Histories book 8 the battle of salamis summary course hero. Salamis an island in the saronic gulf in the aegean sea, opposite mount aigaleo, 16 kilometres west of athens. Salamis according to herodotus page 2 waterblogged. This site provides a good summary of the battle itself. The total number of ships, besides the fiftyoared boats, was 378. It marked the highpoint of the second persian invasion of greece, which had begun that spring. Book eight battle of artemision, athens abandoned, battle of salamis 1 the fleet consisted of the following greek contingents. Gyges, ardys, sadyattes ii, alyattes and finally, his son croesus who we look at in some detail.
Salamis a battle that defined history for centuries to come. View more articles from transactions of the american philological association 18691896. One of the great naval battles in history, salamis saw the outnumbered greeks best a larger persian fleet. Ten years after the defeat of the persians at marathon in 490 b. Herodotus clearly believed that the persian fleet actually entered the straits at nightfall, planning to catch the allies as they fled. Sources for the battle of salamis 480 bc stories preschool. Herodotus demonstrably used aeschylus persae at various points in his account of the battle of salamis. The battle of salamis the journal of hellenic studies. All quotes and spellings are from the landmark herodotus with translation by andrea l. This interpretation, however, does not accord with herodotus understanding of the oracle. This book brings together reference material and primary source documents concerning the most important people, places, events, and. Herodotus in his histories 440430 bce compiles precise lists but. In its first logos, we witness the naval engagement on the sea between aphetae and artemisium.
Herodotus book 6 marathon ionian rebellion 20200503 20200503 tagged ionian revolt battle of lade 494 bc 493 bc end of the revolt. Overwhelmingly outnumbered by the enemy, the greeks triumphed through a combination of strategy and deception. Damasithymos was an ally of xerxes i at the second persian invasion of greece. Although the phoenician sailors in the persian armada were excellent naval fighters, probably the rest of the crews were inferior. 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. 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 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. When the greek ships from artemision arrived at salamis, the rest of the hellenic fleet. The battle of salamis was the major turning point in the second persian invasion of greece. Herodotus covers the empires geography, social structure, and history before describing the.
Our chief sources of knowledlge concerning the battle of salamis are aeschylus, persians, 345 ff. Before the battle of salamis, xerxes gathered all his naval commanders and sent. The account of the battle of marathon mainly based on herodotus has however many gaps in the way that it does not give the strength of the two armies nor does it explain the reason why the persian cavalry did not join in the engagement. Herodotus book 6 marathon ionian rebellion pixelmasterdesign. I wanted to cover topics surrounding the battle of salamis for which im limiting to paragraphs 55 through 112 in book eight. Historic battles battle of salamis 480 bc battle of salamis was a naval battle fought between an alliance of greek citystates under themistocles and the persian empire under king xerxes in 480 bc which resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered greeks. The battle of salamis the histories of herodotus excerpt youtube. According to herodotus, queen artemisia of caria pointed this out to xerxes in the runup to salamis. Then, if they set sail with the ships from salamis, thou wilt not fight any more seabattles at all for the fatherland, for they will all. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. According to herodotus, the athenians insist that their compatriots must send their fleets to salamis, a small island just opposite the athenian harbors. On herodotuss and aeschyluss accounts of the battle of.
Indepth analysis, coupled with florid storytelling based partly on new archeological evidence would be a great addition to the bookshelves of. The videos are short, to the point, and the quiz allows me to test their knowledge on whatever subject in social. The greek triumph at salamis stopped the advancing persians and saved the first democracy in history. Herodotus describes the contingents and their numbers. The primary source for her achievements in the grecopersian wars is herodotus of halicarnassus and his account of the battle of salamis in his. Herodotus use of aeschylus persae as a source for the. Artemisias good fortune at the battle of salamis introduction. Tracing such interpretation and revision reveals much about herodotus as an. The battle of salamis book by barry strauss official.
Salamis according to herodotus on feb 8, 2017 jul 5, 2019 by arwen1968 in best stories of herodotus, maritime history. Featured audio all audio latest this just in grateful dead netlabels old time radio 78 rpms and cylinder recordings. Xerxes, who came to the throne in 485, executed another invasion of greece on an enormous scale by both land and sea. He fought at the naval battle of artemisium and the naval battle of salamis at 480 bc. In spite of the groundbreaking work of herodotus, a new book, focusing on the battle of salamis, is certainly in order. The battle of salamis was the first popular book written by strauss, and it well deserves the praise often heaped on it.
Book viii deals with the second persian war, and chapters 8396 deal specifically with salamis. In this battle only one of the greeks who fought on the side of the king deserted and. Herodotus, the battle of salamis herodotus, the battle of salamis the date of the battle of salamis is set by modern writers at about the 20th of september, 480 b. 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. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the battle of salamis. Farnell and goff provide a synopsis of the events to this point. The video series consists of four courses, designed to be completed over. The battle of salamis still plays a role in greek national and european consciousness, because at that time a collection of independently operating citystates achieved a degree of cooperation that before and after had never been shown, thus marking the transition from archaic to classic greece.
Herodotus, in the eighth book of histories entitled urania, and polyaenus, in the eighth book of his work stratagems, mention him. Greek, roman, and byzantine studies 53 20 461485 20 vasiliki zali themistocles exhortation before salamis. The book also illuminates greek views of themselves and of peoples from the east, the problematic. Herodotus counts by generations, for example the kings of the mermnads dynasty, ruling from c. The battle of salamis was fought in september 480 bc during the persian wars 499 to 449 bc. However, it was strategically not necessary for the persians to actually fight this battle at salamis. The tale of the great persian war from the histories of herodotus. The battle of salamis, and the end of the persian wars. On herodotuss and aeschyluss accounts of the battle of salamis is an article from transactions of the american philological association 18691896, volume 8. Although the persian host had suffered setbacks, delays and even minor reversals at thermopylae and. This battle forms the centrepiece of book viii of herodotus histories. The athenians provided 127 ships, with crews of plataeans as well as athenians. In fact, herodotus account of the battle, in book vii of his histories, is such an important source that paul cartledge wrote.
The battle was fought in the straits between the mainland. An unfortunate result of his more elaborately worked writing has been failure to understand his words, and hence much misplaced editorial intervention. Artemisias exploits in the battle of salamis are more famous than most because herodotus says that he cannot relay many other exploits but hers. This 55 pages is the shortest, but also, provides the best information that i hadnt come across previously. Herodotuss history is an account of the grecopersian wars 499479 bce and the story of the growth and organization of the persian empire. Urania,87when the affairs of the king had come to great. 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. Herodotus, a historian who is believed to have been born in halicarnassus. 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.
Salamis an island just southeast of athens was, of course, barry strauss is a master of the you are there style of popular historical writing. When you get as far as the battle of salamis in book viii of herodotus. There are many editions, but the obvious one to go for is in the oxford classical texts. The naval encounter that saved greece and western civilization kindle edition by strauss, barry.
With the dawn of the day of the battle of salamis in ch. Here we get the most bodacious recount of the battle of thermopylae and the noble 300 spartans who fought and died alongside leonidas at the. The battle of salamis the histories of herodotus excerpt. Discover the battle of salamis and learn about how the ancient greeks tricked and defeated the persian empire at sea.
Read online battle of salamis and download battle of salamis book full in pdf formats. Battle of salamis 480 bc it seems relatively certain that the persian fleet was sent out to block the exit from the straits the evening before the battle. Thanks to their efforts, the greek fleet swells to almost 400 ships. The battle of salamis was a naval battle between greek and persian. Battle of salamis project gutenberg selfpublishing. This account of the battle of salamis by a history professor who is an expert on naval warfare with a gift for vivid narrative brings it, in all its suspense, its complications, its surprises and its cast of extraordinary characters, to fervent and turbulent life. The author argues that herodotus relied on the persae far more heavily and in far more places than commonly admitted owing to herodotus thoroughgoing interpretation and revision of his source. Goodwin in 1885 i published an article on the battle of salamis, which was the result of frequent visits to salamis and the attic shores opposite the island, made during my residence in athens as director of the american school of classical studies in 18821883. They believe, then, that the oracle refers to the midnight position of the persian fleet when its formation extended from off cape cynosoura to munychia. Read this article to learn about the herodotus account of the battle of marathon. In that battle antidorus of lemnos, the only one of the greeks siding with the persian, deserted to the greeks, and for that the athenians gave him land in salamis. The athenians act like this, because they do not trust the spartans, who had promised to send an. Site of the battle of salamis xerxes is said to have erected a throne on mt. Battle of salamis, 480 bc, battle in the grecopersian wars in which a greek fleet.
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