by Menelaos Ludemis (1912-1977)
excerpt Themistocles was standing at the bow of his ship, which was beyond the battle line, so he could oversee the entire battle, staring inquisitively at the enemy. He could even see the grudging eyes of the warriors, filled with hatred. But the Persian battle line still remained unflinching. Themistocles became pale. He was dripping with cold sweat. What if Xerxes wouldn't take the bait? If the enemy continued to remain motionless, everything would be lost. But all of a sudden, something sparkled from mount Egàleo's terrace. It was Xerxes' signal! Suddenly, a wild roar shook the strait. The oars lifted up in the air as if they were dark omens, and then with a deafening yell they were plunged into the sea.The wall rushed, coming closer and closer, ready to crush the Hellenes. Then Themistocles raised his thunder-like voice."Go back! (Anacrùsate!)"The oars were raised in the air, and with a superhuman effort they plunged into the water, while the ships headed in the opposite direction. The Greeks were retreating. The shouts from the Persian camp turned into a frenzy. But Themistocles was still worried. Would they follow them? Would they rush to their pursuit? These questions troubled the organizer of this deadly game. "If they stop their pursuit, then everything crumbles apart," he said to himself. The Greek triremes floated back to their initial starting point. Then the trireme commander Aminìas gave a terrible shout:"You crazy fools! For how long are you going to go back?"But the brave man was to fast to judge because at the same time, Themistocles' voice thundered more powerful than his."Pròsso!!! They fell into our trap! Full speed ahead!!!"The stunning game of the Athenian kept unfolding. Phase three started."Pròsso!!" shouted with delirious enthusiasm Aminìas, who had just understood Themistocles' genius maneuver.The oars were now shaken like swan necks, splashing the warriors who had taken their fighting positions, on deck.The first to plunge into battle was Themistocles' trireme. Immediately there followed Aminìas'. This legendary warrior rushed so enthusiastically into battle that he crushed in two the first Phoenician trireme that sailed against him. The Phoenicians fell into the sea at once. After this, the holy trireme of the Ajacides blindly plunged over the Persian line. The third in battle was Democritus, the Naxian. The courage of this warrior caused such panic that only his apparition made the Persians flee for their salvation. Democritus sank five triremes and captured one, together with its crew.The battle soon turned into a catastrophe. The Hellenes were obviously in advantage. But in a little while the victory wasn't so certain anymore. At some point, victory shouts were heard from the Persian camp. What had happened? The Peloponnesians had unexpectedly fled the battle. The Samians who fought next to the Medes had captured two of their triremes. Adìmandos was so terrified, that he aroused the indignation of his own crew. Themistocles sensed the danger but it was impossible for him to prevent it. He was caught in the middle of a dreadful fight with the Phoenicians. He had realized that those were the metal core of the Persian fleet and decided to take them out of the battle first. He attacked the Phoenician line in a triangle, with Aminias' help. Their endeavor was a success. The Phoenician line of defense was broken; half of their ships were isolated or sunk. The rest of them fled and in a little while they crushed into the cliffs of Psitàleia Island. But the right wing of the Hellenes' defense broke apart. The Persians were victorious there. Evriviádes and Adìmandos proved to be mediocre commandants – one of them being even cowardly. The Eginites, seeing this shame and realizing that it was impossible for the Athenians to come to their help, were charging furiously to defend their right wing. There, Polìcritos, of Critos, did valiant deeds. But the Eginites were facing the enemy pressure with great difficulty. The furious Ionians were fighting there. The Eginites began to retreat. Then, Themistocles intervened, after he dispersed the Persian center of offence. A fierce battle started. That sector of the Persian army was defended by the Cilicians' strategist Siènesis. But Themistocles had already plunged over these ones, attacking them from the flank. That is where their commander Siènesis fell. Panic was created. The disoriented Persian center started running. The triremes crushed into the cliffs. Others were heading towards the right flank, but instead of coming to their help, they generated an even greater crowd. Polìcritos triumphed here. Fighting like the god Ares, he screamed loudly so he could be heard by all:"Do you see how the Persian lover Polìcritos, fights for Greece?"Themistocles' brave warriors forgot their fatigue and fought like Homeric heroes… The Eginites were filled with the same enthusiasm, racing with them. Xerxes was maddened by fury. He was screaming hysterically, sending furious orders to his brother Arivignes, the commander of the Carians and of the Ionians. But the disorderly retreat and the madness were of so great proportions that the Persian triremes were crashing into one another, sinking… Others were crushing among them, breaking their oars and desperately trying to get back to shore.Themistocles recognized the ship of the commander of the Persian fleet and plunged towards it. But the Persians recognized him and sent a shower of arrows toward his ship. Themistocles would have certainly been defeated if the brave Aminias hadn't intervened. This hero thrust the bow of his own ship in one side of the Persian ship, so boldly that the brave Arivignes pulled his sword, and calling his troops, was the first to jump on the Athenian trireme's deck. But the Hellenes had thrown him into the sea. The king's bravest brother sank together with his trireme.Then Artemisia entered the scene of battle. Risking being pierced by arrows, she came in a hurry to the place of the crash and succeeded in recovering the body of the king's brother.Form his throne, Xerxes, seeing how that brave woman fought while the men were running away, shouted through his teeth:"Men have become women and women have become men!"But Xerxes' admiration was opposed by the hatred of the Hellenes. They were very troubled by the fact that a Hellene woman was fighting so furiously and firmly against her own people. This deed antagonized especially Aminias, who made an oath to the gods that he would catch her alive. But the smart woman used a clever strategy to deceive her pursuer. Unexpectedly, she saw the ship of Damasitimos, the king of the Calindanes, floating by. The emblems of the ship were clearly visible. It was a Persian ship… Without thinking much, Artemisia rushed onto it and sank it. Aminias, seeing Artemisia's trireme sinking a Persian ship, thought it was a Hellene and ended the pursuit. But he realized his error fast: unfortunately, Artemisia was far away!The retreat had become a general, shameful state of affairs. Xerxes took his throne and left for Faleros. At the battle scene remained only the troops that had set ashore on Psitaleia Island. The retreat of the ships was so unorganized and rushed that their commanders had forgotten all about them. Aristides, who had debarked in the meantime, caught up with them and butchered them.Now, the strait looked like a lake filled with shipwrecks and corpses. Two hundred triremes had been destroyed, and just as many had been captured together with their crews.This was the end of the battle of Salamina, whose echoes remained alive though centuries. Its glory will forever be unfading.The modest strait has remained unchanged until this day, to remind people that what is truly important in this world is not the number of people, but their quality and their guiding ideals… It is not blind violence, but the noble, vigilant spirit. Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 1973
by Menelaos Ludemis (1912-1977)
by Menelaos Ludemis (1912-1977)