This exciting new program marks historic naval encounters and begins with a superb release depicting the Battle of Salamis 480 BC, the first great naval battle recorded in history.

Battle of Salamis 480 BC
A pivotal encounter of Greco-Persian Wars in the 5th century BC, the Battle of Salamis resulted in an improbable victory for the vastly outnumbered ships of the Greek alliance.

Greek commander Themistocles devised a brilliant strategy that lured the large Persian fleet into the narrow strait between the island of Salamis and the Athenian port-city of Piraeus. Here the Greek triremes attacked furiously, ramming and boarding the tightly-packed formation of Persian ships which had difficulty turning in the restricted channel.

Estimates put Greek losses as low as 40 ships out of a total of 380. However, much larger Persian fleet suffered greatly, losing hundreds of ships during the battle.