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The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter That Saved Greece -- and Western Civilization

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Barry Strauss has done a wonderful job of relating the story of the ancient world's most significant naval battle at Salamis. This book is both entertaining and informative, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in this period of history.

It covers briefly the significant land (Thermopylae) and naval (Artemisium), as well as the sacking of Athens which preceded the Battle of Salamis. Strauss also covers the situation which faced the Persians and Greeks in those days prior to the battle which is in the section called "The Trap". What he is referring to is the plotting by Themistocles to try to ensure that the battle would take place at Salamis, and this along with the chapters on the battle itself are the real meat of the book. The book finishes with a couple of chapters and an epilogue which covers the retreat by the Persians, and also discusses the short and long term effects of the battle. He also discusses what happened to the major participants if it is known.

There are many interesting stories that take place in and around the battle. These include stories about Themistocles, Xerxes, and Aeschylus. Among the most interesting stories are those about Artemisia, the female queen/admiral who was one of Xerxes most trusted commanders. She had predicted defeat prior to the battle, and during the battle she turned what should have been viewed as a treacherous act into her advantage after the battle. Another very interesting story is that of Sicinnus who was sent by Themistocles to talk to Xerxes on the eve of the battle warning the Great King that the Greeks were about to depart and strongly hinted that Themistocles would defect to the Persian side.

Strauss uses many standard historical sources, relying heavily on Herodotus and related material. He uses many sources on ancient naval battles and ships to fill in his narrative. He even draws from Aeschylus the Greek playwright who was in the battle, and who later wrote "The Persians" a play about the battle, which is the only non-mythical extant Greek play.

The book does have a few flaws. I felt that parts of it were not consistent. As an example, in the discussion of the events just prior to the battle Strauss states that "Sicinnus's mission really did happen" which means that the Persians learned that the Greek fleet was to leave on the following day. Later, when discussing the movement of the Persian fleet to block the Greeks from leaving he states "It is likely that they had chosen a cloudy night to enter the straits." It is not logical that they could choose the night based on the weather if they had just learned that the Greeks were about to leave. These are minor points though, and only detract slightly from what is a very enjoyable book.

Barry Strauss has written one of the best books of 2004. If history can be seen as a teacher for the present, this is it. With a solid and clear understanding of ancient Greek civilization, warfare and naval history, he brings the battle of Salamis alive in the context of the Greco-Persian War of 480-479 B.C. He does it not just with outstanding scholarship, but with a talented literary skill that gives a true human meaning to characters, events and the myriad of all those little and not well-known details that are History's real substance. It's fascinating how he starts each chapter trying to see the events through the eyes of Herodotus, or Themistocles, or Xerxes, or Artemisia, or one of the lesser known but equally interesting characters of that thrilling and trying time. You read "The Battle of Salamis" almost as a riveting novel, with the plus of its historical accuracy. It's just captivating. I sincerely believe it could be a very good candidate for the next Pulitzer Prize on Nonfiction.

This is the story of Athens, the world's first democracy, in a time of war, bitterly divided, with no certain allies, standing up against the powerful mosaic of the Persian empire forces and getting a brilliant but unexpected victory that paved the way for the Age of Pericles and the Western Civilization. Reading it in the troubled world of our days helps to get things in perspective. Who says classic history is boring? Get this book: you'll find a precise combination of historical expertise and gifted storytelling.

The Battle of Salamis describes the fateful naval battle between Greece and the Persian Empire in the year 480 BC - a pivotal event that determined the trajectory of western democracy. Persia had numerical superiority; Greece had cunning. Persia was a master of land-based warfare; Greece waged naval guerilla warfare. Each side knew the future of the world was in the hands of the winner.
Barry Strauss is a master storyteller who brings to life not only the events of the time and their antecedents, but also a host of memorable characters: the brilliant but unscrupulous Greek commander Themistocles; the infantry-centric Persian King Xerxes who failed to understand naval guerilla warfare; the cunning Artemisia, the first female admiral in history; the vengeful Persian eunuch Hermotimus; the Athenian playwright Aeschylus, who participated in the battle; the Spartan admiral Eurybiades, who had to maintain the fractured Greek coalition in the heat of battle... and many, many more.
The battle of Salamis involved approximately 300,000 sailors, marines, soldiers, and refugees -- the equivalent of 20 million people in today's terms - from Europe, Asia and Africa. It included some of the cleverest tricks in the history of war, with many lessons for today's readers.
The author does a masterful job of storytelling with a solid basis in research, including archaeology, meteorology, forensic anthropology and previously overlooked literary sources. He adds to this his own knowledge of rowing. The result is a meticulously researched page-turner - the author imparts the sights, sounds, and even smells of an ancient time, ancient cultures, and an ancient naval battle that imparts important lessons for today's turbulent world.

I've read one other book my Barry Strauss, the well-written Anatomy of Error. I'm not an ancient warfare historian (I get frustrated by the amount of things they don't know about such events) but I enjoyed his previous book so I bought this one on a whim. I wasn't disappointed.

Strauss is at his best discussing the sources he uses in a book like this, and why he believes one account of something over another. The book relies heavily on Herodotus (as I gather you must if you write about this period: there's too little other information, apparently) and follows his account of the battle pretty closely. The action itself is often murky, because Herodotus sometimes even disagrees with himself, and other chroniclers disagree with him also. The result is an interesting discussion of what might have happened and what certainly did. It's very illuminating to see how Ancient historians go about weighing the evidence they are confronted with.

Given that Salamis was one of the most important events of Ancient History, this is a very good discussion of the battle and its impact on the history of the world. I recommend it.

With something over a thousand ships taking part, the Battle of Salamis was without question the largest naval battle in ancient times, and indeed not many battles since have had more (1,300 at Okinawa, almost 5,000 ships at D-Day). Salamis is one of those battles that is still studied in history. The little guy (300+ ships) beat the heavy weight navy of the time. They did it with supurb tactics that emphasised their strengths while outsmarting the Persians.

This extensively researched book is centered on the naval battle, but it is set in its place with descriptions of other parts of the war. This includes the battle at Thermopylae where Leonidas and the Spartans were defeated. It also includes an amazing amount of detail on the two countries, their cultures and the times in general.

Finally I have to say that the authors writing style makes this read like a Tom Clancy novel. It's filled with technical details, heros and ordinary men. Not a big book, it is a delight to read.

This book highlights one of the most important turning point battles in all of human history, the battle of Salamis. The reader will be especially interested in this epic tale if he ponders such historical "what if" questions (eg what if Stonewall Jackson wasn't shot and helped Lee win at Gettsburg?, what if the Axis developed the Bomb first?, what if the Muslim invasion wasn't turned back at Tours?, etc, etc.) Don't be fooled, Strauss does none of this speculation, yet gives the intelligent reader enough to ponder to do it own his own.

Salamis, as the reader learns, deserves a place at the table of such historical events. The Persians in 480 BC were poised to destroy the Greek culture and with it western civilization in its infancy. They assembled a virtual untouchable land army and had a navy of unprecedented size. The Greeks, however, were actually the unorganized band of backwater militia for whom victory seems unlikely. If the Persians win, do they take the Pelopenese? Italy? No Pericles? Aristotle? Plato? Alexander? Foundations of democracy? Would Christianity have spread with the acceleration it did without the ball bearings of a dominant Greek culture in the region?

Strauss does an excellent job narrating the events and especially analyzing the battle -- why exactly did the Persians not win? Such analysis is rare, especially of ancient history. Strauss draws mostly, of course, from Herodotus, a source whom historians will argue the veracity of, but if not him, who?

The maps were well drawn, easy to interpret and placed at locations in the book where the reader begins to wonder "Where was that place again?" -- Aha! a map!

So next time you and your buddies sit down for a cold round of drinks, throw one back for ole Themistocles, who arguably did more to advance (save) western civilization than others who have received far more credit!

Highly recommended for the casual, yet serious student of history. An easy read and not so long it takes the reader with a job months to get through!

D. Murrell

It is no pulp history, but it isn't academical highbrow blabbery either. Here is all you want to know about the times and the men who fought on both sides of the most important naval battle of ancient times.

Herodotus is given back the honors he deserves. Whatever we don't quite know for sure the author fills up with plausible explanations according to the way people would act in those times. The vividness is stupendously accomplished. Full of data without seeming tiresome.

A talented historian and writer. Only in the last pages he seems to offer a slight moral assesment, as a lesson to modern political figures to heed. Unworthy of the book overall. Great read. Whatever subject you like to read about.

Oh, and the figure of Themistocles is superb. What a character! Sure to bring hours and hours of discussion among his fans and detractors.

Barry Strauss, a professor at Cornell University, does a wonderful job of engaging the reader. I only had a basic knowledge of this battle and a limited understanding of how consequential it was to the history of western civilization, however, after reading this excellent history I have a much better understanding of its place in ancient history.

Professor Strauss begins by placing the battle in its wider context to the Persian War, which lasted from 499-479 B.C. He briefly takes us through earlier battles of 480 B.C. which lead up to Salamis, including the Naval Battle at Artemisium and the famous land battle at Thermopylae, where Leonidis and his 300 Spartans gained everlasting fame. Finally he leads up to the battle as the Persians sack Athens, and most of the residents take refuge on the horseshoe shaped island of Salamis, which is viewable from the Acropolis. He also mentions how Salamis is the home to the legendary King Ajax, who was famed in Homer's Iliad; it is little sidenotes like these that make Professor Strauss' book so enjoyable to read. He also gives us character portraits of the main participants in the battle, most importantly Themistocles, the wily Athenian Commander and mastermind behind the battle; Xerxes, the Persian King; and Artemisia, the Queen of Halicarnassus in Anatolia.

The true power of the narrative is in the description of the battle itself, as the outnumbered combined Greek fleet took on the faster, more experienced Persians, who had the knowledgeable, seafaring Phoenicians on their side. It took place under the gaze of Xerxes, as well as the enraged, displaced Athenians on Salamis, who took every opportunity to vent their hatred at the unlucky Persian sailors who swam to their shores.

His descriptions of how in a moment of panic, Artemisia, allied with the Persian fleet, rammed one of the Persians ships to avoid certain destruction herself, and then turned it to her advantage, as Xerxes believed it was an enemy ship, and heaped praise on her afterwards as a hero of the battle.

All told Professors Strauss says 200,000 men took part in the battle and one lone woman, Artemisia, an astronomical figure that he converts to modern statistics as being the equivalent of around 20 million people. Among them was Aeschylus the great Athenian tragedian, who took part and wrote a famous play "The Persians" based partly on his personal experiences. He is one of the ancient sources Strauss relies on, along with the "father of history" himself Herodotus, who is quoted frequently and personally interviewed many of the participants. Another important historian drawn upon is the Roman Plutarch, as well as other less known ancients to leave accounts of the battle. He also briefly notes that a young Pericles was one of the displaced Athenian refugees, and notes that the Macedonians allied with the Persians on their march across the Hellespont through Macedonia, led by an ancestor of Alexander the Great, who would later wage a war of retribution for the Persian invasion. He is quite effective at explaining the importance of the Greek trireme, a slower heavier ship compared with the faster Persian triremes, and how it was possible that the Greeks were able to succeed by using the narrow Salamis straits and deception tactics to their advantage.

He then goes on to conclude his story, summarizing the Persian War, which would end a short year later, after the Persians were again routed at Plataea. He also discusses the fate of Themistocles who was eventually banished from Athens and lived the remainder of his days at the Persian court of all places. A rather sad end, he says, for such a great naval commander.

Professor Strauss has written an indispensable, effectively argued chronicle that is a darn good read. He argues that it was a turning point for western civilization, though he does state that he believes the Greeks would have prevailed eventually. I look forward to reading his future works on the period, and applaud him for bringing such an ancient naval encounter to life so readably.

Barry Strauss' narrative of this complex ancient naval battle brings the story to life with rich details and a readable, popular narrative style. I found the book fascinating and learned a great deal about the Greeks and Persians -- not just the dry history one reads in text books, but a host of details from the revenge of a eunich to the wardrobe of the first female admiral ever. I highly recommend this book not only to history and war buffs but also to the general reader who likes adventure and lively prose

As an avid reader of military histories I'm often forced to choose between writers who offer intelligent analysis and those who are great storytellers. Strauss is one of only a handful who do both. He portrays characters with a novelist's eye for telling detail and sets scenes with a filmmaker's vision for the epic. This is a must read for any reader of history.