Architects of the Athenian Empire, Part I: Themistocles

Thanks to his gift of foresight, aided by his natural intelligence and a flair for improvization, Themistocles carried through a long-term programme, aimed at making his native city a great imperial power. By Stephen Usher.

Stephen Usher | Published in History Today Volume 17 Issue 5 May 1967

The course of Mediterranean history took a decisive turn in the year 480 B.C., when the Western Greeks under the leadership of Gelon, tyrant of Syracuse, frustrated the last serious attempt by the Carthaginians to dislodge them from Sicily by annihilating their army at the Battle of Himera; while, on the Greek mainland, an even more famous victory was won over the fleet of the Persian invader at Salamis. Together these victories put an end to what may have been a concerted plan on the part of the two greatest Mediterranean powers to carve up the Greek world between them. But the only insurance against similar attempts in the future was the growth of a power within the Greek world that could match the strength of these predatory neighbours. To achieve this, initiative was needed on the part of one city; and this city proved to be Athens.