Salamis << SAL uh mihs or `sah` lah MEES >> is a Greek island in the Saronic Gulf, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of Athens. It covers 37 square miles (95 square kilometers) and has about 37,000 people. Much of the land is rocky, mountainous, and lacking in vegetation. Most of the people commute to jobs in Athens or work in the island’s shipping industry. Some farmers grow vegetables and grapes. Because the island has an irregular crescent shape, Salamis is also known as Koulouri, which means baker’s crescent.
Salamis was the birthplace of the Greek poet and playwright Euripides. In legend, it is the home of the mythical Greek warrior Ajax.
The Greeks and Persians fought a great sea battle near Salamis in 480 B.C. When the Persians advanced after the Battle of Thermopylae, the Athenians sought safety on Salamis. At least 800 Persian ships met fewer than 400 Greek ships in the Bay of Salamis. The Greeks, led by the Athenian statesman and soldier Themistocles, won an overwhelming victory. Nearly half the Persian fleet was lost. It was a crucial battle for the Greeks, who had reached a desperate point in the Persian wars. The Athenian playwright Aeschylus immortalized the Battle of Salamis in his play The Persians.
See also Aristides; Themistocles; Xerxes I.
