Salamis (Second Persian War)

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The plan to stop the Persians at Thermopylae hadn't worked, and, in the late summer of 480 BC, the Persian army was marching south towards Athens. The Greeks got together to discuss what to do.

The Spartans and Corinthians wanted to go back to their original plan, and just defend southern Greece (where their cities were) and forget about defending Athens (in northern Greece). But the Athenians wanted to defend their city! Finally they reached a compromise plan.

The Athenians, under their general Themistocles (thuh-MISS-toe-klees), moved everybody out of Athens, to an island nearby, and let the Persian army burn their city. Everything was burned, even the Archaic temple of the Parthenon on the Acropolis.

But the Athenian navy tricked the Persian navy into attacking them near the island of Salamis (SALL-ah-miss), and the Athenian navy won. Without his navy, Xerxes decided it was impossible to continue the invasion, and he went home to Persia with most of his army for the winter.

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