Search Results: Themistocles

Themistocles (c. 524 - c. 460 BCE) was an Athenian statesman and general (strategos) whose emphasis on naval power and military skills were instrumental during the Persian wars, victory in which ensured that Greece survived its greatest ever...

A marble bust of Athenian statesman and general Themistocles (c. 524 - c. 460 BCE), the victorious commander at the crucial battle of Salamis against Persia. (Museo Ostiense, Ostia)

Artaxerxes I (r. 465-424 BCE) was the sixth monarch of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. He was the son of Xerxes I (r. 486-465 BCE) and his principal wife Amestris (d. 424 BCE) and grandson of Darius I (the Great, r. 522-486 BCE). He continued...

Aristides (520s – c. 467 BCE) was an Athenian statesman and military commander who gained the honorific title 'the Just' through his consistent selfless behaviour in public office. Although ostracized by the Athenian assembly, Aristides returned...

The history of the second Persian war as presented in most of the modern literature is solely based on Herodotus' Histories. However, Herodotus' narration seems to contain several unrealistic elements which raise doubts about the actual strategy...

Pausanius (l. 110-180 CE) was a geographer and historian who traveled extensively, taking notes on points of interest, then wrote on them in guide books which could be used by tourists visiting the sites described. His works have long been...

The Battle of Salamis was a naval battle between Greek and Persian forces in the Saronic Gulf, Greece in September 480 BCE. The Greeks had recently lost the Battle of Thermopylae and drawn the naval Battle at Artemision, both in August 480...

The Decree of Themistocles, also known as the Decree of Troezen, which describes details of the Battle of Salamis in 480 BCE. The tablet itself is dated to the 3rd century BCE and is a copy of a 5th century BCE papyrus text. (National Archaeological...

Pottery ostraka identifying Themistocles, 482 BCE. These were used in Athens to vote a particular citizen to be ostracised from the polis. From a well on the north slope of the acropolis of Athens. (Museum of the Ancient Agora, Athens)

Ostracism was a political process used in 5th-century BCE Athens whereby those individuals considered too powerful or dangerous to the city were exiled for 10 years by popular vote. Some of the greatest names in Greek history fell victim...