Book 8
At the request of the Athenians, the fleet of the Hellenes came from +Artemisium [23.2417,39.0083] (Perseus) Artemisium and put in at Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis. The Athenians requested them to put in at Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis so that they take their children and women out of Attica [23.5,38.83] (department), Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Attica and also take counsel what they should do. They had been disappointed in their plans, so they were going to hold a council about the current state of affairs.
They expected to find the entire population of the +Peloponnese [22,37.5] (region), Greece, Europe Peloponnese in Boeotia (department), Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Boeotia awaiting the barbarian, but they found no such thing. They learned that they were fortifying the Isthmus instead and considered the defense of the +Peloponnese [22,37.5] (region), Greece, Europe Peloponnese the most important thing, disregarding all the rest. When the Athenians learned this, they asked the fleet to put in at Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis.
While the others put in at Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis, the Athenians landed in their own country. When they arrived, they made a proclamation that every Athenian should save his children and servants as he best could. Thereupon most of them sent the members of their households to Troizen [23.375,37.5] (Perseus)Troezen, and some to +Aegina [23.433,37.75] (inhabited place), Aegina, Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Aegina and Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis.
They were anxious to get everything out safely because they wished to obey the oracle, and also not least because of this: the Athenians say that a great snake lives in the sacred precinct guarding the acropolis. They say this and even put out monthly offerings for it as if it really existed. The monthly offering is a honey-cake.
In all the time before this the honey-cake had been consumed, but this time it was untouched. When the priestess interpreted the significance of this, the Athenians were all the more eager to abandon the city since the goddess had deserted the acropolis. When they had removed everything to safety, they returned to the camp.
When those from +Artemisium [23.2417,39.0083] (Perseus) Artemisium had put in at Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis, the rest of the Hellenic fleet learned of this and streamed in from Troizen [23.375,37.5] (Perseus)Troezen, for they had been commanded to assemble at Pogon, the harbor of Troizen [23.375,37.5] (Perseus)Troezen. Many more ships assembled now than had fought at +Artemisium [23.2417,39.0083] (Perseus) Artemisium, and from more cities.
The admiral was the same as at +Artemisium [23.2417,39.0083] (Perseus) Artemisium, Eurybiades son of Euryclides, a Spartan but not of royal descent. The ships provided by the Athenians were by far the most numerous and the most seaworthy.
The following took part in the war: from the +Peloponnese [22,37.5] (region), Greece, Europe Peloponnese, the Lacedaemonians provided sixteen ships; the Corinthians the same number as at +Artemisium [23.2417,39.0083] (Perseus) Artemisium; the Sicyonians furnished fifteen ships, the Epidaurians ten, the Troezenians five, the Hermioneans three. All of these except the Hermioneans are Dorian and Macedonian and had last come from Erineus and Pindus and the Dryopian region. The Hermioneans are Dryopians, driven out of the country now called Doris by Herakles and the Malians.
These, then, were the Peloponnesians who took part in the war. From the mainland outside the +Peloponnese [22,37.5] (region), Greece, Europe Peloponnese came the following: the Athenians provided more than all the rest, one hundred and eighty ships. They provided these alone, since the Plataeans did not fight with the Athenians at Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis for this reason: when the Hellenes departed from +Artemisium [23.2417,39.0083] (Perseus) Artemisium and were off +Chalcis [23.6083,38.4667] (Perseus) Chalcis, the Plataeans landed on the opposite shore of Boeotia (department), Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Boeotia and attended to the removal of their households. In bringing these to safety they were left behind.
The Athenians, while the Pelasgians ruled what is now called Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas, were Pelasgians, bearing the name of Cranai. When Cecrops was their king they were called Cecropidae, and when Erechtheus succeeded to the rule, they changed their name and became Athenians. When, however, Ion son of Xuthus was commander of the Athenian army, they were called after him Ionians.
The Megarians provided the same number as at +Artemisium [23.2417,39.0083] (Perseus) Artemisium. The Ampraciots came to help with seven ships, and the Leucadians, who are Dorians from Corinth [22.9083,37.9083] (Perseus) Corinth, with three.
Of the islanders, the Aeginetans provided thirty ships. They had other manned ships, but they guarded their own land with these and fought at Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis with the thirty most seaworthy. The Aeginetans are Dorians from Epidauros [23.0917,37.6] (Perseus)Epidaurus, and their island was formerly called Oenone.
After the Aeginetans came the Chalcidians with their twenty ships from +Artemisium [23.2417,39.0083] (Perseus) Artemisium, and the Eretrians with the same seven; these are Ionians. Next were the Ceans, Ionians from Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens, with the same ships as before.
The Naxians provided four ships. They had been sent by their fellow citizens to the Persians, like the rest of the islanders, but they disregarded their orders and came to the Hellenes at the urging of Democritus, an esteemed man among the townsmen and at that time captain of a trireme. The Naxians are Ionians descended from Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens.
The Styrians provided the same number of ships as at +Artemisium [23.2417,39.0083] (Perseus) Artemisium, and the Cythnians one trireme and a fifty-oared boat; these are both Dryopians. The Seriphians, Siphnians, and Melians also took part, since they were the only islanders who had not given earth and water to the barbarian.
All these people who live this side of +Nomo Thesprotias [20.333,39.5] (department), Epirus, Greece, Europe Thesprotia and the Acheron river took part in the war. The Thesprotians border on the Ampraciots and Leucadians, who were the ones who came from the most distant countries to take part in the war. The only ones living beyond these to help Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas in its danger were the Crotonians, with one ship. Its captain was Phayllus, three times victor in the Pythian games. The Crotonians are Achaeans by birth.
All of these came to the war providing triremes, except the Melians and Siphnians and Seriphians, who brought fifty-oared boats. The Melians (who are of Lacedaemonian stock) provided two; the Siphnians and Seriphians, who are Ionians from Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens, one each. The total number of ships, besides the fifty-oared boats, was three hundred and seventy-eight.
When the generals from the aforementioned cities, met at Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis, they held a council and Eurybiades proposed that whoever wanted to should give his opinion on what place under their control was most suitable for a sea battle. Attica [23.5,38.83] (department), Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Attica was already lost, and he proposed that they consider the places which were left.
The consensus of most of the speakers was to sail to the Isthmus and fight at sea for the +Peloponnese [22,37.5] (region), Greece, Europe Peloponnese, giving this reason: if they were defeated in the fight at Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis they would be besieged on an island, where no help could come to them, but if they were at the Isthmus they could go ashore to their own lands.
While the generals from the +Peloponnese [22,37.5] (region), Greece, Europe Peloponnese considered this argument, an Athenian came with the message that the barbarians had reached Attica [23.5,38.83] (department), Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Attica and were destroying all of it by fire.
The army with Xerxes had made its way through Boeotia (department), Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Boeotia and burnt the city of the Thespians, who had abandoned it and gone to the +Peloponnese [22,37.5] (region), Greece, Europe Peloponnese, and Plataea [23.2667,38.2] (Perseus) Plataea likewise. Now the army had come to Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens and was devastating everything there. The army burnt Thespia and Plataea [23.2667,38.2] (Perseus) Plataea upon learning from the Thebans that they had not medized.
Since the crossing of the Canakkale Bogazi (strait), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Hellespont, where the barbarians began their journey, they had spent one month there crossing into Europe (continent)Europe and in three more months were in Attica [23.5,38.83] (department), Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Attica, when Calliades was archon at Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens.
When they took the town it was deserted, but in the sacred precinct they found a few Athenians, stewards of the sacred precinct and poor people, who defended themselves against the assault by fencing the acropolis with doors and logs. They had not withdrawn to Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis not only because of poverty but also because they thought they had discovered the meaning of the oracle the Pythia had given, namely that the wooden wall would be impregnable. They believed that according to the oracle this, not the ships, was the refuge.
The Persians took up a position on the hill opposite the acropolis, which the Athenians call the Areopagus, and besieged them in this way: they wrapped arrows in tar and set them on fire, and then shot them at the barricade. Still the besieged Athenians defended themselves, although they had come to the utmost danger and their barricade had failed them.
When the Pisistratids proposed terms of surrender, they would not listen but contrived defenses such as rolling down boulders onto the barbarians when they came near the gates. For a long time Xerxes was at a loss, unable to capture them.
In time a way out of their difficulties was revealed to the barbarians, since according to the oracle all the mainland of Attica [23.5,38.83] (department), Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Attica had to become subject to the Persians. In front of the acropolis, and behind the gates and the ascent, was a place where no one was on guard, since no one thought any man could go up that way. Here some men climbed up, near the sacred precinct of Cecrops' daughter Aglaurus, although the place was a sheer cliff.
When the Athenians saw that they had ascended to the acropolis, some threw themselves off the wall and were killed, and others fled into the chamber. The Persians who had come up first turned to the gates, opened them, and murdered the suppliants. When they had levelled everything, they plundered the sacred precinct and set fire to the entire acropolis.
So it was that Xerxes took complete possession of Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens, and he sent a horseman to Shush [48.333,32.2] (inhabited place), Khuzestan, Iran, AsiaSusa to announce his present success to Artabanus. On the day after the messenger was sent, he called together the Athenian exiles who accompanied him and asked them go up to the acropolis and perform sacrifices in their customary way, an order given because he had been inspired by a dream or because he felt remorse after burning the sacred precinct. The Athenian exiles did as they were commanded.
I will tell why I have mentioned this. In that acropolis is a shrine of Erechtheus, called the “Earthborn,” and in the shrine are an olive tree and a pool of salt water. The story among the Athenians is that they were set there by Poseidon and Athena as tokens when they contended for the land. It happened that the olive tree was burnt by the barbarians with the rest of the sacred precinct, but on the day after its burning, when the Athenians ordered by the king to sacrifice went up to the sacred precinct, they saw a shoot of about a cubit's length sprung from the stump, and they reported this.
When this business concerning the Athenian acropolis was announced to the Hellenes at Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis, some of the Peloponnesian generals became so alarmed that they did not even wait for the proposed matter to be decided, but jumped into their ships and hoisted their sails for flight. Those left behind resolved that the fleet should fight for the Isthmus. Night fell, and they dissolved the assembly and boarded their ships.
When Themistocles returned to his ship, Mnesiphilus, an Athenian, asked him what had been decided. Learning from him that they had resolved to sail to the Isthmus and fight for the +Peloponnese [22,37.5] (region), Greece, Europe Peloponnese, he said,
“If they depart from Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis, you will no longer be fighting for one country. Each will make his way to his own city, and neither Eurybiades nor any other man will be able to keep them from disbanding the army. Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas will be destroyed by bad planning. If there is any way at all that you could persuade Eurybiades to change his decision and remain here, go try to undo this resolution.”
This advice greatly pleased Themistocles. He made no answer and went to the ship of Eurybiades. When he arrived there, he said he wanted to talk with him on a matter of common interest, so Eurybiades bade him come aboard and say what he wanted.
Themistocles sat next to him and told him all that he had heard from Mnesiphilus, pretending it was his own idea and adding many other things. Finally by his entreaty he persuaded him to disembark and gather the generals for a council of war.
When they were assembled and before Eurybiades had a chance to put forward the reason he had called the generals together, Themistocles spoke at length in accordance with the urgency of his request. While he was speaking, the Corinthian general Adeimantus son of Ocytus said, “Themistocles, at the games those who start before the signal are beaten with rods.” Themistocles said in justification, “Those left behind win no crown.”
He answered the Corinthian mildly and said to Eurybiades nothing of what he had said before, how if they put out from Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis they would flee different ways, for it would be unbecoming for him to accuse the allies in their presence. Instead he relied on a different argument and said,
“It is in your hands to save Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas, if you will obey me and remain here to fight, and not obey the words of these others and move your ships back to the Isthmus. Compare each plan after you have heard. If you join battle at the Isthmus, you will fight in the open sea where it is least to our advantage, since our ships are heavier and fewer in number. You will also lose Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis and +Megara [23.35,38] (Perseus) Megara and +Aegina [23.433,37.75] (inhabited place), Aegina, Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Aegina, even if we succeed in all else. Their land army will accompany their fleet, and so you will lead them to the +Peloponnese [22,37.5] (region), Greece, Europe Peloponnese and risk all Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas.
But if you do what I say, you will find it useful in these ways: first, by engaging many ships with our few in the strait, we shall win a great victory, if the war turns out reasonably, for it is to our advantage to fight in a strait and to their advantage to fight in a wide area. Second, Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis will survive, where we have carried our children and women to safety. It also has in it something you are very fond of: by remaining here you will be fighting for the +Peloponnese [22,37.5] (region), Greece, Europe Peloponnese just as much as at the Isthmus, and you will not lead them to the +Peloponnese [22,37.5] (region), Greece, Europe Peloponnese, if you exercise good judgment.
If what I expect happens and we win the victory with our ships, you will not have the barbarians upon you at the Isthmus. They will advance no further than Attica [23.5,38.83] (department), Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Attica and depart in no order, and we shall gain an advantage by the survival of +Megara [23.35,38] (Perseus) Megara, +Aegina [23.433,37.75] (inhabited place), Aegina, Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Aegina, and Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis, where it is prophesied that we will prevail against our enemies. Men usually succeed when they have reasonable plans. If their plans are unreasonable, the god does not wish to assent to human intentions.”
As Themistocles said this, Adeimantus the Corinthian attacked him again, advising that a man without a city should keep quiet and that Eurybiades should not ask the vote of a man without a city. He advised Themistocles to contribute his opinion when he provided a city—attacking him in this way because Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens was captured and occupied.