The year 2020 may not be the best time to travel with the pandemic. And yet, who does not want to discover the islands of the Aegean Sea? I offer you a safe and virtual journey through time to an island with many names and a tumultuous past. The name by which this magical place is often mentioned in ancient Greek literature is Thera. Pindar, who takes so many ancient… Read more
The Battle of Eurymedon After Eion, Skyros, and Naxos, the next mission for the Athenian Stratēgós Kimon came in either 469 or 466 BCE. After the siege of Skyros, he put in at the Piraeus. There he arranged for repairs and general supplies, and added more triremes to his fleet. The existing ships were designed by Themistoklēs with a focus on speed and maneuverability; the new design of Kimon had… Read more
The siege of Eion In 478 BCE, after Pausanias had been recalled from Byzantion, the leadership of the Hellenic League was taken over by the Athenian stratēgós Kimon II.[1] The remaining members of the Hellenic League, assembled in a council [sunédrion] on the holy island of Delos, decided to form an alliance led by Athens, while Sparta and its allies withdrew into the original Peloponnesian League. The objective of this… Read more
In the spring of 479 BCE, although defeated at Salamis, the Persians were still in control in most of the Ionian cities. Their citizens revolted against this and asked Athens for support. In response, 40 triremes of the remaining Athenian fleet, under command of Xanthippus, joined the allied fleet of 110 triremes which was under the command of King Leutychides II of Sparta. They defeated the Persians at Mykale in… Read more
In the spring of 479 BCE, although defeated at Salamis, the Persians were still in control in most of the Ionian cities. Their citizens revolted against this and asked Athens for support. In response, 40 triremes of the remaining Athenian fleet, under command of Xanthippus, sailed from to Delos where they joined the allied fleet of 110 triremes which was under the command of King Leutychides II of Sparta, who… Read more