Greek civilization passed on many achievements to Rome and then Western Civilization. Had the Persians won the Persian Wars, it is possible that we would not have the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripedes, and Aristophanes. We might not have all the teachings of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Our civilization would have been deprived by all the brilliance associated with Athens. One could argue that Athens was saved by one man. He prevented the catastrophic cultural losses. Themistocles fought in the Battle of Marathon. This bravery enhanced his political career and he played a central role in preparation for Xerxes invasion of Greece. Themistocles was sure that the Persians were coming back for revenge and he was determined that Athens would be ready. In 483 B.C., a large silver deposit was found and Themistocles convinced the Athenian assembly that the silver should be used to build a fleet of 100 triremes (wooden, oared galleys). That’s right, he convinced the Athenian citizens to forgo a share in the wealth and instead spend the money on ships! When it became apparent that the Persians were coming, Themistocles was able to convince the people that the Oracle of Delphi’s advice to “rely on the wooden walls” meant to depend on the fleet. Athens was able to create a multi-city fleet. Sparta insisted the fleet be commanded by the Spartan Eurybiades. Themistocles should have been the obvious choice, as he himself felt, but he swallowed his pride and agreed in order to maintain unity. Eurybiades felt the best use of the fleet was to evacuate to the Peloponessian peninsula and coordinate with the wall built to block the peninsula. Themistocles knew this would be disastrous, especially for Athens, so bribed the Spartan admiral into fighting at Artemisium. The three day battle ended in a draw, but gave the Greek sailors the courage to face the Persians again.
Then Themistocles had to persuade the reluctant Spartan into fighting in the narrow waters between the island of Salamis and Attica. He also had to persuade the Athenian public to evacuate Athens without a fight and move to the island of Salamis. The people who stayed were all killed when the Persians took Athens. From Salamis, the Greeks could see the city on fire. So far, the Persians seemed unstoppable. Eurybiades and most of the captains wanted to withdraw. Themistocles lost the debate on what to do. So he decided to force the fleet to stay and fight. He sent a trusted slave named Sikinnos to go to Xerxes. He told the Persian emperor that his master was upset with Greek strategy and wanted to help the Persians. He warned Xerxes that the Greeks were planning on fleeing. Xerxes should sent half of his fleet to block the exit to the Gulf of Corinth. He should attack tomorrow as the Greeks were preparing to leave. Xerxes fell for it. The next morning when the Persians sailed into the gulf, Themistocles convinced Eurybides and the other captains that they had no choice but to fight. In the narrow waters, the Persian superiority in numbers was negated. The Greeks had better ships and won a celebrated victory. One that was seen by Xerxes sitting on his throne on a hill. Xerxes had enough and took the fleet and part of the army back to Persia. There is a legend that Themistocles sent Sikinnos to tell Xerxes to hurry before the Greek fleet could destroy his pontoon bridge across the Hellespont. According to this tale, Xerxes still thought Themistocles was a friend. And he still felt that way when an ostracized Themistocles came to live in Persia. The Athenian was given a nice mansion to live in. Themistocles – the master of persuasion/deception.
https://chs.harvard.edu/chapter/4-tricksters-and-structure-in-herodotus/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Themistocles
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