Herodotus book 8 battle of salamis facts

Feb 08, 2017 salamis an island in the saronic gulf in the aegean sea, opposite mount aigaleo, 16 kilometres west of athens. View more articles from transactions of the american philological association 18691896. Discover the battle of salamis and learn about how the ancient greeks tricked and defeated the persian empire at sea. Salamis according to herodotus page 2 waterblogged. Greek researcher, often called the worlds first historian. Herodotus s depiction of the battle of thermopylae 1278 words 6 pages. Naumachia tes salaminos was a naval battle fought between an alliance of greek citystates under themistocles, and the persian empire under king xerxes in 480 bc. Herodotus portrays her as a good fighter who is able to maneuver her ship away from the greek ships and escape death. Feb 08, 2017 salamis according to herodotus on feb 8, 2017 jul 5, 2019 by arwen1968 in best stories of herodotus, maritime history salamis an island in the saronic gulf in the aegean sea, opposite mount aigaleo, 16 kilometres west of athens. Histories book 7 the battle of thermopylae summary. Book viii deals with the second persian war, and chapters 8396 deal specifically with salamis.

On herodotuss and aeschyluss accounts of the battle of salamis. Herodotuss history is an account of the grecopersian wars 499479 bce and the story of the growth and organization of the persian empire. The battle of salamis was the major turning point in the second persian invasion of greece. In the histories, he describes the expansion of the achaemenid empire under its kings cyrus the great, cambyses, and darius i the great, culminating in xerxes expedition to greece 480 bce, which met with disaster in the naval engagement at salamis and the battles at plataea and mycale. Xerxes is amazed by her abilities and states that, my men have turned into women, my women into men book 8. The strait of salamis after the persian victories at artemisium and thermopylae, king xerxes proceeded to athens, which he captured in the last days of september 480.

Although the persian host had suffered setbacks, delays and even minor reversals at thermopylae and. Salamis an island in the saronic gulf in the aegean sea, opposite mount aigaleo, 16 kilometres west of athens. Dec 23, 2015 the battle of salamis was the major turning point in the second persian invasion of greece. Strauss draws heavily upon herodotus and aeschylus. 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.

The battle of salamis the histories of herodotus excerpt. It was part of the grecopersian wars although heavily outnumbered, the greek allies were persuaded by the athenian general themistocles to bring the persian fleet to battle. He tells the story of the persian invasion of greece in 490 bc and the decisive naval battle at salamis with an easy style focused on character development. On herodotus s and aeschyluss accounts of the battle of salamis is an article from transactions of the american philological association 18691896, volume 8. While his extensive notes and source discussion at the end of the book lists works discussing the accuracy of these accounts, there is little discussion in the. Barry strauss is a worldclass academic classicist, but the battle of salamis. Find a summary of this and each chapter of histories. It happened in september 480 bc in the straits between the mainland and salamis island. Salamis a battle that defined history for centuries to come.

The battle of salamis 77 munro, of oxford, who refers to my article and agrees with its general conclusions, while he rejects the opposing view as he deems it of herodotus. Our chief sources of knowledlge concerning the battle of salamis are aeschylus, persians, 345 ff. An unfortunate result of his more elaborately worked writing has been failure to understand his words, and hence much misplaced editorial intervention. Herodotus book also contains ethnographic descriptions of the peoples. Jan 21, 2020 the battle of salamis was fought in september 480 bc during the persian wars 499 to 449 bc. Histories book 7, the battle of thermopylae summary. The battle of salamis was a battle between an alliance of greek citystates and the achaemenid empire of persia. He is known for having written the book the histories greek. Jun 29, 2004 an overview of the battle of salamis with appropriate framing ionian revolt to artemisiumthermopylae through the persian retreat. The battle of thermopylae from herodotus the histories.

Herodotus counts by generations, for example the kings of the mermnads dynasty, ruling from c. His argument rests on the fact that it is an athenian fleet and an athenian strategy that lead to the victories that follow. The battle of salamis the battle of salamis was a naval battle that happened in 480 b. Herodotus covers the empires geography, social structure, and history before describing the events which led to xerxes invasion of greece and the greek citystates uniting to defeat his army. Unlike herodotus, it is assumed that aeschylus had an eyewitness account as the play was performed in 472bc, only eight years after the battle of salamis. There are many editions, but the obvious one to go for is in the oxford classical texts. With the dawn of the day of the battle of salamis in ch. Battle of salamis the great battles of history ars bellica.

So information that appears in another source can be considered even when herodotus does not mention it. Battle of salamis facts when it comes to a discussion of ancient greek wars and battles there is perhaps no more important battle that the battle of salamis. The naval encounter that saved greece and western civilization is geared for the more general reader. 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. The speakers mostly advised that the fleet should sail away to the isthmus, and there give battle in defence of the peloponnese. The battle of salamis goodreads meet your next favorite book. In this, herodotus accounts xerxes hasty retreat after salamis in fear of the greek fleet while leaving his army behind. Chapter summary for herodotuss histories, book 8 the battle of salamis summary. Urania,87when the affairs of the king had come to great confusion, at this. On the first day after the battles at thermopylae and artemisium, xerxes. The following is a concise summary of book viii provided by.

Salamis according to herodotus on feb 8, 2017 jul 5, 2019 by arwen1968 in best stories of herodotus, maritime history salamis an island in the saronic gulf in the aegean sea, opposite mount aigaleo, 16 kilometres west of athens. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus by. Background the athenians had fled to salamis after the battle of thermopylae in august, 480 bc, while the persians occupied and burned. Gyges, ardys, sadyattes ii, alyattes and finally, his son croesus who we look at in some detail.

Herodotus is mistaken about the date of the olympic games. She is the only woman who shows up in the histories who plays a significant role during the persian wars. However quite similarly to herodotus histories, xerxes is cast in a negative light, claiming that the great king was an embodiment of the defeated persian forces. The fact that the first prize is just a wreath of olive leaves shocks xerxes. On herodotuss and aeschyluss accounts of the battle of. View this articles jstor metadata you may also retrieve all of this items. Herodotos is designed to help students in all difficulties connected with the greek language which the chapters contain. It is extremely difficult to date the events of the summer of 480, but all reconstructions by modern scholars assume that the games ended shortly before or most probably during the two battles on august 20 or september 18. The battle of salamis was a naval battle between the greek citystates and persia, fought in september, 480 bc in the straits between piraeus and salamis, a small island in the saronic gulf near athens, greece.

Herodotus feels, however, that he must report the facts as he finds them, and he makes a convincing case that greek freedom was indeed owed to the athenians. It would be one of the last battles of the persian wars. These are the forces which came to artemisium for battle, and i have now. The battle of salamis was fought in september 480 bc during the persian wars 499 to 449 bc. This incredible naval battle between a coalition of greek citystates and the persian empire took place in 480 bc. Learning this, they therefore entreated the fleet to put in at salamis. As part of their assessable work, my senior students were asked to look at herodotus, plutarch and aeschylus accounts of the battle of salamis. It was won by the greeks whom were much better at sea battle than the persians who were used to fighting on land. An overview of the battle of salamis with appropriate framing ionian revolt to artemisiumthermopylae through the persian retreat. On herodotuss and aeschyluss accounts of the battle of salamis is an article from transactions of the american philological association 18691896, volume 8 view more articles from transactions of the american philological association 18691896.

In this battle only one of the greeks who fought on the side of the king deserted and. In spite of the groundbreaking work of herodotus, a new book, focusing on the battle of salamis, is certainly in order. The battle of thermopylae from herodotus the histories essay 1146 words 5 pages western civilization february 8, 2009 the battle of thermopylae from herodotus the histories the battle of thermopylae, which herodotus recorded in his writing the histories, was one of the most arduous and notable battles of western history. The battle of salamis was a naval battle fought between an alliance of greek city states under. The basics of an expansion of the athenian democracy were all inscribed in the aftermath of the battle of salamis and the coast of attica in 23 september 480 bc. The battle of salamis, by barry strauss indepthinfo. After reading about the greek defeat at the land battle of thermopylae in book 7. One of the great naval battles in history, salamis saw the outnumbered greeks best a larger persian fleet. Herodotus presents the battle as though it occurred directly after the capture of athens, but nowhere explicitly states as much. In the histories, he describes the expansion of the achaemenid empire under its kings cyrus the great, cambyses, and darius i the great, culminating in xerxes expedition to greece 480 bce, which met with disaster in the naval engagement at salamis and the battles at. The battle of salamis as part of their assessable work, my senior students were asked to look at herodotus, plutarch and aeschylus accounts of the battle of salamis. After some careful source work, detecting bias, exaggeration and other historiographical questions, they were asked to write a written account of the battle. Part of a complete english translation of herodotus. He worked to verify all his facts with eyewitness interviews, exploration of the grounds upon which the battles were fought, examined written documents and more.