The Greeks engaged the larger Persian navy at the Battle of Artemisium in 480 BCE to stall the Persian invasion by sea while Leonidas fought at Thermopylae by land. Over three days of naval battles, the Greeks were numerically outmatched but used maneuverability to their advantage. Though they suffered losses on the third day, storms destroyed many Persian ships sailing around Euboea. With the Persian navy weakened, the Greeks withdrew after learning of the loss at Thermopylae, having successfully delayed the full might of the Persian fleet.

1. 1
Thermopylae &
Artemesium

2. .
Greece and Persia

3. The Battle of Marathon
• Persians and Athenians
clashed at Marathon
• Persians were unexpectedly
defeated
• Darius’ son Xerxes planned
another attack in 480 BCE

4. The Battle of
Thermopylae• Persians vs. small group of Spartans
and allies
• Spartans held off Persians for 7 days
• Persians won battle
• Meanwhile, Athens prepared for
Persian invasion
• Naval engagement at Artemesium
occurs at same time

8. ArtemisiumArtemisium
Athens: 127Athens: 127
Corinth: 40Corinth: 40
Megara: 20Megara: 20
Aegina: 18Aegina: 18
Lacedaemon: 10Lacedaemon: 10
Commander was the
Spartan
EURYBIADES
‘At an earlier stage it
had been suggested
that the Athenians
should command the
Greek navy but there
was resistance to this
and the Athenians
gave way. They
considered that the
survival of Greece was
the greatest priority
and reckoned that t
dispute over who
should lead would be
fatal

9. HERODOTUS: The fleet (of the Persians) the Greeks saw facing them at
Artemisium was in a far better state and far larger than they had
expected. They were alarmed and began to plan retreat.
Realising this, the Euboeans begged Eurybiades to stay and give them a
little time to move their children and households to safety. They could not
persuade Eurybiades but they did manage to bribe the Athenian general,
Themistocles, with 30 talents to ensure that the Greek fleet stayed where
it was and fought off the coast of Euboea. Themistocles managed this by
giving Eurybiades five talents out of this sum… Only one other general,
Adimantus the Corinthian, was unwilling to follow Eurybiades’ lead;
Themistocles sent him three talents and he too was won over. So the
Euboeans got what they wanted and Themistocles gained from the deal
as well, secretly keeping the rest of the money
The Euboeans wanted safety for their island
The generals were paid off

10. Artemisium
The narrow waters were an advantage to the Greeks, who had small,
maneuverable triremes

11. BEFORE THE BATTLE: PERSIAN MOVEMENTS
The Persians arrived at
dawn and had heard the
Greek fleet was small.
When they saw it, they
wanted to attack
immediately BUT they
waited, ‘they did not want
a single Greek to escape.’
PLAN: They sailed 200
ships around Euboea to
the Euripus, to bar the
Greeks’ retreat.
Artemisium
Euripus strait

12. Scyllias the diver
Scyllias, from Scione, was part of the Persian fleet. He had long wanted
to defect to the Greeks though.
1.He dived into the sea at Aphetae and did not come up until he
reached Artemisium, swimming 10 miles (16km) underwater
2.He got to Artemisium by boat
Provides intelligence about the wrecked Persian ships at Cape Sepias
AND about the 200 ships sailing around Euboea

13. CAPE SEPIAS –
Persian wrecked
ships
ARTEMISIUM –
where Greek fleet
is
APHETAE –
where
Persian ships
are

14. DAY 1: THE BATTLE BEGINS
Greeks wanted to stay in a defensive position during the day
and put to sea at midnight and move against the ships coming
around Euboea.
No attack came, so by late afternoon, they attacked the
Persians
The Persians thought the Greeks were mad to attack with
such a small fleet.
The Greeks gave a signal and
the ships formed in a circle.
They then attacked.

15. DAY 1
• Day 1 was inconclusive.
• Persians did less well than they
had expected.
• During the day, one Greek ship
from the Persians deserted; the
Athenians rewarded them after
the war
Greeks
Persians

16. ‘It rained heavily and
thundered during the night. The
corpses and wreckage from the
battle were driven to Aphetae by
the storm; they washed up
against the prows of the Persian
ships and became entangled
with their oars. This and the
noise of the storm alarmed the
Persians greatly.’
Evening of Day 1
‘That night was much worse for the ships sailing around
Euboea, however. The same storm hit them in the open
sea and it was the end for them.‘
‘This was brought about by Zeus himself in order that
thee Greek and Persian forces should be more evenly
matched.’

17. DAY 2
53 more Athenian ships
arrive
The Persians made no move all
day after the sufferings of the
night
The Greeks are
encouraged
They hear about the total
destruction of the
barbarian forces off
Euboea
The Athenians waited until the same hour as the day
before, then sailed out and attacked some Cilician ships,
sank them and sailed back to Artemisium as night fell

18. DAY 3
The Persians, angered by the damage
done to them and fearing Xerxes’ anger,
did not wait for the Greeks to make the
first move but ordered their fleet to sail
out around midday.
The Persians sailed towards the Greeks in a crescent formation,
intending to encircle the Greeks. The Greeks held their position, then
moved forwards.
The Greeks lost many ships and men,
but the barbarians lost even more. The
Egyptians fought best for the Persians
and the Athenians for the Greeks
The Greeks took possession of the
wreckage. The Athenians suffered
worst of all: half their ships were
damaged.

19. Natural harbours in Euboea
• Themistocles called the generals together :
1. light fires
2. slaughter the Euboean sheep (better that they should eat them, than
the enemy)
• The Greeks decided to withdraw south when they hear about the loss at
Thermopylae
• Themistocles took the best Athenian ships and sailed down the coast, calling at
the beaches where there was drinking water.
• Themistocles inscribed messages in the rocks on the shores, encouraging the
Ionians to defect from the Persian army:
• “Remember you are descended from us and this war was begun by you and not
by us”

20. Persian navy sails
down towards
Athens

21. The significance of Artemisium
Because of their losses, the Persian fleet was no longer big
enough to be able to divide itself: half to attack Peloponnese
and contain Greek fleet at the same time