How did the Athenians defeat the Persian navy?
The Greek commander, Themistocles, then lured the Persian fleet into the narrow waters of the strait at Salamis, where the massed Persian ships had difficulty maneuvering. The Greek triremes then attacked furiously, ramming or sinking many Persian vessels and boarding others.
Who led the Athenian navy at the Battle of Thermopylae?
The Greek resistance tried to halt Persian progress on land at the narrow pass of Thermopylae and at sea nearby in the straits of Artemisium. The Greek army was led by Leonidas, who was estimated to have had around 7,000 men.
Could the Spartans have won the Battle of Thermopylae?
They did not win. They lost the battle and all of them died, and their enemies advanced farther into Greece. About 1400 Greeks fought at Thermopylae, Thespians fought with the Spartans, although it was mostly Spartans that fought to the end of the three day battle.
Did Sparta and Athens fight?
The Peloponnesian War was a war fought in ancient Greece between Athens and Sparta—the two most powerful city-states in ancient Greece at the time (431 to 405 B.C.E.). This war shifted power from Athens to Sparta, making Sparta the most powerful city-state in the region.
What did the Athenians do to expedite victory?
The Athenian people went to their sanctuaries. There they prayed for deliverance. They asked their Gods to expedite their victory. The Athenians refurbished their weapons and moved to the plain of Marathon, where their little band would meet the Persians.
What was the role of the Athenian navy?
The Athenian Navy consisted of 80,000 crewing 400 ships. The backbone of the navy’s manpower was a core of professional rowers drawn from the lower classes of Athenian society. This gave the Athenian fleets an advantage in training over the less professional fleets of its rivals.
Who built up the Athenian navy?
Themistocles
Themistocles, who was alive from 524 to 549 B.C., was largely responsible for developing the Athenian navy.
Do the hot gates still exist?
The hot springs from which the pass derives its name still exist close to the foot of the hill.
Who won Sparta or Athens?
It would be another decade of warfare before the Spartan general Lysander defeated the Athenian fleet at Aegospotami. This defeat led to Athenian surrender. As a result, the Peloponnesian War was concluded. Simultaneous to the end of this conflict came the end of the golden age of ancient Greece.