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 BCE, as King Xerxes I (r. 486-465 BCE) and his Persian army went on the rampage. The Greeks won at Salamis, one of the greatest and most significant military victories in antiquity. Overcoming superior numbers with daring tactics and sheer determination, the allied Greek forces won a freedom which would allow a never-before-seen period of artistic and cultural endeavour which would form the foundations of Western culture for millennia.
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Definition
Timeline
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11 Sep 490 BCEA combined force of Greek hoplites defeat the Persians at Marathon.
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c. 483 BCEThemistocles persuades the Athenians to significantly expand their fleet, which saves them at Salamis and becomes their source of power.
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480 BCECycladic states contribute to the victorious Greek forces against the Persians at the Battle of Salamis.
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Aug 480 BCEThe indecisive battle of Artemision between the Greek and Persian fleets of Xerxes I. The Greeks withdraw to Salamis.
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Aug 480 BCEBattle of Thermopylae. 300 Spartans under King Leonidas and other Greek allies hold back the Persians led by Xerxes I for three days but are defeated.
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Sep 480 BCEBattle of Salamis where the Greek naval fleet led by Themistocles defeats the invading armada of Xerxes I of Persia.
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479 BCEXerxes' Persian forces are defeated by Greek forces at Plataea effectively ending Persia's imperial ambitions in Greece.
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c. 430 BCE - 415 BCEThe Histories of Herodotus is published. The work is divided into nine chapters, each dedicated to one of the Muses.
