Battle of Artemisium (480 BC): The Sea Fight Beside Thermopylae

The Battle of Artemisium was a series of naval engagements fought over three days in August or September 480 BC off Cape Artemisium in northern Euboea, at the same time as the land battle of Thermopylae. The allied Greek fleet blocked the Persian navy of King Xerxes and fought it to a standstill, but withdrew south when the pass fell. Artemisium gave the Greek crews their first real test against Persia and prepared them for victory at Salamis.

Background: a joint land and sea strategy

In 480 BC Xerxes I invaded Greece with a huge army and a fleet that followed the coast to supply it. The Greek states that resisted, led by Sparta and Athens, decided to stop him in central Greece.

Their plan combined two positions. A small army under the Spartan king Leonidas held the narrow pass of Thermopylae, while the allied fleet anchored at Artemisium, on the northern tip of Euboea. From there it guarded the channel through which Persian ships would have to pass to land troops behind the Greek army.

The fleet was commanded by the Spartan Eurybiades, though Athens provided the largest contingent. Herodotus counts 271 triremes, of which 127 were Athenian, some crewed by men from Plataea. Fifty-three more Athenian ships arrived during the fighting.

Storms before the battle

The Persian fleet anchored off the coast of Magnesia, near Cape Sepias. There was not enough beach for all its ships, so many rode at anchor in rows offshore. A violent storm, which Herodotus calls a “Hellespontian” wind, blew for three days. He says that at least 400 warships were wrecked, along with many supply vessels.

The Persians then moved to Aphetae, opposite Artemisium. Their commanders sent a detachment of 200 ships around the outside of Euboea to close the strait behind the Greeks. According to Herodotus, this squadron was destroyed by another storm off the rocky coast known as the Hollows of Euboea.

Modern historians treat these numbers with caution, but agree that storms reduced Persia’s advantage before and during the battle.

What happened

On the first day the Greeks sailed out late in the afternoon to test the enemy. The Persians, confident in their numbers, moved to surround them. The Greeks formed a defensive circle with their sterns together and rams facing outward, then attacked. Herodotus says they captured 30 Persian ships before nightfall ended the fighting.

On the second day, after news of the reinforcement of 53 Athenian ships, the Greeks again attacked late in the day and destroyed a group of Cilician ships.

On the third day the Persian commanders took the initiative and attacked in force at midday, in a crescent formation. The fighting was fierce and evenly matched. Both sides lost many ships, and Herodotus writes that half the Athenian ships were damaged. The Egyptian contingent fought especially well on the Persian side.

That evening a messenger, Abronichus, arrived by boat from Thermopylae with the news that Leonidas had fallen and the pass was lost. The position at Artemisium now had no purpose, and the Greeks withdrew south that night towards the island of Salamis.

Key people

Eurybiades of Sparta held overall command, as Sparta led the Greek alliance.

Themistocles led the Athenian contingent. Herodotus claims that the Euboeans paid him 30 talents to keep the fleet at Artemisium and that he passed small shares to Eurybiades and the Corinthian commander Adeimantus. Whether or not the story is true, it reflects his reputation for cunning.

During the retreat Themistocles had messages carved at watering places along the coast, urging the Ionian Greeks serving with Persia to desert or fight badly.

Consequences

Artemisium was not a victory, but it had real effects. The Greek crews learned that they could fight the Persian fleet, and the Persians lost many ships to battle and weather.

Within weeks the Persians occupied Athens, and the reunited Greek fleet fought the decisive Battle of Salamis. Many historians see Artemisium as an essential rehearsal for that success.

The poet Pindar, as quoted by Plutarch, praised Artemisium as the place where the Athenians laid the foundation of freedom.

Myths and facts

Myth: Artemisium was a minor sideshow. Ancient writers focused on Thermopylae, but the two battles were planned together, and the fleet’s stand was as important as the army’s.

Myth: the Artemision Bronze is a relic of the battle. The famous bronze god now in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens came from a later shipwreck off the cape and is unrelated to 480 BC.

Timeline

• 480 BC, spring: Xerxes crosses the Hellespont.
• 480 BC, summer: Greek fleet takes station at Artemisium; storm wrecks many Persian ships off Magnesia.
• 480 BC, August or September, day 1: Greeks capture 30 Persian ships.
• 480 BC, day 2: Persian squadron lost off Euboea; Greeks destroy Cilician ships.
• 480 BC, day 3: Major Persian attack; heavy losses on both sides; Thermopylae falls.
• 480 BC, September: Greek fleet withdraws to Salamis and wins the decisive battle there.

Why it matters

Artemisium, together with Thermopylae, delayed the Persian advance and tested the Greek navy in battle for the first time. The experience and confidence gained there helped make possible the victory at Salamis that saved Greece.