The battle of Thermopylai was a testament to the better military skill of the Greek army. The battle was fought in a narrow pass where numbers were not an immediate threat. There were about eight to ten thousand hoplites against the whole Persian army. Xerxes upon hearing from a scout who was sent to see the numbers of the opposition remarked “how can so few men fight with my army” . Xerxes cocky attitude would be quickly put in check as the Greek forces threw back the Persian army several times. Xerxes elite force the immortals couldn’t even push back the Greek defenders as their spears were too short to make any headway in the pass. After days of fighting the Greeks eventually succumbed to the endless numbers in large part because the Persians found another way around the pass and were able to flank them. Thermopylai was a defeat for the Greeks but their forces took down many more Persians than Persians did Greeks. During the first land battle the first naval battle was too being fought. The allied navy was stationed at Artemision to support the troops at Thermopylai, however upon the approach of the Persian fleet they fled. Luckily for the Greeks a storm wrecked some of the Persian navy upon their approach and the Greeks catching wind of this came back to Artemision in hopes of finishing the damaged fleet. The battle occurred at Aphetai and according to Herodotus the Greeks caught wind of the Persian plan to box them in from a deserter. The Greeks quickly turned their fleet to attack the contingent trying to box them in. In doing so they captured thirty ships and one Lemnian vessel deserted showing “ the disposition of the Asiatic Greeks towards their western kinfolk” . The Persian army was one-third compiled from conquered or medized Greek states so the will to fight their cousins was not as strong as those of the Persians in the fleet. This accounted for the desertion of Lemnian vessel and partially was the reason why the smaller fleet would be able to defeat the bigger navy of the Persians. The other half of the Persian navy then attacked to cut the Greeks off from retreat but a storm hit them before they could do so. With the navies now roughly the same size the Greek prospects of winning went up, but upon hearing that Thermopylai was lost the Greeks retreated. At this time the Peloponnesian allies wanted to fall back to the Isthmus of Corinth and fortify it to have a last stand against Xerxes. This is where the brilliance of Themistokles as a commander saves Greece. He refuses to fall back further than Salamis because the evacuation of Athens had to be supervised. Furthermore, if the fleet were to retreat to the isthmus they would have to fight in open water but at Salamis the fight would be in closed waters, which would give the Greeks a greater chance of victory. The Peloponnesians were not convinced, but Themistokles threatened to remove the Athenian contingent from the navy. With this threat the allies were forced to comply to his wishes because without the navy the defense of the isthmus would be pointless. Themistokles knowing the Greeks were in for a tough fight gave a rousing speech to the crews in the navy. His speech was based on a prophecy heard from the Oracle at Delphi, there it was said “the wooden wall shall not be taken, and this shall help you and your children” . Themistokles took the prophecy and told his men to “Arm then for the fight at sea, for the fleet is your wooden wall” . The recharged crews then sailed towards the Persian fleet and the battle of Salamis was fought. Herodotus’ does not have an account of the battle but the result was a stunn

Some topics in this essay:
Persians Greeks, Picking Darius, Thebes Contributing, Isthmus Corinth, Minor Egypt, Oracle Delphi, Spartan Demaratos, Asiatic Greeks, Persia Xerxes, Greeks Persians, persian army, persian empire, persian navy, greek forces, battle marathon, athenian navy, 480 bc, allied navy, coast asia minor, silver mines, empire levied,