Battle of Salamis Bay

1. Battle of Salamis Bay

2. Review • Xerxes defeated the Spartans at Thermopylae. • He marched his troops and sent his fleet to Athens. • He ransacked and burned a good part of the city including the Temple of Athena on the Acropolis.

3. The State of Athens • Xerxes could now: • fulfill his father's mission to capture Athens • get revenge for their involvement in the Ionian revolt • avenge Darius' humiliation at Marathon • Athens was vulnerable to attack by Persians. • The city was evacuated, most people escaped to Salamis.

4. Greek Tactics • Themistocles put all able-bodied men on ships and assembled the fleet in the straits of Salamis. • He felt the Greeks had a good chance at defeating the Persians in the narrow waters.

5. Problem facing Xerxes • It was getting late in the year and the storms of winter would soon make the seas around Greece impassable. • The Persian navy, possibly even the king's own person, could be forced to winter in Greece.

6. Hook, Line and Sinker • Xerxes was told (by a Greek) that the Greek fleet was fleeing and that the Athenians would join the Persians out of disgust with the other Greek cowards. (This was a trick) • Xerxes took the bait and attacked. • He watched from his throne again

7. Xerxes Attacks • Xerxes blocks off both ends of the strait. • The entrance to the strait was narrow causing the fleet to break formation thus weakening them. • He expects to find a fleet fleeing. Instead he is attacked. • The Greeks drew the Persian fleet into the narrow bay.

8. Problems Facing the Persians • The Persian ships were too large for the narrow strait. (they could not maneuver) • Persians were crashing into their own ships and were very disorganized. • If the ships sank the Greeks could swim the Persian could not. • More Persians died from drowning than from the actual battle. • For weeks, even months after the battle, Persian bodies were washing up on the shores around Athens. • The Persians lost 200 ships and the Greeks lose 40. • The Persians realized they were in trouble and they fled to Hellespont in Asia Minor.

10. Greeks Hot in Pursuit • The Greek fleet followed the Persians. • The trip was very difficult and took 45 days. • Greeks took an oath: “I shall fight to the death to keep my country’s freedom, and if my fellow soldier is killed I shall bury him properly. I shall resist being conquered and will not lay down and die.” • The Greeks were willing to fight for freedom. • After realizing that Hellespont was too narrow for battle so they head south.

11. Final Battle at Mycale • In 479 BC the two sides fought, 60,000 Greeks 80,000 Persians in a battle at Mycale. • Why? • Greeks were more organized. • The Greeks were determined to get rid of the Persians. • They were unified. • To rub it in the Greeks burned the Persian fleet off the coast.

12. What about the army? • The Persian army was watching the battle at Salamis Bay from the Athenian hills. • Xerxes fled for home, but he left the army in Thessaly. • They fought their last battle in Boeotia. They fought as undisciplined troops. • The Greeks were able to hold off the army and defeat them.

14. Results of War • The Greeks won – Persia lost • 479 BC Greece was now the supreme power. • They had complete control of the Aegean world once controlled by Persia. • Trade flourished • Greek ideas spread throughout the known Mediterranean world. • Greece had a strong sense of unity. • Athens was now known as a strong power because of her navy. • Athens was in ruins because of Persian Attack. • Athens becomes Imperialistic.

15. Ancient Warfare to Today • How are tactics and methods of war different today from ancient warfare? • Technology • Not a surprise attack • Not a lot of hand to hand any more. (Was up to WWI) • How are they similar?