Themistocles

Biography

Themistocles was the most consequential Athenian of his generation — a man of low birth and questionable personal ethics whose strategic vision saved Greece. As archon in 493 BC he began fortifying the Piraeus harbour, sensing that Athens's future power depended on the sea. After Marathon proved only a temporary reprieve, he persuaded Athens to use a windfall of silver from the Laurion mines not for cash distributions to citizens but to build 200 triremes — the fleet that won at Salamis. His masterstroke at Salamis combined brilliant psychology with tactical genius. He read Xerxes' character correctly, sent a disinformation message to lure the Persian fleet into the straits, and chose the battleground where numbers were irrelevant. When the battle was won, he persuaded Sparta not to pursue and destroy Xerxes' retreat bridge — understanding that a cornered Xerxes fighting for survival would be more dangerous than a Xerxes allowed to withdraw. Peacetime proved Themistocles' undoing. Ostracized by Athenians jealous of his fame, accused of collaboration with Persia, he fled ultimately to the Persian court — where Artaxerxes received him with honor and gave him three cities to govern. He died there, the saviour of Greece in the service of its former enemy, a figure too brilliant and too dangerous for his own city to contain.

Key Battles