Athens put aside its pride and let sparta lead the army and the fleet, even though themistokles practically usurped the fleet commanders role. Sea fights near artemisium concurrent with thermopylae 480 themistocles appeals to the ionians and carians fighting for persians 564 persians pillage phocis, boeotia medizes 568. The strait of salamis after the persian victories at artemisium and thermopylae, king xerxes proceeded to athens, which he captured in the last days of september 480. Herodotus the persian wars godleybook viii wikisource. The author does an excellent job of reconstructing the actual battle and providing insights into key characters. Background the athenians had fled to salamis after the battle of thermopylae in august, 480 bc, while the persians occupied and burned. In todays post, we will discuss the battle of marathon and reading herodotus account of. Gyges, ardys, sadyattes ii, alyattes and finally, his son croesus who we look at in some detail. His histories, which provide an account in nine books of the conflict between the greece and asia from the middle of the sixth century b. It is extremely difficult to date the events of the summer of 480, but all reconstructions by modern scholars assume that the games ended shortly before or most probably during the two battles on august 20 or september 18. On herodotuss and aeschyluss accounts of the battle of.
Herodotus reports that the persians earlier had lost up to 400 triremes during a storm off the coast of magnesia and perhaps another 50 at the battle of artemisium. Its centrepiece is the unexpected but crucial greek naval victory at salamis. The author does an excellent job of reconstructing the actual battle and providing insights into key. Artemisias good fortune at the battle of salamis introduction. Herodotus describes the contingents and their numbers. Herodotus was born at halicarnassus modern day bodrum, a city of mixed peoples including greeks and carians, on the fringe of the persian empire. On herodotus s and aeschyluss accounts of the battle of salamis is an article from transactions of the american philological association 18691896, volume 8 view more articles from transactions of the american philological association 18691896. But he also claims that those losses had been replaced by the time of salamis, and the persian fleet still stood at 1,200. The first city on the bay is anticyra on the river spercheius. Attacks on phocis, boeotia, delphi, plataea, athens. The battle of salamis, by barry strauss indepthinfo. Creation, by gore vidal, interpreting many scenes from the persian viewpoint. The next logos opens with a description of a serious quarrel between the greek admirals. Salamis an island in the saronic gulf in the aegean sea, opposite mount aigaleo, 16 kilometres west of athens.
Herodotus the persian wars godleybook viii wikisource, the. With the dawn of the day of the battle of salamis in ch. Book viii of herodotus histories covers the early part of the unsuccessful invasion of greece by xerxes, king of persia. Herodotus feels, however, that he must report the facts as he finds them, and he makes a convincing case that greek freedom was indeed owed to the athenians. The battle of salamis naumachia tes salaminos was fought between an alliance of greek citystates and the persian empire in september 480 b. The battle of salamis was a great victory for the greek navy and, in combination with a victory by the greek army at the battle of plataea the next year, led to the complete defeat of the persians. Quotation of verse inscriptions epitaphs from thermopylae 228.
C as seen also at the battle of salamis because their army lacked the capacity to function as a unit and fought as individuals. The greek triumph at salamis stopped the advancing persians and saved the first democracy in history. According to herodotus, the athenians insist that their compatriots must send their fleets to salamis, a small island just opposite the athenian harbors. The battle of salamis was the major turning point in the second persian invasion of greece. He tells the story of the persian invasion of greece in 490 bc and the decisive naval battle at salamis with an easy style focused on character development. Herodotus the histories, book 8, urania 4096 naval battle off salamis. The greek triumph at salamis stopped the advancing persians and. Barry strauss is a worldclass academic classicist, but the battle of salamis. Herodotus presents the battle as though it occurred directly after the capture of athens, but. The spartans had now brought tisamenus with them to the plataean territory, where he acted as soothsayer for the greeks. He found the victims favourable, if the greeks stood on the defensive, but not if they began the battle or crossed the river asopus. Xerxes, who came to the throne in 485, executed another invasion of greece on an enormous scale by both land and sea.
The battle of salamis the histories of herodotus excerpt. Xerxes moved into malis along the bay s shore, which had a flat area with large tides. This was written a few years after the feud took place. The battle of salamis by barry strauss is an enjoyable read that relies primarily on herodotuss histories in retelling the battle of salamis in 480 bc.
The battle here fought was the last of all the five. The earliest activity is at pithekoussai in the bay of naples, where this vase was found. On herodotuss and aeschyluss accounts of the battle of salamis. Anecdotes illustrating the brave spirit of various spartans 22627.
So information that appears in another source can be considered even when herodotus does not mention it. The battle of salamis goodreads meet your next favorite book. Artemisias reasons for ramming a friendly ship are unknown, as herodotus acknowledges, but they give him the chance to unfold a punchline that reveals something of greek expectations of gender roles. Herodotus the histories, book 8, urania 4096 naval battle. The persians were responsible for their own defeat in the battle of plataea 479 b. His land forces marched down the northern coasts of the aegean sea and down into greece by way of thessaly. Book 7, the battle of thermopylae summary course hero. There are many editions, but the obvious one to go for is in the oxford classical texts series.
Pharaoh, by boleslaw prus, incorporating the labyrinth scenes inspired by herodotus description in book ii of the histories. Another part of the bay had hills that enclosed malis. Histories book 8 the battle of salamis summary course hero. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus. Salamis according to herodotus on feb 8, 2017 jul 5, 2019 by arwen1968 in best stories of herodotus, maritime history salamis an island in the saronic gulf in the aegean sea, opposite mount aigaleo, 16 kilometres west of athens. Mar 15, 2019 xerxes moved into malis along the bay s shore, which had a flat area with large tides. The battle of marathon eyewitness account from herodotus. Book viii deals with the second persian war, and chapters 8396 deal specifically with salamis. The greeks appointed to serve in the fleet were these. Ten years after the defeat of the persians at marathon in 490 b.
His answers to them are extensive, but they do not preserve every last detail of the battle of salamis. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus by. Gates of fire, by stephen pressfield, has the battle of thermopylae book vii as its centrepiece. The naval encounter that saved greece and western civilization is geared for the more general reader. This edition provides all the help required by a reader with little experience of greek. It resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered greeks. Herodotus portrays the conflict as one between the forces of slavery the persians on the one hand, and freedom the athenians and the confederacy of greek citystates. On the first day after the battles at thermopylae and artemisium, xerxes marines visit. Summary of and historical commentary on the histories of herodotus. View this articles jstor metadata you may also retrieve all of this items metadata in json at the following. The speakers mostly advised that the fleet should sail away to the isthmus, and there give battle in defence of the peloponnese. Although the persian host had suffered setbacks, delays and even minor reversals at thermopylae and. Davis, william sterns, readings in ancient history 1912. Thus after this wordy skirmish the greeks at salamis prepared, since eurybiades so willed, to fight their battle where they were.
Jun 29, 2004 an overview of the battle of salamis with appropriate framing ionian revolt to artemisiumthermopylae through the persian retreat. Our chief sources of knowledlge concerning the battle of salamis are aeschylus, persians, 345 ff. Translated from tales from herodotus farnell and goff provide a synopsis of the events to this point. The spartan attitude to war and deathespecially their calm attention to their appearance on the eve of battleshould have warned xerxes that he was biting off more than he could chew. Salamis according to herodotus page 2 waterblogged. The following is the account from herodotus describing the battle as it unfolded. The histories also stands as one of the earliest accounts of the rise of the persian empire, as well as the events and causes of the grecopersian wars between the persian empire and the greek citystates in the 5th century bc. Therefore, xerxes admirals were forced to attack the greek navy in the shallow and narrow bay of salamis.
Herodotus counts by generations, for example the kings of the mermnads dynasty, ruling from c. Histories book 7 the battle of thermopylae summary. Feb 08, 2017 salamis according to herodotus on feb 8, 2017 jul 5, 2019 by arwen1968 in best stories of herodotus, maritime history salamis an island in the saronic gulf in the aegean sea, opposite mount aigaleo, 16 kilometres west of athens. Naumachia tes salaminos was a naval battle fought between an alliance of greek citystates under themistocles, and the persian empire under king xerxes in 480 bc.
Feb 08, 2017 salamis an island in the saronic gulf in the aegean sea, opposite mount aigaleo, 16 kilometres west of athens. The heroic battles near athens at marathon 490 bce, thermopylae, salamis, and finally plataea 479 bce were classical greeks crowning military achievements, and herodotus was determined to record these great deeds for future generations particularly in view of the ignominious and disastrous peloponnesian wars that followed. Two spartans, eurytus and aristodemus, were in sick bay at battle time. Should you wish to find out more about the battle of salamis, to see how it acquired such mythic status for the greeks, i suggest you read herodotus, storyteller and mythmaker par excellence. There the greeks, sparked by fear and indecisiveness, conduct successive discussions about. While his extensive notes and source discussion at the end of the book lists works discussing the accuracy of these accounts, there is little discussion in the. Herodotos is designed to help students in all difficulties connected with the greek language which the chapters contain. In the narrow strait between the island of salamis and the greek mainland, a heavily outnumbered greek navy defeated the persian armada in a brilliant victory that is still studied today. Sep 16, 2010 on one level, the cooperation herodotus seems to pine for did happen. An overview of the battle of salamis with appropriate framing ionian revolt to artemisiumthermopylae through the persian retreat.
Victory at salamis more persian shipwrecks off euboea. The battle of salamis was fought between an alliance of greek citystates and the persian empire in september 480 bc in the straits between the mainland and salamis, an island in. Furthermore, the battle of salamis demonstrated how inferior persian naval tacts were compared to the greeks. Finally, it moved to attack athens, landing at the bay of marathon, where it was met by a heavily.
Dec 23, 2015 the battle of salamis was the major turning point in the second persian invasion of greece. On herodotuss and aeschyluss accounts of the battle of salamis is an article from transactions of the american philological association 18691896, volume 8 view more articles from transactions of the american philological association 18691896. Part of a complete english translation of herodotus. Synopsis the battle of salamis was the first great and unexpected victory of the greeks over the persian forces under xerxes, whose defeat had important consequences for the subsequent history and selfimage of europe. As part of their assessable work, my senior students were asked to look at herodotus, plutarch and aeschylus accounts of the battle of salamis. On one level, the cooperation herodotus seems to pine for did happen. The greeks, who had spent the night on shore at salamis, would have embarked on their ships soon after daybreak and formed their line in the bay of salamis directly in the face of the enemy. So information that appears in another source can be.
The persian wars 1920 by herodotus, translated by a. The battle of salamis was a naval battle between the greek citystates and persia, fought in september, 480 bc in the straits between piraeus and salamis, a small island in the saronic gulf near athens, greece. The battle was fought in the straits between the mainland and salamis. Thanks to their efforts, the greek fleet swells to almost 400 ships. Jun 28, 2005 the battle of salamis by barry strauss is an enjoyable read that relies primarily on herodotus s histories in retelling the battle of salamis in 480 bc. The battle of salamis was a naval battle fought between an alliance of greek city states under. This battle forms the centrepiece of book viii of herodotus histories. The athenians act like this, because they do not trust the spartans, who had promised to send an.
At sunrise on the next day there was an earthquake on land and sea. Salamis a battle that defined history for centuries to come. An unfortunate result of his more elaborately worked writing has been failure to understand his words, and hence much misplaced editorial intervention. In spite of the groundbreaking work of herodotus, a new book, focusing on the battle of salamis, is certainly in order. Herodotus is mistaken about the date of the olympic games. May 14, 2019 thus after this wordy skirmish the greeks at salamis prepared, since eurybiades so willed, to fight their battle where they were. His argument rests on the fact that it is an athenian fleet and an athenian strategy that lead to the victories that follow. Artemisias exploits in the battle of salamis are more famous than most because herodotus says that he cannot relay many other exploits but hers.
Strauss draws heavily upon herodotus and aeschylus. These are the forces which came to artemisium for battle, and i have now shown how. Herodotus book also contains ethnographic descriptions of the peoples. After some careful source work, detecting bias, exaggeration and other historiographical questions, they were asked to write a written account of the battle.
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