GRE0265 – The eve of Salamis

The Eve of Salamis, 480 BC: The Night Before the Decisive Battle

September 480 BC. Athens is burning. The Persian army has swept south through the pass at Thermopylae, the Acropolis has fallen, and the population of Attica has been evacuated to Aegina, Troezen and the island of Salamis. In the narrow strait between that island and the mainland, the allied Greek fleet lies at anchor through the night, waiting. The Battle of Salamis that dawn brings will decide whether the Persian invasion of Greece succeeds.

A Fleet Divided by Argument

The Greek command spent that night in disagreement. The Peloponnesian contingents wanted to fall back to the Isthmus of Corinth and defend their own homes; Themistocles of Athens argued that the fleet’s only advantage lay in the confined water of the strait, where the Persian numbers could not be brought to bear. Herodotus reports that he forced the decision by sending a message to Xerxes claiming the Greeks were about to scatter — inviting the blockade that made retreat impossible and battle inevitable.

Why the Narrows Mattered

The Persian fleet outnumbered the Greeks substantially, and its Phoenician and Ionian squadrons were faster and better handled in open water. In the strait none of that counted. The heavier Greek triremes, built for ramming rather than manoeuvre, could meet the enemy bow to bow in a space where a large fleet crowded and fouled itself. Xerxes had a throne set on the slopes of Mount Aigaleo to watch the victory he expected.

The Morning After

The battle destroyed the Persian navy as a strategic instrument. Without a fleet the army could not be supplied along the coast, and Xerxes withdrew to Asia with the bulk of his forces, leaving Mardonius to be defeated at Plataea the following summer. Salamis, more than Thermopylae, is the battle that ended the invasion — and it made Athens a naval power, setting in motion the maritime empire of the fifth century.

Giuseppe Rava’s Original Work

Giuseppe Rava depicts the waiting: the hours of darkness before the ships were run out, the marines and rowers of an allied trireme in the strait, the glow of the burning city on the northern horizon. The vessels, arms and dress follow the trireme reconstructions and the vase evidence rather than later romantic convention.

This is a limited edition fine art print, hand-signed by the artist, produced in SRA3 format on fine art paper. Ships worldwide.