Page "Themistocles" Paragraph 20

In the aftermath of Thermopylae, Boeotia fell to the Persians, who then began to advance on Athens.

The Peloponnesian Allies prepared to now defend the Isthmus of Corinth, thus abandoning Athens to the Persians.

From Artemisium, the Allied fleet sailed to the island of Salamis, where the Athenian ships helped with the final evacuation of Athens.

The Peloponnesian contingents wanted to sail to the coast of the Isthmus, in order to concentrate forces with the army.

However, Themistocles tried to convince them to remain in the Straits of Salamis, invoking the lessons of Artemisium ; " battle in close conditions works to our advantage ".

After threatening to sail with the whole Athenian people into exile in Sicily, he eventually persuaded the other Allies, whose security after all relied on the Athenian navy, to accept his plan.

Therefore, even after Athens had fallen to the Persians, and the Persian navy had arrived off the coast of Salamis, the Allied navy remained in the Straits.

Themistocles appears to have been aiming to fight a battle which would cripple the Persian navy, and thus guarantee the security of the Peloponnesus.