15. Themistocles turned his enemy’s numerical advantage into a disadvantage
Themistocles drew the Persians into a battle whose lines ran north-south, along the Strait of Salamis’ narrow width. That negated the Persian numerical superiority at the point of contact. It also drew the maximum number of Persian ships into restricted waters. By getting the Persians to cram their huge navy into a tight space, Themistocles turned the Persians’ numerical advantage into a disadvantage. Persian ships found themselves packed in an ever tighter space, fouling each other and unable to properly maneuver. Simultaneously, more and more Persian captains, eager to impress Xerxes who was watching the battle from a nearby hilltop, rushed in, adding their ships to the growing jam.
To add to the Persians’ woes, the waters off Salamis were tricky, and while the Greeks knew their secrets, the Persians did not. All those factors combined to bring about a decisive Greek victory, in which the Greeks lost about 40 ships, while the Persians lost about 300. Casualties were even more lopsided than the ship losses, as many Greeks who ended up in the water swam to the safety of nearby Salamis. Persians, by contrast, were either shot by arrows as they neared Salamis, or were slaughtered as soon as they reached shore.
