Battle of Salamis 480 BCE

The naval Battle of Salamis was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states and Persia in the straits at Salamis in 480 BCE. The Greek naval fleet had assembled at Salamis, close to Athens, following the attritional naval battle at Artemisium. After the Thermopylae defeat, the Persians seized Athens and many Athenians fled to Salamis. Rejecting pressure to fight the Persians in Corinth, the senior commander Themistocles insisted that the allies should confront the Persians at Salamis. Tricking the Persian fleet with false intelligence of an alied naval retreat, he lured them into the narrow straits at Salamis, making it difficult for their fleet to manoeuvre. The Greek fleet had formed a two-ship deep wall blocking the Persians who, while attempting to turn, became scattered and disoriented. Three hundred Persian vessels were destroyed, compared to 40 Greek. The decimation of the Persian fleet was followed by their retreat from Athens.