Battle of Salamis Flashcards
Where did the battle happen?
Off the coast of Salamis, a small island close to Athens
When did it happen?
480BC
Side 1:
- The allied Greek states
- Led by Spartan General Eurybiades
- Greek strategy was devised by an Athenian General Thermistocles
- Approx. 300 ships
Side 2:
- Invading Persian force
- Led by Xerxes, King of the Persian Empire
- Approx. 500 ships
Who are they key individuals?
Thermistocles
Eurybiades
Xerxes
Artemisia
What did the Persians do to Athens and why?
- The Persians were keen for revenge against Athens after being beaten by them in the Battle of Marathon
- The city was evacuated so there was little loss of life, but Athens was burnt down
- The Acropolis, Older Parthenon and the Old Temple of Athena were destroyed
Why was the situation not good for Greece?
- The Greek states didn’t get on at all, and their alliance was at constant risk of falling apart
- Many of the Greek allies were keen to flee to save themselves and defend their own cities
- Eurybiades, a Spartan general was in charge, and the Spartan’s didn’t focus on naval warfare
- Salamis was full of refugees, and there were limited supplies
What did the Greeks think the Delphic Oracle’s prophecy meant?
‘Only a wooden wall will keep you safe’
- Thought this meant a fleet of ships
What was the first strategy proposed by the Greek leaders?
- Move the Greek fleet South from Athens to defend the Isthmus of Corinth
Who was in favour of the first strategy?
- Leaders of Peloponnese states like Corinth and Sparta
- If the battle was lost they could just walk home
- Majority of the council were in favour of this plan
What was the second strategy proposed?
- Fight the Persians in the Bay of Salamis, utilising the narrow geography of the area, which could neutralise the Persian navy’s superior size a little
What did people think of the second strategy and why?
- Most people thought it was a bad idea
- If the battle was lost, the Greeks would be stranded and defenseless on Salamis
What happened after Athens was burnt?
- Some Peloponnesian ships were frightened and fled Salamis
- Xerxes met with his naval commanders, who were all in favour of advancing to the Bay of Salamis
- Only Artemisia was brave enough to speak against him, and suggested that they should wait for the Greek’s to sail out of the Bay since the greek rowers were more skillful and would have an advantage in the narrows
What did Thermistocles do after the Greek leaders started panicking?
- He sent a messenger to Xerxes, hoping to entice him to attack and prevent the Greek’s from fleeing
What did Thermistocles’ messenger tell Xerxes?
- That Thermistocles was on the Persian side, and wanted to betray the Greeks.
- He said the Greeks were in disarray and Xerxes could win if he struck immediately
What happened after Xerxes was told to strike immediately?
- Before dawn, the Persian ships advanced to block the exit from the Bay of Salamis
What happened during the fighting?
- The Persians entered the Bay, and the Greeks started ramming them
- The currents made many Persian ships drift sideways, making them more vulnerable
- A Persian general and brother of Xerxes was killed early on- Ariabignes, which caused confusion
- Many ships ran aground
What did Artemisia do in the fighting?
- She was in danger of being rammed by a Greek ship so chose to ram one of her own ships to convince the Greeks she had changed sides
What did Thermistocles do 3 years before the Battle?
- Convinced Athens to build a fleet of triremes so they could defend an invasion
What was the outcome of the battle?
- Greeks lost around 40 triremes, Persians lost more than 200 of their Galleys
- Loss of life for Persians was much higher
- Xerxes withdrew with his forces to the East, but many of them died on the journey
Who did Xerxes leave behind and to do what?
- Part of his army led by the General Mardonius
- 10 months later, the Persians and Greeks fought at Plataea, but the Persian force was crushed and Mardonius killed
- Persians abandoned their attempts to invade Greece
What is the significance of the battle?
- Great moment for Greek unity, as 22 cities fought together
- Meant the end of the year’s campaign
- An important victory for Athenian pride- the Athenians later rebuilt the Acropolis in grand style
Why were the Greco-Persian wars significant in antiquity?
- Classical period gave drama, philosophy and art time to develop
- After the Battle of Salamis, the importance of the middle and lower classes in was realising, leading to a reformation od democracy
- Seen as a Greek triumph over barbarians, but also as a triumph of democracy over monarchy
Why were the Greco-Persian wars insignificant in antiquity?
- Greek culture may not have been destroyed by Persia- Persian kings in Ionian Greek cities actually incorporated elements of Greek art into their own style
- Shouldn’t be seen as battles between 2 different ways of life, as Greece was similar to Persia in aspects such as politics, economy and culture
Why were the Greco-Persian wars significant to later societies?
- Things such as architecture and Shakespearean tragedies have even inspired by the temples from the Classical period and the fighting that took place
- Stem of ideas surrounding Western European superiority- justification for colonialism
Why were the Greco-Persian wars insignificant to later societies?
- War didn’t have a significant impact of Persia
- Greek culture would probably have survived due to it being admired so much in Western society
What were the consequences of the battle?
- Turning point for Greco-Persian war
- Led to the Classical period
- Formation of a new, fairer democracy
- Brought Greek states together, creating a moment of Panhellenism
- Stem of ideas surrounding Western superiority- through spreading stories of weak and effeminate barbarian Easterners
How did the battle reflect the societies involved?
- Reflects how different Greek societies operated very separately through the weak alliances present
- Shows how Greece prioritised naval warfare due to them putting a lot of resources into 380 ships
- The importance they regarded the Delphic Oracles’s prophecy with shows they’re obedient to Gods, and highly religious
- Thermistocles being able to join a council due to his role as strategos to discuss the wor shows democratic control
- Thermistocles’ speech showed importance of Athenian education and rhetoric, and demonstrated Spartan culture of cowards being shamed
What is the Red Figure Kylix, and what was it used for?
Bottom of a drinking cup- would have been used in a Symposium
What is andrea, and how is it seen on the Red Figure Kylix?
- Manliness
- This is seen through the Greek soldier’s plain armour, which shows he’s not softened by luxury
What is Pegasus a symbol of?
- A symbol of Greek civility and civilisation
- Pegaus was born out of Medusa’s blood, so is a symbol of a hero destroying a monster
What is depicted on the Temple of Athena Nike?
- An Athenian victory against Persians, possibly at the Battle of Marathon
What was the purpose of the temple, and what does Nike mean?
- To thank Athena for helping them win the Battle of Marathon
- Nike means victory
How are the Greeks shown as brave on the Temple of Athena Nike?
- Depicted in heroic nude
- Greeks shown overpowering Persians
How are the Persians depicted badly on the Temple of Athena Nike?
- Persians on horseback are shown charging over a fallen comrade’s body
- Wearing long fabrics, that suggest they’re not as muscular or as strong as Greeks
