Battle of Salamis

The Battle of Salamis was a naval battle fought between the forces of Greece and the forces of Persia under Xerxes' invasion of Greece. It was fought on September 23, 480 B.C. shortly after the Persians occupied the city of Athens. Sent to defend the narrow straight by Salamis, the Greek fleet could prevent itself from being flanked and ignore the advantage of superior numbers. Literally hundreds of land battles took place across the jammed decks of the jammed vessels. Man for man the Greek hoplite was far superior to his Persian counterpart. In the end the Persians broke off leaving half their fleet of 700 ships sunk. The Greeks lost only 40 ships.

With the Greek victory and the loss of Persian control of the seas, Xerxes was forced to cancel his plans for the immediate conquest of Greece.

Sources

Encyclopedia of Military History, Dupuy & Dupuy, 1979