380 Ships vs 1,200: The Battle That Saved Greece
Relive the naval battle that saved Western civilization — 380 Greek ships against 1,200 Persian warships in history's most consequential sea fight. In September 480 BC, the Athenian general Themistocles lured the Persian fleet into the narrow Strait of Salamis, where numbers meant nothing and maneuverability was everything. Persian ships, crowded into the strait, collided and panicked. Greek triremes rammed and sank over 300 enemy vessels, losing fewer than 40 of their own. Xerxes watched the disaster from his throne on shore. Without Salamis, there would be no Greek philosophy, democracy, theater, or the entire tradition of Western thought.