Themistocles

Themistocles' Career

• -He started off as a politician, and his first major achievement was the development of the harbour at Piraeus in Athens.
• -Themistocles engineered the circumstances for the Greek victory at salamis, by persuading Eurybiades.
• -He became the governor of Magnsesia by King Artaxerxes I.

Themistocles: Trickster or Hero?

• -Themistocles sent a slave, Sicinnus, to the Persians fleet. He had said that Themistocles wished Persian king well, and also said that the Greeks were afraid and were planning their escape, and suggested that it would be better to attack them. The Persians believed him, and prepared to fight the next day.
• - When Xerxes fled from Salamis, Themistocles suggested that they cut them off from getting to the Hellespont, and just get rid of the bridge entirely. This led to him being accused of working for Persia (and also for treason) because this would have suggested that Themistocles was intentionally keeping the Persians in Greece and helping them take over Greece.
• -When the war was finished, Themistocles threatened smaller islands surrounding Greece who had Medised to help them pay for the Athenian fleet, and when they refused to pay or were unable to, Themistocles threatened to send over Greek forces and capture them by siege.

Themistocles' Character

• -Themistocles was seen as a trickster, always out to get what he could.
• -Plutarch (play writer) gives various clues to Themistocles’ character: he was keen to make money, may have been generous, very ambitious, well-loved by the people, a reliable arbitrator in disputes and keen to be in a leading position in the state.