The Athenian ships, a hundred and eighty in number, had each eighteen men on deck, four of whom were archers, and the rest heavy-armed soldiers.  Themistokles now chose the time for the battle as judiciously as he had chosen the place, and would not bring his triremes into line of battle before the fresh wind off the sea, as is usual in the morning, raised a heavy swell in the straits.  This did not damage the low flat ships of the Greeks, but it caught the high-sterned Persian ships, over-weighted as they were with lofty decks, and presented their broadsides to the Greeks, who eagerly attacked them, watching Themistokles because he was their best example, and also because Ariamenes, Xerxes’s admiral, and the bravest and best of the king’s brothers, attacked him in a huge ship, from which, as if from a castle, he poured darts and arrows upon him.

But Ameinias of Dekeleia and Sokles of Pedia, who were both sailing in the same vessel, met him stem to stem.  Each ship crashed into the other with its iron beak, and was torn open.  Ariamenes attempted to board the Greek ship, but these two men set upon him with their spears, and drove him into the sea.  His body was noticed by Queen Artemisia floating amongst the other wreckage, and was by her brought to Xerxes.

XV.  At this period of the battle it is said that a great light was seen to shine from Eleusis, and that a great noise was heard upon the Thriasian plain near the sea, as though multitudes of men were escorting the mystic Iacchus in procession.  From the place where these sounds were heard a mist seemed to spread over the sea and envelop the ships.  Others thought that they saw spirit-forms of armed men come from Aegina, and hold their hands before the ships of the Greeks.  These it was supposed were the Aeakid heroes, to whom prayers for help had been offered just before the battle.  The first man to capture a ship was Lykomedes, an Athenian captain, who cut off its ensign and dedicated it to Apollo with the laurel crown at the Temple at Phlyae.

In the narrow straits the Persians were unable to bring more than a part of their fleet into action, and their ships got into each other’s way, so that the Greeks could meet them on equal terms, and, although they resisted until evening, completely routed them, winning, as Simonides calls it, that “glorious and famous victory,” the greatest exploit ever achieved at sea, which owed its success to the bravery of the sailors and the genius of Themistokles.

XVI.  After this naval defeat, Xerxes, enraged at his failure, endeavoured to fill up the strait with earth, and so to make a passage for his land forces to Salamis, to attack the Greeks there.  Now Themistokles, in order to try the temper of Aristeides, proposed that the fleet should sail to the Hellespont, and break the bridge of boats there, “in order,” said he, “that we may conquer Asia in Europe.”  But Aristeides disapproved of this measure, saying, “Hitherto we have fought against the Persian king, while he has been at his ease; but if we shut him up in Greece, and drive the chief of so large an army to despair, he will no longer sit quietly under a golden umbrella to look on at his battles, but will strain every nerve and superintend every operation in person, and so will easily retrieve his losses and form better plans for the future.”