If the Greek navy failed there would be no escape… He recommended that Xerxes send his fleet to blockade the opening of the Bay of Salamis, trapping the Greek fleet. Themistocles sweetened the deal by promising to defect once battle was joined and attack the other Greeks with the whole Athenian fleet.

Why did Themistocles want to trap the Persian fleet?

Although heavily outnumbered, the Greek Allies were persuaded by the Athenian general Themistocles to bring the Persian fleet to battle again, in the hope that a victory would prevent naval operations against the Peloponnese. ... Seizing the opportunity, the Greek fleet formed in line and scored a decisive victory.

Why was Themistocles a traitor?

He was made governor of Magnesia in Ionia where coins were minted bearing his name. Understandably, the Athenians saw this as treason and officially declared Themistocles a traitor, condemned him to death, and confiscated all his property.

Who was Themistocles and what did he do?

Themistocles, (born c. 524 bce—died c. 460), Athenian politician and naval strategist who was the creator of Athenian sea power and the chief saviour of Greece from subjection to the Persian empire at the Battle of Salamis in 480 bce.

How does Themistocles trick Xerxes?

Themistocles deceived the Persians by offering them what they wanted to hear. But he could not have pulled off the scheme without first learning the Persian way of war – and that required gathering and analyzing human intelligence.

How did Themistocles save Athens ? [About History #02]

How did Themistocles trick the Persians before the battle of Salamis?

He realizes he cannot persuade the Greeks to fight at Salamis, so he decides he will force them to fight at Salamis by tricking the Persians into entering the Salamis Straits. And his trick is to send his most trusted slave, a man named Sicinnus (ph), by boat to bring a message to the king of Persia.

Who killed Xerxes?

In August 465 BC, Artabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard and the most powerful official in the Persian court, assassinated Xerxes with the help of a eunuch, Aspamitres.

Was Themistocles a traitor?

He was made governor of Magnesia in Ionia where coins were minted bearing his name. Understandably, the Athenians saw this as treason and officially declared Themistocles a traitor, condemned him to death, and confiscated all his property.

What was Themistocles strategy?

The main elements of Themistocles' strategy are summarized as follows: All Athenians would go onboard the ships to fight in the sea. The navy would be divided into two fleets. One would remain in Attica to protect Salamis, and the second would engage the enemy at Artemision.

Who killed Themistocles?

Themistocles died in 459 BC, probably of natural causes. His reputation was posthumously rehabilitated, and he was re-established as a hero of the Athenian (and indeed Greek) cause.

How did Themistocles fall from power?

He was eventually accused of collaborating with the Persians, which led to his ostracism and eventually forced exile from not just Athens, but all of Greece. Themistocles' life ended thousands of miles away from his beloved land, and his reputation was ruined for centuries.

Was Artemisia a real person?

Artemisia was real enough, we learn from Herodotus, her contemporary and historian of the Greco-Persian Wars. She was indeed a Greek queen, who did fight for the Persians at Salamis. But far from being admiral-in-chief of the Persian navy, she contributed a mere handful of warships out of the total of 600 or so.

Who was the traitor at Thermopylae?

In the 1962 film The 300 Spartans, Ephialtes was portrayed by Kieron Moore and is depicted as a loner who worked on a goat farm near Thermopylae. He betrays the Spartans to the Persians out of greed for riches, and, it is implied, unrequited love for a Spartan girl named Ellas.

What was Themistocles plan to defeat the Persians?

At the next meeting of the allies, the Greeks accepted a strategic plan that may have been wholly devised by Themistocles. A combined force of Greek troops would block the Persian armies on land at Thermopylae through which Xerxes would have to pass.

Where was Xerxes during the Battle of Salamis?

Naval Battle of Salamis (29 September 480): important battle during the Persian War, in which the Greek allies defeated the Persian navy. After the Persian victories at Artemisium and Thermopylae, king Xerxes proceeded to Athens, which he captured in the last days of September 480.

Who is Themistocles 300?

Themistocles is the main protagonist in 300: Rise of an Empire. He is played by Sullivan Stapleton.

Who killed King Darius?

Bessus, (died c. 329 bc), Achaemenid satrap (governor) of Bactria and Sogdiana under King Darius III of Persia. In 330, after Alexander the Great had defeated Darius in several major battles, Bessus murdered Darius and assumed the kingship as Artaxerxes IV.

Did the Spartans beat the Persian army?

Before the Spartans and others died, however, they had slain twenty thousand Persians. ... Although the Greeks finally beat the Persians in the Battle of Platea in 479 B.C., thus ending the Greco-Persian Wars, many scholars attribute the eventual Greek success over the Persians to the Spartans' defense at Thermopylae.

Who won the Persian War?

Though the outcome of battles seemed to tip in Persia's favor (such as the famed battle at Thermopylae where a limited number of Spartans managed to wage an impressive stand against the Persians), the Greeks won the war. There are two factors that helped the Greeks defeat the Persian Empire.

How did Persia fall?

The Persian Empire began to decline under the reign of Darius's son, Xerxes. Xerxes depleted the royal treasury with an unsuccessful campaign to invade Greece and continued with irresponsible spending upon returning home. Persia was eventually conquered by Alexander the Great in 334 B.C.E.

Why did Xerxes invade Greece?

Xerxes had spent years planning his invasion of Greece. It was to be his 'divine punishment' for his father Darius' crushing defeat at Marathon in 490 BC. ... It was a suicide mission, designed to detain the Persians just long enough for the rest of the Greek allies to gather their forces.

Did Xerxes conquer Sparta?

In 480 bce Xerxes invaded Greece as a continuation of Darius's original plan. He began the same way his predecessor had: he sent heralds to Greek cities—but he skipped over Athens and Sparta because of their previous responses. ... Before invading, Xerxes implored the Spartan king Leonidas to surrender his arms.

What did Themistocles say to Xerxes?

You can now achieve a brilliant coup, if you don't sit by and watch them run. They are not in agreement among themselves and so will not oppose you; their naval battle, as you will see, will be against each other, those on your side, and those not. '

Who was the Spartan that betrayed Leonidas?

In the Battle of Thermopylae Leonidas and his brave 300 were the heroes — and Ephialtes of Trachis, the vile traitor who betrayed the Spartan army, served as the villain.

Was the hunchback in 300 real?

Is the movie's hunchbacked traitor Ephialtes based on a real person? Yes. However, the real Greek traitor Ephialtes, a local shepard, was most likely not a horribly disfigured hunchback.