Themistocles and the Persian War

Paper Summary:

Themistocles, archon of Athens in the 5th century BC, was a shrewd and calculating man whose actions directly precipitated the victory of the Greek city-states over Persia in the Persian war. The paper explores how his actions saved Athens, the more liberal city-states of Greece, and, thus, what we now consider Western civilization, but at the cost of manipulative, almost cruel actions.

From the Paper:

"The Persian War was a watershed moment in the Greek psyche; the victory of Greek democracy and liberty over the far more powerful forces of tyranny and subjugation fixed a noble and god-given purpose in the Greek mindset. This watershed moment of 480-479 B.C. hinged upon three absolutely critical battles at: Marathon, Plataea and Salamis. The archon of Athens at the time of the battle at Salamis, Themistocles, was integral in orchestrating the victory of the allied Greek city-states over Persia. Themistocles? indispensability was a result of his use of every possible tactic, no matter how treacherous, to assure two key parts of the Salami victory: that Athens would be a naval presence to be reckoned with, and that the Greeks would navally engage Persia on favorable terms. Therefore, the statement ?The Greeks could not have won the war with Persia without Athens and Athens could not have won without Themistocles. Not just one city but one man was indispensable to victory,? rings very true. Although a number of factors were required to transpire in Themistocles? favor for Greek success and survival, he still played a crucial part in the victory."

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