on Athens. The defeat they had suffered in 490BC at Marathon was a

thorn in their side. Xerxes' father Darius had begun the planning of this

invasion and after he died it became Xerxes' number one priority. Little

did he know that he was going to be outclassed at every move, although

the Greeks were heavily outnumbered. The exact numbers of each side

are unknown; as Herodotus, our major source, is prone to exaggeration.

Many factors gave the Greeks an advantage. The union of the states; the

superiority of the soldiers at one-on-one combat; the strength of the

naval fleet and the fact that the battles took place on Greek soil were all

points in the Greeks favour. Afterwards they stated that they were 'free'

men; not forced to fight and this was the reason for victory. one man

could see all these advantages and put them to good use. He was once

told "you are going to be a great man one way or the other, either for

good or evil." (1) "Themistocles was a man who showed an

unmistakable natural genius; ....He was particularly remarkable at

looking into the future and seeing there the hidden possibilities for good

leader of this union as they had the most military experience and had the

and forced the withdrawal of the barbarians. The Greeks had used all

courage and wisdom of his men to their full potential. The combination

Greece, Themistocles used his genius for good not evil. He was the one

of Salamis. " Themistocles appears to have chosen the time for the

Many Greeks wanted to get in the ships and flee but Themistocles

Persian ships were difficult to manouvre in the swell and breeze that

Some common words found in the essay are:
King Xerxes, Greece Themistocles, Plutarch Themistocles, Thucydides Themistocles, Aristedes Themistocles, Hellespont Xerxes, Laurion Athenians, Persians Greek, Thermopylae Thermistocles, Athens Greeks, local knowledge, plutarch themistocles, defeat persians, king xerxes, one-on-one combat, greek fleet, superior one-on-one combat, fight barbarians, persians greek, salamis themistocles, chosen battle,
Approximate Word count = 1356
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)