Battle of Salamis, 23rd September 480BC by Wilhelm von Kaulbach. [print]

Themistocles had chosen the narrow waters at the entrance to the bay well. The Persians could not bring their larger fleet to bear on the smaller Greek fleet and due to the design and manoeuverability of the Greek Triremes, the Greek fleet sailed down the right channel next to Salamis and turned to ram the Persian fleet as it entered the bay. The Persian captains tried frantically to turn their ships but their oars became entangled and the turning manoeuvre caused the ships to run into each other. The Greek Triremes were able to ram the leading Persian ships, disengage and ram again. This was a great victory for Themistocles who lost only 70 ships from his fleet of 380 Triremes, compared to the loss of over 600 ships from the Persian fleet of over 1,000.

Open edition print. LAST 12 AVAILABLE.

Image size 25 inches x 14 inches (65cm x 36cm)