Themistocles of Athens: Ancient Fighter for Freedom
Born in Athens around the year 528 B.C., Themistocles was the son of Neocles, a man of modest background, and his non-Athenian wife. Although he was a member of the ancient Lycomid family, he was considered of low birth, something of a political handicap in that era. He nevertheless rose to become a statesman and military leader of tremendous significance in the history of ancient Greece. Themistocles was an extraordinary man. The late J.B. Bury of the University of Cambridge states, “The greatest statesman of this critical period in the history of Athens, greater than either of his two rivals, Xanthippus and Aristides, greater than the hero of Marathon himself, was Themistocles.” Another historian, Chester Starr of the University of Michigan, says of Themistocles that he “possessed amazing powers of foresight, persuasiveness, and sharp logical ability.” And the military historian Major-General J.F.C. Fuller states that Themistocles was “among the greatest” of the great men of that time.
Elected an archon (one of 12 magistrates) of Athens in 493, Themistocles is believed to have participated in the Battle of Marathon in 490, possibly as the strategos (general or military leader) of his phyle, or tribe. He was particularly concerned with the naval strength of Athens, since that city-state and Aegina had been at war, a war that was primarily naval. In addition, there were always in the back of the minds of Athenians thoughts about the possibility of another Persian invasion. For those reasons, Themistocles moved the main port of Athens from Phaleron, which was vulnerable to attack, to Piraeus, which was a natural harbor and more easily defended, and which he ordered fortified.
It was around that time that a rich deposit of silver was discovered at an Athenian state-owned mine in nearby Laurium, south of Athens. It was proposed by some politicians that the proceeds from the silver be distributed to all Athenian citizens. But Themistocles, especially mindful of the Persian threat, demanded that the money be used to build warships, greatly expanding the navy of Athens. The ruling assembly agreed, and Athens soon possessed a naval force of 200 triremes, the largest navy among the Greek city-states. Had Themistocles not insisted on that dramatic expansion of Athens’ navy, it is difficult to see how the Greeks could have survived the coming war with Persia.
JBS Member or ShopJBS.org Customer?
Sign in with your ShopJBS.org account username and password or use that login to subscribe.
Subscribe Now
- 24 Issues Per Year
- Digital Edition Access
- Exclusive Subscriber Content
- Audio provided for all articles
- Unlimited access to past issues
- Cancel anytime.
- Renews automatically
Subscribe Now
- 24 Issues Per Year
- Print edition delivery (USA)
*Available Outside USA - Digital Edition Access
- Exclusive Subscriber Content
- Audio provided for all articles
- Unlimited access to past issues
- Cancel anytime.
- Renews automatically