Battle of Salamis (Myth)
conceptThe 480 BC naval battle where the Greek fleet destroyed the Persian armada in the straits of Salamis, attributed to the intervention of Ajax and the Aeacidae heroes.
The Myth
The Battle of Salamis was fought in the narrow straits between the island of Salamis and the Attic mainland. Before the battle, the Greeks invoked the heroes Ajax and Telamon, legendary kings of Salamis, sending a trireme to the island of Aegina to summon the spirits of the Aeacidae — descendants of Aeacus, son of Zeus. Themistocles tricked the Persian king Xerxes into attacking in the narrows where superior numbers became a disadvantage. As battle commenced, witnesses reported seeing a divine light from Eleusis and hearing the sacred cry of the Mysteries. A phantom woman appeared above the fleet shouting encouragement. The ghost of Ajax was seen fighting alongside his descendants. Athena, in the form of an owl, perched on Themistocles' trireme. Aeschylus, who fought at Salamis, dramatised the Persian defeat in his play The Persians, performed at the Dionysia in 472 BC.
Parents
Mythological context: Ajax, Aeacidae
Symbols
Fun Fact
Aeschylus fought at Salamis in 480 BC and turned the battle into The Persians — the oldest surviving play in Western theatre — just eight years later in 472 BC. He essentially invented war journalism as drama. His epitaph mentioned only his service at Marathon, not his plays. The man who created Western drama valued his military record more — and his audience, many of whom had rowed at Salamis, watched their own experience transformed into art.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
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