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If there is a single moment in time in which the fate of Western civilization was decided, it is the battle of Marathon, 490 BC. The Persians under their king Darius landed in Greece, only 26 miles from Athens itself. A vastly outnumbered Greek force marched out to meet them. The Persians had already conquered huge swathes of the Middle East and South Asia. A relative handful of quarrelsome Greeks seemed unlikely to pose much of a challenge to them. But they were. When the day was done, the Persians were vanquished. The idea of Persian invincibility was destroyed forever....

Step into the world of ancient naval warfare as we bring the Athenian trireme to life. From the rhythmic sounds of 170 oars moving in unison to the overwhelming presence of this mighty warship, this video captures the sensory experience and tactical brilliance of the trireme in battle. It showcases how these vessels were not only technological marvels but also highly impactful on ancient maritime history.The Athenian Trireme in Action: Power, Precision, and Dominance at Sea | 7:41IEEE Reach | 587 subscribers | 67,904 views | November 30, 2024

Danish and Greek archaeologists have discovered the remains of one of the largest building complexes of the ancient world -- a naval base that 2,500 years ago housed Athens's enormous fleet. Featuring massive harbor fortifications and sheds designed to hold hundreds of war ships called triremes, the base played a key role in the most decisive naval battle of antiquity. The remains lay hidden under the water of the Mounichia fishing and yachting harbor in the Piraeus. University of Copenhagen archaeologist Bjørn Lovén, who led the expedition as part of the Zea Harbor Project, identified and excavated six ship-sheds that...

After the Battle of Marathon ten years earlier, in 490 BCE, the Athenian statesman Themistocles outlined a military defensive program against the Persian invaders that was based entirely on sea power. As Plato put it, "Themistocles robbed his fellow-citizens of spear and shield, and degraded the people of Athens to the rowing-pad and the oar." Construction work in Piraeus had already begun in 493 BCE (also on Themistocles advice).  Now, recent underwater excavations conducted by ZHP Project, which combines land and underwater archaeology of the ancient Zea and Mounichia harbors in Piraeus, have uncovered naval bases and huge fortifications that...

Search on for secret of Greek sea battle A team of experts are to trawl the Aegean for triremes, the ships that were crucial to the victory over Xerxes of Persia Helena Smith in Athens Monday June 20, 2005 The Guardian (UK) They were hopelessly outnumbered, but even then the Greeks knew it would be the battle that could change history. The Asian invaders had entered the Aegean. The "comeliest of boys" had been castrated; the throats of the "goodliest" soldiers ripped out. Mounted on his marble throne, Xerxes, Persia's formidable warrior king, looked over the bay of Salamis, confident...

Gods.Resolved by the Boule and the People.Themistocles son of Neocles of Phrearrhioi made the motion. The city shall be entrusted to Athena, Athens' protectress, and to the other gods, all of them, for protection and defense against the Barbarian on behalf of the country. The Athenians in their entirety and the aliens who live in Athens shall place their children and their women in Troezen, [to be entrusted to Theseus ?] the founder of the land. The elderly and movable property shall for safety be deposited at Salamis. The treasurers and the priestesses are to remain on the Acropolis and...

Our main sources for early Hoplite warfare come from the writings of Herodotus, who was born in the Greek city of Halicarnassus, on the southwest coast of Asia Minor, in 484 bc. He was an Ionian Greek who traveled widely and lived for a while in Athens, before settling in Thurii, a Greek colony in southern Italy. He died about 424 BC. We also get information from Thucydides, an Athenian who wrote of the Pelopponnesian Wars. We can also find references in the works of several of the Greek playwrights' material on Hoplite warfare. We can find an account of...

After the first Persian wars an exceptional rich vein was discovered in the Attic silver mines of Laurium. This gave new opportunities for Athens. One group led by Aristides wanted the profits to be spread out over the population, as it was normal in those days, others who were led by Themistocles wanted something different. He was the only one who had correctly understood the message of the oracle of Delphi that Athens should be protected by a wooden wall: he debated that Athens should built a fleet of 200 triremes. He pointed out to the Athenians that a strong...

NEW Episode: Victor Davis Hanson.... ``The Savior Generals: How Five Commanders Saved Wars That Were Lost -- From Ancient Greece to Iraq.''...10:00 - 11:00 PM EST on CSPAN2 ...The author discusses his new book. (-VDH is as good a speaker as an author)

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When the Persians decided to add Greece to their already enormous Empire at the beginning of the fifth century BC, the Greek city states obviously objected violently. They formed an alliance under the double leadership of Sparta and Athens. The Spartans led operations on land while Athens did the same on sea... At the time, Herodotus wrote down the deeds of the Athenians and Spartans, making sure that Themistocles and Leonidas remained in people's memory. Themistocles had pounded Athenian heads until they built the navy that would defeat the Persians at Salamis under his command; King Leonidas of Sparta held...