Sykes' History of Persia - Heritage Institute

XVII REPULSE OF PERSIA BY HELLAS 217
made his winning stroke and saved Hellas by an act of
disloyalty to his colleagues. He sent a messenger to
Xerxes with the intelligence that the Greeks were con-
templating retreat, and that his opportunity to destroy
them had at last come. Accustomed to Greek treachery,
Xerxes decided to trust this information, and despatched
his Egyptian squadron of two hundred ships to close the
western passage between Salamis and Megara. His main
fleet then advanced from Phaleron, and took up station
for the
great battle in three lines on each side of the island
of Psyttaleia, which was occupied by a Persian force.
Xerxes thought success assured and the main object of his
dispositions was to prevent the escape of the Greeks.
Information of the movements of the Persian fleet,
which made it clear that victory alone could save Hellas,
was brought to the Council by Aristides, who had recently
returned from exile. The Greeks fully realized that their
own lives and the lives of their families were at stake.
They had the advantage of homogeneity, and the fact that
the battle was to take place
in narrow waters was an
additional point in their favour. The Persian fleet, on
the other hand, was composed of various
contingents, and,
although there was at first ample sea-room, it came into
contact with the enemy in an area which was too small
for its numbers, and where an advance had to be made in
column, in face of an enemy drawn up in line. But no
lack of courage was shown by the
subjects
of the Great
king, who realized that they were fighting under the eye
of their merciless master.
The famous sea-fight opened favourably for the
Persians. When morning dawned the Greeks, appalled
by the odds, backed their ships almost to the shore ; but
suddenly the courage of despair nerved them to heroism
of the highest order, and they advanced on the enemy.
The Phoenician column, which moved between Psyttaleia
and the mainland, was faced by the Athenians and
Aeginetans ; and the Ionian Greeks, who advanced
between Psyttaleia and Salamis, were opposed by the
Peloponnesian squadrons. The battle was desperately
contested. The Persian numbers were a hindrance rather