LEADERS & COMMANDERS
THEMISTOCLES OF ATHENS
HIS FIRM BELIEF IN NAVAL POWER SAVED GREEK FREEDOM c.525 – 459 BCE ATHENS
The Greek who was the most responsible for defeating the second Persian invasion in 480 BCE was Themistocles of the city-state of Athens. As an archon of Athens, he foresaw that the Persian threat had only receded following the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, and had not disappeared entirely.
In 483 BCE A new vein of silver was discovered at the Laurium mines. Knowing that Athens would need a powerful navy for its defence, he persuaded his fellow citizens to spend this new income, not as individual disbursements, but on
