larger fleet in the narrow straits off Salamis, near Athens.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
With Athens evacuated and burned, about 370 Greek triremes (oared warships with bronze rams) waited in the channel between Salamis island and the mainland. Themistocles, by tradition, sent a false message luring the Persians in. Packed into the straits, the Persian fleet, perhaps 600–800 ships, lost its numbers advantage, and the Greeks rammed and boarded. Xerxes watched from the shore. By one ancient count the Greeks lost 40 ships, the Persians over 200.
Why it matters
It broke Persian naval power in the Aegean and saved Greek independence. Athens, whose ships won it, became a sea power and leader of an empire.
How we know
Herodotus; Aeschylus' play The Persians, written by a veteran of the war only eight years later; and Plutarch's much later Life of Themistocles.
Still debated
Fleet sizes, the exact battle positions, and whether Themistocles' trick message happened as told are uncertain.
Connections (4)
▸Battle of Thermopylae delayed the Persian advance later checked at Battle of SalamisMostly agreed
The connection
Thermopylae and the naval battle at Artemisium were fought together to block Xerxes' advance. When the pass fell, the Greek fleet withdrew south and Athens was evacuated. The days gained helped the Greeks regroup their fleet at Salamis, where the Persian advance was finally checked.
When and how
Thermopylae and Artemisium, August 480 BC; Salamis about a month later; Leonidas, Themistocles and the Spartan admiral Eurybiades.
How sure are we?
Herodotus narrates the linked land and sea campaign and the Greek withdrawal from Artemisium to Salamis.
Debates and open questions
How much the delay at Thermopylae actually mattered for Salamis, given that the Persians reached Athens within weeks, is debated.
▸Battle of Salamis sent Xerxes home, leaving Mardonius to fight at Battle of PlataeaWell documented
The connection
After the naval defeat at Salamis, Xerxes could no longer rely on the sea to supply his huge army and feared for his bridges over the Hellespont. He returned to Asia with much of the army, leaving his general Mardonius with a picked force in Greece. A year later, that force was destroyed at Plataea.
When and how
Salamis, September 480 BC; Xerxes withdrew that autumn, and Mardonius wintered in Thessaly before Plataea in August 479 BC.
How we know
Herodotus records Xerxes' retreat and Mardonius' command; later ancient sources agree on the sequence.
Debates and open questions
Whether Xerxes' retreat was panic or a sensible move to secure his empire, and how large Mardonius' army was, are debated.
▸Xerxes I of Persia watched his fleet's defeat at the Battle of SalamisWell documented
The connection
Xerxes chose to fight the Greek fleet in the narrow strait of Salamis, near Athens, perhaps lured by a false message from the Athenian leader Themistocles. In the cramped water his larger fleet lost its advantage. Xerxes watched from a throne on the shore, then went home, leaving an army under Mardonius.
When and how
The strait between Salamis island and the mainland, west of Athens, September 480 BC.
How we know
Herodotus, and the playwright Aeschylus, who probably fought there and staged 'The Persians' in 472 BC, describe Xerxes watching the defeat.
Debates and open questions
Whether Themistocles's message really lured Xerxes into battle, and how big each fleet was, are debated.
▸Trireme and the ramming warship fought and won the Battle of SalamisWell documented
The connection
Greek triremes, mostly Athenian, fought the Persian fleet in the narrow strait. In the crowded water the Persians' greater numbers and skill at maneuver counted for little, and the Greeks rammed ships that could not turn. Persia lost a large part of its fleet.
When and how
Strait of Salamis, September 480 BC: roughly 300–380 Greek triremes against a larger Persian-led fleet.
How we know
Herodotus and Aeschylus, a likely eyewitness, describe ramming as the main tactic; the ship sheds at Piraeus show the size of Athens's fleet.
Debates and open questions
The Persian fleet's size, perhaps 600–1,200 ships, and its losses, perhaps 200 or more, are uncertain.