Battle of Salamis 480 BC
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 480 BC | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Ancient (before 500) | derived from year |
| Location | Greece | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Second Persian invasion of Greece | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Achaemenid Empire, ancient Greeks | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 37.9514, 23.5667 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Salamis ( SAL-ə-miss) was a naval battle fought in 480 BC, between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles, and the Achaemenid Empire under King Xerxes. It resulted in a victory for the outnumbered Greeks.
The battle was fought in the straits between the mainland and Salamis, an island in the Saronic Gulf near Athens, and marked the high point of the second Persian invasion of Greece. It was arguably the largest naval battle of the ancient world, and marked a turning point in the invasion.
To block the Persian advance, a small force of Greeks blocked the pass of Thermopylae, while an Athenian-dominated allied navy engaged the Persian fleet in the nearby straits of Artemisium. In the resulting Battle of Thermopylae, the Spartan rearguard of the Greek force was annihilated, while in the Battle of Artemisium the Greeks suffered heavy losses and retreated after the loss at Thermopylae. This allowed the Persians to conquer Phocis, Boeotia, Attica and Euboea. The allies prepared to defend the Isthmus of Corinth while the fleet was withdrawn to nearby Salamis Island.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Salamis (revision 1376844093), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Munychia 404 BC · 8 km
- Battle of Phaleron 1827 · 12 km
- Siege of Athens and Piraeus (87–86 BC) 87 BC · 13 km
- Siege of the Acropolis (1826–1827) 1826 · 13 km
- Siege of Athens (287 BC) 287 BC · 14 km
- Siege of the Acropolis (1687) 1687 · 14 km
Other battles of the Second Persian invasion of Greece
- Battle of Artemisium 480 BC
- Battle of Thermopylae 480 BC
- Battle of Mycale 479 BC
- Battle of Plataea 479 BC
All 5 battles of the Second Persian invasion of Greece →
Browse more: battles in Greece · Europe · Ancient battles