View source for Themistocles

{{Short description|Athenian politician and general (c. 524–459 BC)}}
{{Other people}}
{{good article}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Themistocles
| termend             = 492 BC
| rank                = [[Strategos]]
| allegiance          = [[Classical Athens|Athens]] (until 471 BC)
| office1             = Governor of [[Magnesia on the Maeander|Magnesia]]
| termend1            = 459 BC
| termstart1          = 465
| successor1          = [[Archeptolis]]
| predecessor         = Pythocritus {{cn|date=March 2025}}
| successor           = Diognetus{{cn|date=March 2025}}
| termstart           = 493
| native_name         = {{Langn|grc|Θεμιστοκλῆς}}
| office              = [[Eponymous archon]] of [[Classical Athens|Athens]]
| death_place         = [[Magnesia on the Maeander]]<br />(modern-day [[Tekin, Germencik|Tekin]], Turkey)
| death_date          = {{Circa|459 BC}} (aged 64–65)
| birth_place         = [[Phrearrhii]]<br />(modern-day [[Greece]])
| birth_date          = {{Circa|524 BC}}
| caption             = [[Herm (sculpture)|Herm]] of Themistocles (1875 illustration)
| image               = Illustrerad Verldshistoria band I Ill 116.png
| battles             =
*[[First Persian invasion of Greece]]
**[[Battle of Marathon]]
*[[Second Persian invasion of Greece]]
**[[Battle of Artemisium]]
**[[Battle of Salamis]]
}}
'''Themistocles''' ({{IPAc-en|θ|ə|ˈ|m|ɪ|s|t|ə|k|l|iː|z}}; {{langx|grc|Θεμιστοκλῆς}}; {{circa|524|459&nbsp;BC}})<ref name="OC">{{cite book |last1=Hornblower |first1=Simon |last2=Spawforth |first2=Antony |last3=Eidinow |first3=Esther |title=The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization |year=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-101676-9 |page=1506 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TkW_BAAAQBAJ&pg=PT1506}}</ref><ref name="GW176">{{cite book |last1=Brice |first1=Lee L. |title=Greek Warfare: From the Battle of Marathon to the Conquests of Alexander the Great |year=2012 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-070-6 |page=176 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mO8f901Vt7gC&pg=PA176}}</ref> was an [[Classical Athens|Athenian]] politician and general. He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the [[Athenian democracy]]. As a politician, Themistocles was a [[populist]], having the support of lower-class Athenians, and generally being at odds with the Athenian nobility. Elected [[archon]] in 493&nbsp;BC, he convinced the [[polis]] to increase the naval power of Athens, a recurring theme in his political career. During the [[first Persian invasion of Greece]], he fought at the [[Battle of Marathon]]<ref>Plutarch ''Aristides'' 5.3</ref> (490&nbsp;BC), and may have been one of the ten Athenian ''[[strategoi]]'' (generals) in that battle.

In the years after Marathon, and in the run-up to the [[Second Persian invasion of Greece|second Persian invasion]] of 480–479&nbsp;BC, Themistocles became the most prominent politician in Athens. He continued to advocate for a strong Athenian navy, and in 483&nbsp;BC he persuaded the Athenians to build a fleet of 200 [[triremes]]; these proved crucial in the forthcoming conflict with Persia. During the second invasion, he commanded the Athenian navy at the battles of [[Battle of Artemisium|Artemisium]] and [[Battle of Salamis|Salamis]] in 480&nbsp;BC. Due to his subterfuge, the Allies successfully lured the Persian fleet into the Straits of Salamis, and the decisive Greek victory there was the turning point of the war. The invasion was conclusively repulsed the following year after the Persian defeat at the land [[Battle of Plataea]].

After the conflict ended, Themistocles continued his pre-eminence among Athenian politicians. However, he aroused the hostility of [[Sparta]] by ordering the re-fortification of Athens, and his perceived arrogance began to alienate him from the Athenians. In 472 or 471&nbsp;BC, he was ostracised, and went into exile in [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]]. The Spartans now saw an opportunity to destroy Themistocles, and implicated him in the alleged treasonous plot of 478&nbsp;BC of their own general [[Pausanias (general)|Pausanias]]. Themistocles thus fled from southern Greece. [[Alexander I of Macedon]] (r. 498–454&nbsp;BC) temporarily gave him sanctuary at [[Pydna]] before he traveled to [[Asia Minor]], where he entered the service of the Persian king [[Artaxerxes I of Persia|Artaxerxes I]] (reigned 465–424&nbsp;BC). He was made governor of [[Magnesia on the Maeander|Magnesia]], and lived there for the rest of his life.

Themistocles died in 459&nbsp;BC, probably of natural causes.<ref name="OC" /><ref name="BS" /> His reputation was posthumously rehabilitated, and he was re-established as a hero of the Athenian, and indeed Greek, cause. Themistocles can still reasonably be thought of as "the man most instrumental in achieving the salvation of Greece" from the Persian threat, as [[Plutarch]]<ref name="PT7" /> describes him. His naval policies would have a lasting impact on Athens as well, since maritime power became the cornerstone of the [[Athenian Empire]] and [[Age of Pericles|golden age]]. [[Thucydides]] assessed Themistocles as "a man who exhibited the most indubitable signs of [[genius]]; indeed, in this particular he has a claim on our admiration quite extraordinary and unparalleled".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://perseus.uchicago.edu/perseus-cgi/citequery3.pl?dbname=GreekFeb2011&getid=1&query=Thuc.%201.138.6 |title=Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War |website=perseus.uchicago.edu |access-date=2 October 2018 |archive-date=3 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003014110/http://perseus.uchicago.edu/perseus-cgi/citequery3.pl?dbname=GreekFeb2011&getid=1&query=Thuc.%201.138.6 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Family ==
Themistocles was born in the Attic [[deme]] of [[Phrearrhii]] around 524&nbsp;BC,<ref name="OC" /><ref name="GW176" /> the son of Neocles, a [[Leontis|Leontian]] also of Phrearrhii, who was, in the words of [[Plutarch]] "no very conspicuous man at Athens".<ref name="PT1">Plutarch, [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plut.+Them.+1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0066 Themistocles 1] (translated by [[Bernadotte Perrin]])</ref> His mother is more obscure; her name was either [[Euterpe (disambiguation)|Euterpe]] or [[Abrotonum]], and her place of origin has been given variously as [[Halicarnassus]], Thrace, or [[Acarnania]].<ref>[[Plutarch]] [http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/themisto.html 1.1–1.2] narrates two accounts which describe her as either from [[Thrace]] or from [[Caria]]. However, [[Cornelius Nepos]] ([http://attalus.org/translate/nepos2.html 1.2]) describes her as an [[Acarnania]]n.</ref> Like many contemporaries, little is known of his early years. Some authors report that he was unruly as a child and was consequently disowned by his father.<ref name = CN>Cornelius Nepos, [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/nepos.htm#Themistocles Themistocles]</ref><ref>Libanius, ''Declamations'' 9–10</ref> Plutarch considers this to be false.<ref name="PT2">Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;layout=;query=chapter%3D%23218;loc=Them.%201.1 Themistocles 1]</ref> Plutarch indicates that, on account of his mother's background, Themistocles was considered something of an outsider; furthermore the family appear to have lived in an immigrant district of Athens, Cynosarges, outside the city walls.<ref name = PT1 /> However, in an early example of his cunning, Themistocles persuaded "well-born" children to exercise with him in Cynosarges, thus breaking down the distinction between "alien and legitimate".<ref name = PT1 /> Plutarch further reports that Themistocles was preoccupied, even as a child, with preparing for public life.<ref name = PT2 /> His teacher is said to have told him: "My boy, you will be nothing insignificant, but definitely something great, either for good or evil."<ref name = PT2 />

Themistocles left three sons born of Archippe, the daughter of Lysander of [[Alopece]]: [[Archeptolis]], Polyeuctus, and Cleophantus. He also had two sons older than these three, Neocles and Diocles. Neocles died when he was young, bitten by a horse, and Diocles was adopted by his grandfather, Lysander.<ref name="PT32" /> [[Plato]]'s ''[[Meno]]'' mentions Cleophantus as a most excellent horseman, but no equal to his father in deeds or virtue.<ref>{{cite book |author=Plato |title=Meno |at=93c–93e |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0178%3Atext%3DMeno%3Apage%3D93}}</ref> Themistocles also had many daughters: Mnesiptolema, the product of his second marriage, married her step-brother Archeptolis<ref name="PT32" /> and became priestess of [[Cybele]];{{cn|date=October 2023}} Italia was married to Panthoides of [[Chios]];<ref name="PT32" /> and Sybaris to Nicomedes the Athenian.<ref name="PT32" /> After Themistocles died, his nephew Phrasicles went to [[Magnesia on the Maeander|Magnesia]] and married another daughter, Nicomache (with her brothers' consent). Phrasicles then took charge of her sister Asia, the youngest of all ten children.<ref name="PT32" />

== Political and military career ==

=== Background ===
Themistocles grew up in a period of upheaval in Athens. The tyrant [[Peisistratos]] had died in 527&nbsp;BC, passing power to his sons, [[Hipparchus (son of Peisistratos)|Hipparchus]] and [[Hippias (tyrant)|Hippias]].<ref>Holland, p. 122</ref> Hipparchus was murdered in 514&nbsp;BC, and in response to this, Hippias became paranoid and started to rely increasingly on foreign mercenaries to keep a hold on power.<ref>Holland, pp. 126–128</ref> The head of the powerful but exiled<ref>{{cite book |author=Herodotus |title=Histories |pages=5.72–73 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+5.72}}</ref> [[Alcmaeonid]] family, [[Cleisthenes]], began to scheme to overthrow Hippias and return to Athens.<ref name = h128>Holland, pp. 128–131</ref> In 510&nbsp;BC, he persuaded the [[Sparta]]n king [[Cleomenes I]] to launch a full-scale attack on Athens, which succeeded in overthrowing Hippias.<ref name = h128 /> However, in the aftermath, the other noble (''eupatrid'') families of Athens rejected Cleisthenes, electing [[Isagoras]] as [[archon]], with the support of Cleomenes.<ref name = h128 /> On a personal level, Cleisthenes wanted to return to Athens; however, he also probably wanted to prevent Athens becoming a Spartan client state. Outmaneuvering the other nobles, he proposed to the Athenian people a radical program in which political power would be invested in the people—a "democracy".<ref name = h128 /> The Athenian people thus overthrew Isagoras, repelled a Spartan attack under Cleomenes, and invited Cleisthenes to return to Athens and put his plan into action.<ref>Holland, pp. 132–134</ref> The establishment of the democracy was to radically change Athens: "And so it was that the Athenians found themselves suddenly a great power... they gave vivid proof of what equality and freedom of speech might achieve"<ref>{{cite book |author=Herodotus |title=Histories |pages=5.78 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+5.78}}</ref>

=== Early years of the democracy ===
The new system of government in Athens opened up a wealth of opportunity for men like Themistocles, who previously would have had no access to power.<ref name = h164 /> Moreover, the new institutions of the democracy required skills that had previously been unimportant in government. Themistocles was to prove himself a master of the new system; "he could infight, he could network, he could spin... and crucially, he knew how to make himself visible."<ref name = h164>Holland, pp. 164–167</ref> Themistocles moved to the [[Kerameikos|Ceramicus]], a down-market part of Athens. This move marked him out as a 'man of the people', and allowed him to interact more easily with ordinary citizens. He began building up a support base among these newly empowered citizens:

<blockquote>[H]e wooed the poor; and they, not used to being courted, duly loved him back. Touring the taverns, the markets, the docks, canvassing where no politician had thought to canvas before, making sure never to forget a single voter's name, Themistocles had set his eyes on a radical new constituency...<ref name = h164 /></blockquote>

However, he took care to ensure that he did not alienate the nobility of Athens.<ref name = h164 /> He began to practice law, the first person in Athens to prepare for public life in this way.<ref name = h164 /> His ability as attorney and arbitrator, used in the service of the common people, gained him further popularity.<ref name = PT5>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;layout=;query=chapter%3D%23221;loc=Them.%204.1 Themistocles, 5]</ref>

=== Archonship ===
[[File:Beeld, Themistocles - Unknown - 20408396 - RCE.jpg|thumb|Profile view of an ancient Greek bust of Themistocles]]
Themistocles probably turned 30 in 494&nbsp;BC, which qualified him to become an archon, the highest of the magistracies in Athens.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ostwald |first=Martin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EC74HjT_aTIC |title=Language and History in Ancient Greek Culture |year=2011 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-0609-8 |page=178}}</ref> On the back of his popularity, he evidently decided to run for this office and was elected [[Eponymous archon|Archon Eponymous]], the highest government office in the following year (493&nbsp;BC).<ref name = h164 /> Themistocles's archonship saw the beginnings of a major theme in his career; the advancement of Athenian sea-power. Under his guidance, the Athenians began the building of a new port at [[Piraeus]], to replace the existing facilities at [[Phalerum]].<ref name = h164 /> Although further away from Athens, Piraeus offered three natural harbours, and could be easily fortified.<ref name = PT19>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;query=chapter%3D%23235;layout=;loc=Them.%2020.1 Themistocles, 19]</ref> Since Athens was to become an essentially maritime power during the 5th century&nbsp;BC, Themistocles's policies were to have huge significance for the future of Athens, and indeed Greece. In advancing naval power, Themistocles was probably advocating a course of action he thought essential for the long-term prospects of Athens.<ref name = h164 /> However, as Plutarch implies, since naval power relied on the mass mobilisation of the common citizens (''[[thetes]]'') as rowers, such a policy put more power into the hands of average Athenians—and thus into Themistocles's own hands.<ref name = PT19 />

=== Rivalry with Aristides ===
After Marathon, probably in 489, [[Miltiades the Younger|Miltiades]], the hero of the battle, was seriously wounded in an abortive attempt to capture Paros. Taking advantage of his incapacitation, the powerful Alcmaeonid family arranged for him to be prosecuted.<ref name = h214>Holland, pp. 214–217</ref> The Athenian aristocracy, and indeed Greek aristocrats in general, were loath to see one person pre-eminent, and such maneuvers were commonplace.<ref name = h214 /> Miltiades was given a massive fine for the crime of 'deceiving the Athenian people', but died weeks later as a result of his wound.<ref name = h214 /> In the wake of this prosecution, the Athenian people chose to use a new institution of the democracy, which had been part of Cleisthenes' reforms, but remained so far unused.<ref name = h214 /> This was '[[ostracism]]'—each Athenian citizen was required to write on a shard of pottery (''ostrakon'') the name of a politician that they wished to see exiled for a period of ten years.<ref name = h214 /> This may have been triggered by Miltiades' prosecution, and used by the Athenians to try to stop such power-games among the noble families.<ref name = h214 /> Certainly, in the years (487&nbsp;BC) following, the heads of the prominent families, including the Alcmaeonids, were exiled.<ref name = h214 /> The career of a politician in Athens thus became fraught with more difficulty, since displeasing the population was likely to result in exile.<ref name = h214 />

Themistocles, with his power-base firmly established among the poor, moved naturally to fill the vacuum left by Miltiades' death, and in that decade became the most influential politician in Athens.<ref name = h214 /> However, the support of the nobility began to coalesce around the man who would become Themistocles's great rival—[[Aristides]].<ref name = h217 /> Aristides cast himself as Themistocles's opposite—virtuous, honest and incorruptible—and his followers called him "the just".<ref name = h217 /> Plutarch suggests that the rivalry between the two had begun when they competed over the [[Pederasty in ancient Greece|love]] of a boy: "... they were rivals for the affection of the beautiful Stesilaus of Ceos, and were passionate beyond all moderation."<ref name = PT3>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0066%3Achapter%3D3 Themistocles, 3]</ref><ref name = PA2>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0009%3Achapter%3D2 Aristides, 2]</ref>

[[File:Lavrion499.JPG|thumb|left|A sluicing tank for silver ore, excavated at [[Laurium]], Attica]]

During the decade, Themistocles continued to advocate the expansion of Athenian naval power.<ref name = h214 /> The Athenians were certainly aware throughout this period that the Persian interest in Greece had not ended; Darius' son and successor, [[Xerxes I]], had continued the preparations for the invasion of Greece.<ref>Holland, pp. 208–211</ref> Themistocles seems to have realised that for the Greeks to survive the coming onslaught required a Greek navy that could hope to face up to the Persian navy, and he therefore attempted to persuade the Athenians to build such a fleet.<ref name = h164 /><ref name = h214 /> Aristides, as champion of the ''zeugites'' (the upper, 'hoplite-class') vigorously opposed such a policy.<ref name = h217>Holland, pp. 217–219</ref>

In 483&nbsp;BC, a massive new seam of silver was found in the Athenian [[mines of Laurion]].<ref name = PT4>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;query=chapter%3D%23220;layout=;loc=Them.%203.1 Themistocles 4]</ref> Themistocles proposed that the silver should be used to build a new fleet of 200 [[trireme]]s, while Aristides suggested it should instead be distributed among the Athenian citizens.<ref name = h219>Holland, pp. 219–222</ref> Themistocles avoided mentioning Persia, deeming that it was too distant a threat for the Athenians to act on, and instead focused their attention on [[Aegina]].<ref name = PT4 /> At the time, Athens was embroiled in a long-running war with the Aeginetans, and building a fleet would allow the Athenians to finally defeat them at sea.<ref name = PT4 /> As a result, Themistocles's motion was carried easily, although only 100 triremes were to be built.<ref name = PT4 /> Aristides refused to countenance this; conversely Themistocles was not pleased that only 100 ships would be built.<ref name = h219 /> Tension between the two camps built over the winter, so that the ostracism of 482&nbsp;BC became a direct contest between Themistocles and Aristides.<ref name = h219 /> In what has been characterized as the first [[referendum]], Aristides was ostracised, and Themistocles's policies were endorsed.<ref name = h219 /> Indeed, becoming aware of the Persian preparations for the coming invasion, the Athenians voted for the construction of more ships than Themistocles had initially asked for.<ref name = h219 /> In the run-up to the Persian invasion, Themistocles had thus become the foremost politician in Athens.<ref name = PT5 />

=== Second Persian invasion of Greece ===
{{Main|Second Persian invasion of Greece|Battle of Artemisium|Battle of Salamis}}
[[File:Busto di temistocle, da originale greco del V secolo ac, dal decumano presso il casamento del temistocle.JPG|thumb|A Roman-era bust of Themistocles in "[[Severe style]]",<ref name="HC19" /> based on a Greek original, in the [[Museo Archeologico Ostiense]], [[Ostia (Rome)|Ostia, Rome]], Italy. The lost original of this bust, dated to {{circa|470&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}, has been described as "the first true portrait of an individual European".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tanner |first1=Jeremy |title=The Invention of Art History in Ancient Greece: Religion, Society and Artistic Rationalisation |year=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-84614-1 |page=97 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qmbctV2X-sEC&pg=PA97}}</ref>]]
In 481&nbsp;BC a congress of Greek city-states was held, during which 30 or so{{Citation needed|date=November 2011}} states agreed to ally themselves against the forthcoming invasion.<ref name="vii-145">Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126&layout=&loc=7.145.1 VII, 145]</ref> The Spartans and Athenians were foremost in this alliance, being sworn enemies of the Persians.<ref name="vii-160">Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126&layout=&loc=7.161.1 VII, 161]</ref>
The Spartans claimed the command of land forces, and since the Greek (hereafter referred to as "Allied") fleet would be dominated by Athens, Themistocles tried to claim command of the naval forces.<ref name = h226 /> However, the other naval powers, including [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]] and Aegina, refused to give command to the Athenians, and Themistocles pragmatically backed down.<ref name = h226>Holland, p. 226</ref> Instead, as a compromise, the Spartans (an insignificant naval power), in the person of [[Eurybiades]], were to command the naval forces.<ref>Holland, p. 258</ref> [[Histories (Herodotus)|Herodotus]] is clear, however, that Themistocles commanded the fleet in all but name.<ref name = VIII4 />

The congress met again in the spring of 480&nbsp;BC. A [[Thessaly|Thessalian]] delegation suggested that the allies could muster in the narrow [[Vale of Tempe]], on the borders of Thessaly, and thereby block Xerxes' advance.<ref name = h248>Holland, pp. 248–249</ref> A force of 10,000 [[hoplite]]s was dispatched under the command of the Spartan polemarch Euenetus and Themistocles to the Vale of Tempe, which they believed the Persian army would have to pass through. However, once there, [[Alexander I of Macedon]] warned them that the vale could be bypassed in several ways and that the army of Xerxes was overwhelmingly large, and the Greeks retreated.<ref name=VII173>Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126&layout=&loc=7.173.1 VII,173]</ref> Shortly afterwards, they received the news that Xerxes had crossed the Hellespont.<ref name = h248 />

[[File:EPMA-13330-Themistocle decree-2.JPG|thumb|left|upright=0.8|[[Decree of Themistocles]], [[National Archaeological Museum of Athens]], 13330]]
Themistocles now developed a second strategy. The route to southern Greece (Boeotia, Attica and the Peloponnesus) would require the army of Xerxes to travel through the very narrow pass of [[Thermopylae]].<ref name = h255 /> This could easily be blocked by the Greek [[hoplite]]s, despite the overwhelming numbers of Persians; furthermore, to prevent the Persians bypassing Thermopylae by sea, the Athenian and allied navies could block the straits of [[Artemisium]].<ref name = h255>Holland, pp. 255–257</ref> However, after the Tempe debacle, it was uncertain whether the Spartans would be willing to march out from the Peloponnesus again.<ref name = h251>Holland, pp. 251–255</ref> To persuade the Spartans to defend [[Attica]], Themistocles had to show them that the Athenians were willing to do everything necessary for the success of the alliance. In short, the entire Athenian fleet must be dispatched to Artemisium.

To do this, every able-bodied Athenian male would be required to man the ships. This in turn meant that the Athenians must prepare to abandon Athens.<ref name = h251 /> Persuading the Athenians to take this course was one of the highlights of Themistocles's career.<ref name = PT11>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;query=chapter%3D%23227;layout=;loc=Them.%2010.1 Themistocles, 11]</ref> As Holland has it: <blockquote>What precise heights of oratory he attained, what stirring and memorable phrases he pronounced, we have no way of knowing...only by the effect it had on the assembly can we gauge what surely must have been its electric and vivifying quality—for Themistocles's audacious proposals, when put to the vote, were ratified. The Athenian people, facing the gravest moment of peril in their history, committed themselves once and for all to the alien element of the sea, and put their faith in a man whose ambitions many had long profoundly dreaded.<ref name = h251 /></blockquote>
His proposals accepted, Themistocles issued orders for the women and children of Athens to be sent to the city of [[Troezen]], safely inside the Peloponnesus.<ref>Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126;query=chapter%3D%231343;layout=;loc=8.39.1 VIII, 40]</ref> He was then able to travel to a meeting of the Allies, at which he proposed his strategy; with the Athenian fleet fully committed to the defence of Greece, the other Allies accepted his proposals.<ref name="h255" />

==== Battle of Artemisium ====
Thus, in August 480&nbsp;BC, when the Persian army was approaching Thessaly, the Allied fleet sailed to Artemisium, and the Allied army marched to Thermopylae.<ref name = h257>Holland, pp. 257–258</ref> Themistocles himself took command of the Athenian contingent of the fleet and went to Artemisium. When the Persian fleet finally arrived at Artemisium after a significant delay, Eurybiades, who both Herodotus and Plutarch suggest was not the most inspiring commander, wished to sail away without fighting.<ref name = VIII4>Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126;query=chapter%3D%231307;layout=;loc=8.3.1 VIII, 4]</ref><ref name = PT7>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;query=chapter%3D%23223;layout=;loc=Them.%206.1 Themistocles, 7]</ref> At this point Themistocles accepted a large bribe from the local people for the fleet to remain at Artemisium, and he used some of it to bribe Eurybiades to remain, while pocketing the rest.<ref name = h276>Holland, p. 276</ref> From this point on, Themistocles appears to have been more or less in charge of the [[Battle of Artemisium|Allied effort]] at Artemisium.<ref name = PT7 />{{fv|reason=Not in this primary source Plutarch's Themistocles 7, or 8 or 9, and not in Herodotus' account of Artemisium either|date=October 2025}} not  Over three days of battle, the Allies held their own against the much larger Persian fleet, but sustained significant losses.<ref>Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126;query=chapter%3D%231314;layout=;loc=8.10.1 VIII, 11–19]</ref> However, the loss of the simultaneous [[Battle of Thermopylae]] to the Persians made their continued presence at Artemisium irrelevant, and the Allies thus evacuated.<ref name = VIII21>Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126;query=chapter%3D%231324;layout=;loc=8.20.1 VIII, 21]</ref> According to Herodotus, Themistocles left messages at every place where the Persian fleet might stop for drinking water, asking the Ionians in the Persian fleet to defect, or at least fight badly.<ref name = VIII22>Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126;query=chapter%3D%231325;layout=;loc=8.23.1 VIII, 22]</ref> Even if this did not work, Themistocles apparently intended that Xerxes would at least begin to suspect the Ionians, thereby sowing dissension in the Persian ranks.<ref name = VIII22 />

==== Battle of Salamis ====
In the aftermath of Thermopylae, Boeotia fell to the Persians, who then began to advance on Athens.<ref>Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126;query=chapter%3D%231353;layout=;loc=8.49.1 VIII, 50]</ref> The Peloponnesian Allies prepared to now defend the [[Isthmus of Corinth]], thus abandoning Athens to the Persians.<ref>Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126;query=chapter%3D%231380;layout=;loc=8.72.1 VIII, 71]</ref> From Artemisium, the Allied fleet sailed to the island of [[Salamis Island|Salamis]], where the Athenian ships helped with the final evacuation of Athens. The Peloponnesian contingents wanted to sail to the coast of the Isthmus to concentrate forces with the army.<ref name = h302>Holland, pp. 302–303</ref> However, Themistocles tried to convince them to remain in the Straits of Salamis, invoking the lessons of Artemisium; "battle in close conditions works to our advantage".<ref name = h302 /> After threatening to sail with the whole Athenian people into exile in Sicily, he eventually persuaded the other Allies, whose security after all relied on the Athenian navy, to accept his plan.<ref>Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126;query=chapter%3D%231368;layout=;loc=8.63.1 VIII, 62]</ref> Therefore, even after Athens had fallen to the Persians, and the Persian navy had arrived off the coast of Salamis, the Allied navy remained in the Straits. Themistocles appears to have been aiming to fight a battle that would cripple the Persian navy, and thus guarantee the security of the Peloponnesus.<ref name = h302 />

[[File:Battle of salamis.png|thumb|right|upright=1.5|Events of the Battle of Salamis]]

To bring about this battle, Themistocles used a cunning mix of subterfuge and misinformation, psychologically exploiting Xerxes' desire to finish the invasion.<ref name = h310 /> Xerxes' actions indicate that he was keen to finish the conquest of Greece in 480&nbsp;BC, and to do this, he needed a decisive victory over the Allied fleet.<ref>Holland, pp. 307–309</ref> Themistocles sent a servant, [[Sicinnus]], to Xerxes, with a message proclaiming that Themistocles was "on the king's side, and prefers that your affairs prevail, not the Hellenes'."<ref name = VIII75>{{cite book |author=Herodotus |title=Histories |page=8.75 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+8.75}}</ref> Themistocles claimed that the Allied commanders were infighting, that the Peloponnesians were planning to evacuate that very night, and that to gain victory all the Persians needed to do was to block the straits.<ref name = VIII75 /> In performing this subterfuge, Themistocles seems to have been trying to lure the Persian fleet into the Straits.<ref name = h310>Holland, pp. 310–315</ref> The message also had a secondary purpose: In the event of an Allied defeat, the Athenians might receive some degree of mercy from Xerxes (having indicated their readiness to submit).<ref name = h310 /> At any rate, this was exactly the kind of news that Xerxes wanted to hear.<ref name = h310 /> Xerxes evidently took the bait, and the Persian fleet was sent out to effect the block.<ref name = VIII76>Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126&layout=&loc=8.76 VIII, 76]</ref> Perhaps overconfident and expecting no resistance, the Persian navy sailed into the Straits,<ref>Lazenby, p. 255</ref> only to find that, far from disintegrating, the Allied navy was ready for battle.<ref>Holland, p. 321</ref>

[[File:Kaulbach, Wilhelm von - Die Seeschlacht bei Salamis - 1868.JPG|thumb|upright=1.5|Romantic interpretation of the Battle of Salamis by [[Wilhelm von Kaulbach]]. [[Artemisia I of Caria|Artemisia of Caria]] is seen shooting arrows in the direction of the Greeks led by Themistocles.<ref name="WVK">On the identification with Artemisia: "...Above the ships of the victorious Greeks, against which Artemisia, the Xerxes' ally, sends fleeing arrows...". Original German description of the painting: "Die neue Erfindung, welche Kaulbach für den neuen hohen Beschützer zu zeichnen gedachte, war wahrscheinlich „die Schlacht von Salamis". Ueber den Schiffen der siegreichen Griechen, gegen welche Artemisia, des Xerxes Bundesgenossin, fliehend Pfeile sendet, sieht man in Wolken die beiden Ajaxe" in [https://books.google.com/books?id=DYpgAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA300 Altpreussische Monatsschrift Nene Folge p. 300]</ref>]]

According to Herodotus, after the Persian navy began its maneuvers, Aristides arrived at the Allied camp from Aegina.<ref name = VIII79 /> Aristides had been recalled from exile along with the other ostracised Athenians on the order of Themistocles, so that Athens might be united against the Persians.<ref name = VIII79>Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126;query=chapter%3D%231388;layout=;loc=8.78.1 VIII, 79]</ref> Aristides told Themistocles that the Persian fleet had encircled the Allies, which greatly pleased Themistocles, as he now knew that the Persians had walked into his trap.<ref name = VIII80>Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126;query=chapter%3D%231389;layout=;loc=8.79.1 VIII, 80]</ref> The Allied commanders seem to have taken this news rather uncomplainingly, and Holland therefore suggests that they were party to Themistocles's ruse all along.<ref>Holland, p. 316</ref> Either way, the Allies prepared for battle, and Themistocles delivered a speech to the marines before they embarked on the ships.<ref>Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126;query=chapter%3D%231392;layout=;loc=8.82.1 VIII 83]</ref> In the ensuing [[Battle of Salamis|battle]], the cramped conditions in the Straits hindered the much larger Persian navy, which became disarrayed, and the Allies took advantage to win a famous victory.<ref>Lazenby, p.  190</ref>

Salamis was the turning point in the second Persian invasion, and indeed the [[Greco-Persian Wars]] in general.<ref>Lazenby, p. 197</ref> While the battle did not end the Persian invasion, it effectively ensured that all Greece would not be conquered, and allowed the Allies to go on the offensive in 479&nbsp;BC. A number of historians believe that Salamis is one of the most significant battles in human history.<ref name = hanson>Hanson, pp. 12–60</ref><ref name = Strauss>Strauss, pp. 1–294</ref><ref>Holland, p. 399</ref> Since Themistocles's long-standing advocacy of Athenian naval power enabled the Allied fleet to fight, and his stratagem brought about the Battle of Salamis, it is probably not an exaggeration to say, as Plutarch does, that Themistocles, "...is thought to have been the man most instrumental in achieving the salvation of Hellas."<ref name="PT7" />

==== Autumn 480 – Winter 479 BC ====
[[File:The triumph of Themistocles after Salamis.jpg|thumb|19th century illustration of the triumph of Themistocles following the Battle of Salamis]]
The Allied victory at Salamis ended the immediate threat to Greece, and Xerxes now returned to Asia with part of the army, leaving his general [[Mardonius (general)|Mardonius]] to attempt to complete the conquest.<ref name = VIII97>Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126;query=chapter%3D%231406;layout=;loc=8.96.1 VIII, 97]</ref> Mardonius wintered in Boeotia and Thessaly, and the Athenians were thus able to return to their city, which had been burnt and razed by the Persians, for the winter.<ref name = h327>Holland, pp. 327–329</ref> For the Athenians, and Themistocles personally, the winter would be a testing one. The Peloponnesians refused to countenance marching north of the Isthmus to fight the Persian army; the Athenians tried to shame them into doing so, with no success.<ref name = h332>Holland, pp. 332–335</ref>

During the winter, the Allies held a meeting at Corinth to celebrate their success, and award prizes for achievement.<ref name = VIII123>Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126;query=chapter%3D%231432;layout=;loc=8.124.1 VIII, 123]</ref> However, perhaps tired of the Athenians pointing out their role at Salamis, and of their demands for the Allies to march north, the Allies awarded the prize for civic achievement to Aegina.<ref name = h332 /><ref name = PT17>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;query=chapter%3D%23233;layout=;loc=Them.%2018.1 Themistocles, 17]</ref> Furthermore, although the admirals all voted for Themistocles in second place, they all voted for themselves in first place, so that no-one won the prize for individual achievement. In response, realising the importance of the Athenian fleet to their security, and probably seeking to massage Themistocles's ego, the Spartans brought Themistocles to Sparta.<ref name = h332 /><ref name = PT17 /> There, he was awarded a special prize "for his wisdom and cleverness", and won high praise from all.<ref name = PT17 /><ref name = VIII124>Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126;query=chapter%3D%231433;layout=;loc=8.123.1 VIII, 124]</ref> Furthermore, Plutarch reports that at the next Olympic Games:

[[File:Themistocles honoured at Sparta, illustration from 'Hutchinson's History of the Nations', 1915.jpg|thumb|Themistocles honoured at Sparta.]]
<blockquote>[When] Themistocles entered the stadium, the audience neglected the contestants all day long to gaze on him, and pointed him out with admiring applause to visiting strangers, so that he too was delighted, and confessed to his friends that he was now reaping in full measure the harvest of his toils in behalf of Hellas.<ref name = PT17 /></blockquote>

After returning to Athens in the winter, Plutarch reports that Themistocles made a proposal to the city while the Greek fleet was wintering at [[Pagasae]]:
<blockquote>Themistocles once declared to the people [of Athens] that he had devised a certain measure which could not be revealed to them, though it would be helpful and salutary for the city, and they ordered that Aristides alone should hear what it was and pass judgment on it. So Themistocles told Aristides that his purpose was to burn the naval station of the confederate Hellenes, for that in this way the Athenians would be greatest, and lords of all. Then Aristides came before the people and said of the deed which Themistocles purposed to do, that none other could be more advantageous, and none more unjust. On hearing this, the Athenians ordained that Themistocles cease from his purpose.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Parallel Lives |author=Plutarch |chapter=The Life of Aristides |publisher=Loeb Classical Library |chapter-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Aristides*.html |access-date=2014-12-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Themistocles*.html |title=Plutarch • Life of Themistocles}}</ref></blockquote>

==== Spring–Summer 479 BC ====
However, as happened to many prominent individuals in the Athenian democracy, Themistocles's fellow citizens grew jealous of his success, and possibly tired of his boasting.<ref name = h332 /><ref name = PT22>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;query=chapter%3D%23238;layout=;loc=Them.%2021.1 Themistocles, 22]</ref> It is probable that in early 479&nbsp;BC, Themistocles was stripped of his command; instead, [[Xanthippus]] was to command the Athenian fleet, and Aristides the land forces.<ref name = h332 /><ref name = DSXI27>Diodorus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0084&layout=&loc=11.27 XI, 27]</ref> Though Themistocles was no doubt politically and militarily active for the rest of the campaign, no mention of his activities in 479&nbsp;BC is made in the ancient sources.<ref>Lazenby, p. 209</ref> In the summer of that year, after receiving an Athenian ultimatum, the Peloponnesians finally agreed to assemble an army and march to confront Mardonius, who had reoccupied Athens in June.<ref>Herodotus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126;query=chapter%3D%231465;layout=;loc=9.10.1 IX, 6–9]</ref> At the decisive [[Battle of Plataea]], the Allies destroyed the Persian army, while apparently on the same day, the Allied navy destroyed the remnants of the Persian fleet at the [[Battle of Mycale]].<ref name = h358 /> These twin victories completed the Allied triumph, and ended the Persian threat to Greece.<ref name =h358>Holland, pp. 358–359</ref>

=== Rebuilding of Athens after the Persian invasion ===
[[File:Athenians rebuilding their city under the direction of Themistocles.jpg|thumb|left|Athenians rebuilding their city under the direction of Themistocles.]]
Whatever the cause of Themistocles's unpopularity in 479&nbsp;BC, it obviously did not last long. Both [[Diodorus Siculus]] and Plutarch suggest he was quickly restored to the favour of the Athenians.<ref name = PT19 /><ref name = DSXI39>Diodorus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0084;query=chapter%3D%23115;layout=;loc=11.40.1 XI, 39]</ref> Indeed, after 479&nbsp;BC, he seems to have enjoyed a relatively long period of popularity.<ref name = DSXI54>Diodorus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0084;query=chapter%3D%23130;layout=;loc=11.55.1 XI, 54]</ref>
[[File:North wall of the Acropolis with built-in fragments.jpg|thumb|The northern wall of the [[Acropolis of Athens]], built by Themistocles with built-in fragments of destroyed temples]]
[[File:Acropolis North wall Older Partenon columns.jpg|thumb|Column drums of the destroyed [[Older Parthenon]], reused in building-up the North wall of the [[Acropolis]], by Themistocles]]
In the aftermath of the invasion and the [[Destruction of Athens]] by the Achaemenids, the Athenians began rebuilding their city under the guidance of Themistocles in the autumn of 479&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shepherd |first1=William |title=Plataea 479 BC: The most glorious victory ever seen |year=2012 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-84908-555-7 |page=88 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HFm3CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA88}}</ref><ref name = PT19 /> They wished to restore the fortifications of Athens, but the Spartans objected on the grounds that no place north of the Isthmus should be left that the Persians could use as a fortress.<ref name = DSXI39 /> Themistocles urged the citizens to build the fortifications as quickly as possible, then went to Sparta as an ambassador to answer the charges levelled by the Spartans. There, he assured them that no building work was on-going, and urged them to send emissaries to Athens to see for themselves.<ref name = DSXI40>Diodorus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0084;layout=;query=chapter%3D%23116;loc=11.39.1 XI, 40]</ref> By the time the ambassadors arrived, the Athenians had finished building, and then detained the Spartan ambassadors when they complained about the presence of the fortifications.<ref name = DSXI40 /> By delaying in this manner, Themistocles gave the Athenians enough time to fortify the city, and thus ward off any Spartan attack aimed at preventing the re-fortification of Athens.<ref name = DSXI40 /> Furthermore, the Spartans were obliged to repatriate Themistocles in order to free their own ambassadors.<ref name = PT19 /><ref name = DSXI40 /> However, this episode may be seen as the beginning of the Spartan mistrust of Themistocles, which would return to haunt him.<ref name = PT19 />

Themistocles also now returned to his naval policy,<ref name = PT19 /> and more ambitious undertakings that would increase the dominant position of his native state.<ref name = DSXI41>Diodorus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0084;query=chapter%3D%23117;layout=;loc=11.40.1 XI, 41]</ref> He further extended and fortified the port complex at Piraeus, and "fastened the city [Athens] to the Piraeus, and the land to the sea".<ref name = PT19 /> Themistocles probably aimed to make Athens the dominant naval power in the Aegean.<ref name = DSXI41 /> Indeed, Athens would create the [[Delian League]] in 478&nbsp;BC, uniting the naval power of the Aegean Islands and Ionia under Athenian leadership.<ref>Holland, p. 360</ref> Themistocles introduced tax breaks for merchants and artisans, to attract both people and trade to the city to make Athens a great mercantile centre.<ref name = DSXI43>Diodorus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0084;query=chapter%3D%23117;layout=;loc=11.40.1 XI, 43]</ref> He also instructed the Athenians to build 20 [[triremes]] per year, to ensure that their dominance in naval matters continued.<ref name = DSXI43 /> Plutarch reports that Themistocles also secretly proposed to destroy the beached ships of the other Allied navies to ensure complete naval dominance—but was overruled by Aristides and the council of Athens.<ref name = PT20>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;query=chapter%3D%23236;layout=;loc=Them.%2019.1 Themistocles, 20]</ref>

=== Fall and exile ===
[[File:AGMA Ostrakon Thémistocle 1.jpg|thumb|[[Ostracon]] with inscription: "Themist[h]ocles, son of Neocles"]]

It seems clear that, towards the end of the decade, Themistocles had begun to accrue enemies, and had become arrogant; moreover his fellow citizens had become jealous of his prestige and power.<ref name = PT19 /><ref name = PT22 /> The Rhodian poet [[Timocreon]] was among his most eloquent enemies, composing slanderous [[skolion|drinking songs]].<ref>David Campbell, ''Greek Lyric Poetry'', Bristol Classical Press (1982), p. 406</ref> Meanwhile, the Spartans actively worked against him, trying to promote [[Cimon]] (son of Miltiades) as a rival to Themistocles. Furthermore, after the treason and disgrace of the Spartan general [[Pausanias (general)|Pausanias]], the Spartans tried to implicate Themistocles in the plot; he was, however, acquitted of these charges.<ref name="DSXI54" /> In Athens itself, he lost favour by building a sanctuary of [[Artemis]], with the [[epithet]] ''[[Aristoboule|Aristoboulẽ]]'' ("of good counsel") near his home, a blatant reference to his own role in delivering Greece from the Persian invasion.<ref name = PT22 /> Eventually, in either 472 or 471&nbsp;BC, he was ostracised.<ref name = PT22 /><ref name = DSXI55>Diodorus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0084;query=chapter%3D%23131;layout=;loc=11.54.1 XI, 55]</ref> In itself, this did not mean that Themistocles had done anything wrong; ostracism, in the words of Plutarch, "was not a penalty, but a way of pacifying and alleviating that jealousy which delights to humble the eminent, breathing out its malice into this disfranchisement."

[[File:Franc Kavčič - Temistokles išče zatočišče pri kralju Admetu.jpg|thumb|left|Themistocles finds refuge with King [[Admetus (king)|Admetus]].]]
Themistocles first went to live in exile in [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]].<ref name = DSXI55 /><ref name = PT23>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;query=chapter%3D%23239;layout=;loc=Them.%2024.1 Themistocles, 23]</ref> However, perceiving that they now had a prime opportunity to bring Themistocles down for good, the Spartans again levelled accusations of Themistocles's complicity in Pausanias's treason.<ref name = DSXI55 /> They demanded that he be tried by the 'Congress of Greeks', rather than in Athens, although it seems that in the end he was actually summoned to Athens to stand trial.<ref name = DSXI55 /><ref name = PT23 /> Perhaps realising he had little hope of surviving this trial, Themistocles fled, first to [[Kerkyra]], and thence to [[Admetus (king)|Admetus]], king of [[Molossia]].<ref name = PT24>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;query=chapter%3D%23240;layout=;loc=Them.%2025.1 Themistocles, 24]</ref><ref name = DSXI56>Diodorus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0084;query=chapter%3D%23132;layout=;loc=11.57.1 XI, 56]</ref> Themistocles's flight probably only served to convince his accusers of his guilt, and he was declared a traitor in Athens, his property to be confiscated.<ref name = PT25>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;query=chapter%3D%23241;layout=;loc=Them.%2024.1 Themistocles, 25]</ref> Both Diodorus and Plutarch considered that the charges were false, and made solely for the purposes of destroying Themistocles.<ref name = DSXI55 /><ref name = PT23 /> The Spartans sent ambassadors to Admetus, threatening that the whole of Greece would go to war with the Molossians unless they surrendered Themistocles.<ref name = DSXI56 /> Admetus, however, allowed Themistocles to escape, giving him a large sum of gold to aid him on his way.<ref name = DSXI56 /> Themistocles then fled from Greece, apparently never to return, thus effectively bringing his political career to an end.<ref name = DSXI56 /><ref name = TI137>Thucydides [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0200;query=chapter%3D%23137;layout=;loc=1.136.1 I, 137]</ref>

== Later life in the Achaemenid Empire, death, and descendants ==
[[File:He stoods silent before King.jpg|thumb|Illustration by [[Walter Crane]] showing Themistocles standing silently before King [[Artaxerxes I|Artaxerxes]]]]
{{Location map+
|Aegean
|float      = right
|width      = 220px
|caption    = Location of [[Magnesia on the Meander]], where Themistocles ruled as Governor under the [[Achaemenid Empire]], as well as [[Lampsacus]] and [[Myus]] from which he also obtained his revenues.
|nodiv      = 1
|mini       = 1
|relief=yes
|places     =
{{location map~ |Aegean  |lat=40.346667|N |long=26.699167|E |label='''[[Lampsacus]]''' |position=right |label_size=70 }}
{{location map~ |Aegean  |lat=37.595556|N |long=27.429444|E |label='''[[Myus]]'''|position=bottom |label_size=70}}
{{location map~ |Aegean |lat=37.852778|N |long=27.527222|E |label='''[[Magnesia on the Meander|Magnesia]]'''|position=right |label_size=70|mark=Capital mark.svg}}
}}
From Molossia, Themistocles apparently fled to [[Pydna]], from where he took a ship for [[Asia Minor]].<ref name = PT25 /><ref name = TI137 /> This ship was blown off course by a storm, and ended up at [[Naxos (island)|Naxos]], which an Athenian fleet was in the process of besieging.<ref name = PT25 /><ref name = TI137 /> Desperate to avoid the legal authorities, Themistocles, who had been traveling under an assumed identity, revealed himself to the captain and said that if he did not reach safety he would tell the Athenians that he'd bribed the ship to take him.<ref name = PT25 /><ref name = TI137 /> According to Thucydides, who wrote within living memory of the events, the ship eventually landed safely at Ephesus, where Themistocles disembarked.<ref name = TI137 /> Plutarch has the ship docking at [[Cyme (Aeolis)|Cyme]] in [[Aeolis|Aeolia]],<ref name = PT26>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;query=chapter%3D%23242;layout=;loc=Them.%2027.1 Themistocles 26]</ref> and Diodorus has Themistocles making his way to Asia in an undefined manner.<ref name = DSXI56 /> Diodorus and Plutarch next recount a similar tale, namely that Themistocles stayed briefly with an acquaintance (Lysitheides or Nicogenes) who was also acquainted with the Persian king, [[Artaxerxes I]].<ref name = DSXI56 /><ref name = PT26 /> Since there was a bounty on Themistocles's head, this acquaintance devised a plan to safely convey Themistocles to the Persian king in the type of covered wagon that the King's concubines travelled in.<ref name = DSXI56 /><ref name = PT26 /> All three chroniclers agree that Themistocles's next move was to contact the Persian king; in Thucydides, this is by letter,<ref name = TI137 /> while Plutarch and Diodorus have a face-to-face meeting with the king.<ref name = DSXI56 /><ref name = PT26 /> The spirit is, however, the same in all three: Themistocles introduces himself to the king and seeks to enter his service:<ref name = TI137 /><ref name = PT27>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;query=chapter%3D%23243;layout=;loc=Them.%2026.1 Themistocles 27]</ref>
<blockquote>I, Themistocles, am come to you, who did your house more harm than any of the Hellenes, when I was compelled to defend myself against your father's invasion—harm, however, far surpassed by the good that I did him during his retreat, which brought no danger for me but much for him. (Thucydides)</blockquote>

[[File:IONIA, Magnesia ad Maeandrum. Themistokles. Circa 465-459 BC.jpg|thumb|left|Coin of Themistocles as Governor of Magnesia. ''Obv'': Head of Zeus. ''Rev'': Letters ΘΕ, initials of ''Themistocles''. {{circa|465|lk=no}}{{snd}}459&nbsp;BC]]
[[File:IONIA, Magnesia ad Maeandrum. Themistokles reverse. Circa 465-459 BC.jpg|thumb|left|Coin of Themistocles as Governor of Magnesia. ''Obv'': Barley grain. ΘE to left. ''Rev'': Possible portrait of Themistocles. {{circa|465|lk=no}}{{snd}}459 BC.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=308695 |title=CNG}}</ref>]]
Thucydides and Plutarch say that Themistocles asked for a year's grace to learn the Persian language and customs, after which he would serve the king, and Artaxerxes granted this.<ref name = TI137 /><ref name = PT29>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;query=chapter%3D%23245;layout=;loc=Them.%2028.1 Themistocles, 29]</ref> Plutarch reports that, as might be imagined, Artaxerxes was elated that such a dangerous and illustrious foe had come to serve him.<ref name = PT28>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;query=chapter%3D%23244;layout=;loc=Them.%2027.1 Themistocles 28]</ref>

At some point in his travels, Themistocles's wife and children were extricated from Athens by a friend, and joined him in exile.<ref name = PT24 /> His friends also managed to send him many of his belongings, although up to 100 talents worth of his goods were confiscated by the Athenians.<ref name = PT25 /> When, after a year, Themistocles returned to the king's court, he appears to have made an immediate impact, and "he attained&nbsp;... very high consideration there, such as no Hellene has ever possessed before or since".<ref name = TI138 /> Plutarch recounts that "honors he enjoyed were far beyond those paid to other foreigners; nay, he actually took part in the King's hunts and in his household diversions".<ref name = PT29 /> Themistocles advised the king on his dealings with the Greeks, although it seems that for a long period, the king was distracted by events elsewhere in the empire, and thus Themistocles "lived on for a long time without concern".<ref name = TI138 /><ref name = PT31>Plutarch [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;query=chapter%3D%23247;layout=;loc=Them.%2030.1 Themistocles, 31]</ref> He was made governor of the district of [[Magnesia on the Maeander|Magnesia]] on the [[Büyük Menderes River|Maeander River]] in [[Asia Minor]], and assigned the revenues of three cities: Magnesia (about 50 talents per year—"for bread"); [[Myus]] ("for [[opson]]"); and [[Lampsacus]] ("for wine").<ref name = PT29 /><ref name = TI138>Thucydides [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0200&layout=&loc=1.138 I, 138]</ref><ref name = DSXI57>Diodorus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0084&layout=&loc=11.57 XI, 57]</ref> According to [[Plutarch]], Neanthes of Cyzicus and Phanias reported two more, the city of [[Skepsis|Palaescepsis]] ("for clothes") and the city of [[Percote]] ("for bedding and furniture for his house"), both near [[Lampsacus]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Plutarch's Lives |year=1866 |publisher=Applegate & Co. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C7BGAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA104}}</ref>

=== Greek exiles in the Achaemenid Empire ===
Themistocles was one of the several Greek aristocrats who took refuge in the [[Achaemenid Empire]] following reversals at home, other famous ones being [[Hippias (tyrant)|Hippias]], [[Demaratos]], [[Gongylos]] or later [[Alcibiades]].<ref name="MM">{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Margaret C. |title=Athens and Persia in the Fifth Century BC: A Study in Cultural Receptivity |year=2004 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-60758-2 |page=98 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oGXMMD5rXBQC&pg=PA98}}</ref> In general, those were generously welcomed by the Achaemenid kings, received land grants to support them, and ruled over cities throughout [[Asia Minor]].<ref name="MM" /> Conversely, some Achaemenid satraps were welcomed as exiles in western courts, such as [[Artabazos II]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Howe |first1=Timothy |last2=Brice |first2=Lee L. |title=Brill's Companion to Insurgency and Terrorism in the Ancient Mediterranean |year=2015 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004284739 |page=170 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=248DCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA170}}</ref><ref name="EDC">{{cite book |last1=Carney |first1=Elizabeth Donnelly |title=Women and Monarchy in Macedonia |year=2000 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=978-0-8061-3212-9 |page=101 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZbI2hZBy_EkC&pg=PA101}}</ref>

=== First portraiture of a ruler on coinage ===
[[File:Coinage of Themistocles Magnesia.jpg|thumb|Didrachm of Themistocles in Magnesia. ''Obv:'' [[Apollo]] standing in [[clamys]], legend around ΘΕΜΙΣΤΟΚ-ΛΕΟΣ ("Themistokles"). ''Rev:'' Eagle with letters Μ-Α ("Magnesia").<ref name="TAM">{{cite journal |last1=Cahn |first1=Herbert A. |last2=Gerin |first2=Dominique |title=Themistocles at Magnesia |journal=The Numismatic Chronicle |volume=148 |pages=13–20 |year=1988 |jstor=42668124}}</ref>]]
[[File:IONIA, Magnesia ad Maeandrum. Themistokles with bonnet. Circa 465-459 BC.jpg|thumb|Hemiobol of Themistocles in Magnesia, where he is seen wearing a tight [[bonnet (headgear)|bonnet]] with [[Olive wreath]] (a similar headdress can be seen on the coinage of [[Kherei]]).<ref name="HC19" /> This possibly reflects the bonnets of Achaemenid [[Satrap]]s, such as seen in the [[Herakleia head]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cahn |first1=Herbert A. |last2=Gerin |first2=Dominique |title=Themistocles at Magnesia |journal=The Numismatic Chronicle |volume=148 |year=1988 |page=20 |jstor=42668124}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Stieber |first1=Mary |title=The Poetics of Appearance in the Attic Korai |year=2010 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-77349-3 |page=98 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DaIAAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA98}}</ref> Initials Θ-Ε around portrait and on reverse.<ref name="HC19">{{cite journal |last1=Cahn |first1=Herbert A. |last2=Gerin |first2=Dominique |title=Themistocles at Magnesia |journal=The Numismatic Chronicle |volume=148 |year=1988 |page=19 |jstor=42668124}}</ref> c. 465–459 BC]]
Coins are the only contemporary documents remaining from the time of Themistocles.<ref name="TAM" /> Although many coins in antiquity illustrated the images of various gods or symbols, the first [[portrait]]ure of actual rulers only appears in the 5th century&nbsp;BC. Themistocles was probably the first ruler ever to issue coinage with his personal portrait, as he became Achaemenid Governor of [[Magnesia on the Maeander|Magnesia]] in 465–459 BC.<ref>"A rare silver fraction recently identified as a coin of Themistocles from Magnesia even has a bearded portrait of the great man, making it by far the earliest datable portrait coin. Other early portraits can be seen on the coins of Lycian dynasts." {{cite book |last1=Carradice |first1=Ian |last2=Price |first2=Martin |title=Coinage in the Greek World |year=1988 |publisher=Seaby |isbn=978-0-900652-82-0 |page=84 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OVZmAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> Themistocles may have been in a unique position in which he could transfer the notion of individual portraiture, already current in the Greek world, and at the same time wield the dynastic power of an Achaemenid dynast who could issue his own coins and illustrate them as he wished.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Howgego |first1=Christopher |title=Ancient History from Coins |year=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-87784-3 |page=64 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DCC3l5kS5O8C&pg=PA64}}</ref> Still, there is some doubt that his coins may have represented [[Zeus]] rather than himself.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rhodes |first1=P. J. |title=A History of the Classical Greek World: 478–323 BC |year=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-5858-2 |page=58 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5fkjzwJxCA4C&pg=PP58}}</ref>

{{multiple image
| align    = left
| caption_align = center
| direction = vertical
| image1   = Antoninus Pius Themistocles.jpg
| width1   = 200
| caption1 = The statue which Themistocles erected to himself in Magnesia, on a coin of [[Antoninus Pius]]. The name of Themistocles (ΘΕΜ/ΙϹΤΟΚΛΗ/Ϲ) appears around the forearm of the statue.<ref name="TAM19" /> Themistocles is holding a [[patera]] over a lighted altar, with scabbard of sword in sheath at waist; at feet to left, forepart of humpbacked bull lying left.<ref name="Classical Numismatic Group">{{cite web |url=https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=228112 |title=Classical Numismatic Group}}</ref>
| image2   = IONIA, Magnesia ad Maeandrum. Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161.jpg
| width2   = 210
| caption2 = Type of the coin of [[Antoninus Pius]] minted in Magnesia, on which appears the statue of Themistocles (138–161 AD).<ref name="TAM19" /><ref name="Classical Numismatic Group" />
}}
During his lifetime, Themistocles is known to have erected two statues to himself, one in Athens, and the other in Magnesia, which would lend credence to the possibility that he also illustrated himself on his coins.<ref name="TAM19" /> The Themistocles statue in Magnesia was illustrated on the reverse of some of the Magnesian coins of Roman Emperor [[Antoninus Pius]] in the 2nd century.<ref name="TAM19">{{cite journal |last1=Cahn |first1=Herbert A. |last2=Gerin |first2=Dominique |title=Themistocles at Magnesia |journal=The Numismatic Chronicle |volume=148 |year=1988 |page=19 |jstor=42668124}}</ref>

The rulers of [[Lycia]] followed towards the end of the 5th century as the most prolific and unambiguous producers of coins displaying the portrait of their rulers.<ref>"The earliest attempts at portraiture appear to have taken place in Lycia. The heads of various dynasts appear on coins of the fifth century" {{cite book |last1=Carradice |first1=Ian |title=Ancient Greek Portrait Coins |year=1978 |publisher=British Museum Publications |isbn=978-0-7141-0849-0 |page=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4FdmAAAAMAAJ}}</ref><ref name="SW">{{cite book |last1=West |first1=Shearer |last2=Birmingham |first2=Shearer |title=Portraiture |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-284258-9 |page=68 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q3sRDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA68}}</ref> From the time of [[Alexander the Great]], portraiture of the issuing ruler would then become a standard, generalized, feature of coinage.<ref name="SW" />

=== Death ===
Themistocles died at Magnesia in 459&nbsp;BC aged 65, according to [[Thucydides]], from natural causes.<ref name="BS">"Legend says that Themistocles poisoned himself rather than follow the Great King's order to make war on Athens. But he probably died of natural causes." in {{cite book |last1=Strauss |first1=Barry |title=The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter That Saved Greece – and Western Civilization |year=2005 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-7453-1 |page=249 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nQFtMcD5dOsC&pg=PA249}}</ref><ref name = TI138 /> However, perhaps inevitably, there were also rumours surrounding his death, saying that unwilling to follow the Great King's order to make war on Athens, he committed suicide by taking poison, or drinking [[Realgar|bull's blood]].<ref name="BS" /><ref name = TI138 /><ref name = PT31 /><ref name = DSXI58>Diodorus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0084;query=chapter%3D%23134;layout=;loc=11.59.1 XI, 58]</ref> Plutarch provides the most evocative version of this story:

[[File:Karaburun Elmali dignitary 470 BCE.jpg|thumb|A dignitary of [[Asia Minor]] in Achaemenid style, c. 475 BC. Karaburun tomb near [[Elmalı]], Lycia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=André-Salvini |first1=Béatrice |title=Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia |year=2005 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-24731-4 |page=46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kJnaKu9DdNEC&pg=PA46}}</ref>]]
<blockquote>But when Egypt revolted with Athenian aid...and Cimon's mastery of the sea forced the King to resist the efforts of the Hellenes and to hinder their hostile growth...messages came down to Themistocles saying that the King commanded him to make good his promises by applying himself to the Hellenic problem; then, neither embittered by anything like anger against his former fellow-citizens, nor lifted up by the great honor and power he was to have in the war, but possibly thinking his task not even approachable, both because Hellas had other great generals at the time, and especially because Cimon was so marvelously successful in his campaigns; yet most of all out of regard for the reputation of his own achievements and the trophies of those early days; having decided that his best course was to put a fitting end to his life, he made a sacrifice to the gods, then called his friends together, gave them a farewell clasp of his hand, and, as the current story goes, drank bull's blood, or as some say, took a quick poison, and so died in Magnesia, in the sixty-fifth year of his life...They say that the King, on learning the cause and the manner of his death, admired the man yet more, and continued to treat his friends and kindred with kindness.<ref name = PT31 /></blockquote>

It was rumored that after his death, Themistocles's bones were transported to Attica in accordance with his wishes, and buried in his native soil in secret, it being illegal to bury an Athenian traitor in Attica.<ref name = TI138 /> The Magnesians built a "splendid tomb" in their marketplace for Themistocles, which still stood during the time of Plutarch, and continued to dedicate part of their revenues to the family of Themistocles.<ref name = PT32 /> [[Cornelius Nepos|Nepos]] in the 1st century&nbsp;BC wrote about a statue of Themistocles visible in the forum of Magnesia.<ref name="DH" /><ref>Nepos (Them. 10.3)</ref> The statue also appears on a coin type of Roman emperor [[Antoninus Pius]] minted in Magnesia in the 2nd century CE.<ref name="TAM19" /><ref name="Classical Numismatic Group">{{cite web |url=https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=228112 |title=Classical Numismatic Group}}</ref>

=== Succession and descendants ===
[[File:Archeptolis portrait from his coinage.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|Portrait of a ruler with [[olive wreath]] on the Magnesian coinage of [[Archeptolis]], son of Themistocles, {{Circa|459&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}. The portraits on the coinage of Archeptolis could also represent Themistocles himself.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=201575 |title=CNG}}</ref>]]
[[Archeptolis]], son of Themistocles, became a Governor of Magnesia after his father's death {{Circa|459&nbsp;BCE|lk=no}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clough |first1=Arthur Hugh |title=Plutarch's Lives of Themistocles, Pericles, Aristides, Alcibiades, and Coriolanus, Demosthenes, and Cicero, Caesar and Antony: In the Translation Called Dryden's |year=1909 |publisher=P. F. Collier & Son |pages=[https://archive.org/details/plutarchslivesof00plut/page/33 33]–34 |url=https://archive.org/details/plutarchslivesof00plut}}</ref><ref name="JH">{{cite book |last1=Hyland |first1=John O. |title=Persian Interventions: The Achaemenid Empire, Athens, and Sparta, 450–386 BCE |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=978-1-4214-2370-8 |page=22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QwFDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA22 |year=2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=K. G. |first1=Fritz Rudolf Künker |title=Künker Auktion 158 – Münzen aus der Welt der Antike |publisher=Numismatischer Verlag Künker |page=49 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E-1hlTPEbmAC&pg=PA49 |language=de}}</ref><ref name="ANS">"The history and coinage of Themistokles as lord of Ionian Magnesia ad Maeandrum and of his son and successor, Archepolis, is illustrated by among other things, coins of Magnesia." in {{cite book |title=Numismatic Literature |year=2005 |publisher=American Numismatic Society |page=5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-13gAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> Archeptolis also minted his own silver coinage as he ruled Magnesia, and it is probable that part of his revenues continued to be handed over to the [[Achaemenid]]s in exchange for the maintenance of their territorial grant.<ref name="JH" /><ref name="ANS" /> Themistocles and his son formed what some authors have called "a Greek dynasty in the Persian Empire".<ref>"Eine griechishe Dynastie im Perserreich" in {{cite book |last1=Nollé |first1=Johannes |title=Themistokles und Archepolis: Eine griechische Dynastie im Perserreich und ihre Münzprägung, JNG 48/49, 1998/1999, 29–70. (zusammen mit A. Wenninger) |year=1998 |url=https://www.academia.edu/8316787 |language=de}}</ref>

From a second wife, Themistocles also had a daughter named Mnesiptolema, whom he appointed as priestess of the Temple of [[Dindymene]] in Magnesia, with the title of "Mother of the Gods".<ref name="DH" /> Mnesiptolema would eventually marry her half-brother Archeptolis, homopatric (but not homometric) marriages being permitted in Athens.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cox |first1=Cheryl Anne |title=Household Interests: Property, Marriage Strategies, and Family Dynamics in Ancient Athens |year=2014 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-6469-0 |page=218 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iFMABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA218}}</ref>

Themistocles also had several other daughters, named Nicomache, Asia, Italia, Sybaris, and probably Hellas, who married the Greek exile in Persia [[Gongylos]] and still had a fief in Persian Anatolia in 400/399&nbsp;BC as his widow.<ref name="DH">{{cite book |last1=Harvey |first1=David |last2=Wilkins |first2=John |title=The Rivals of Aristophanes: Studies in Athenian Old Comedy |year=2002 |publisher=ISD |isbn=978-1-910589-59-5 |pages=199–201 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NQVPDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA200}}</ref>

Themistocles also had three other sons, Diocles, Polyeucteus and Cleophantus, the latter possibly a ruler of [[Lampsacus]].<ref name="DH" /> One of the descendants of Cleophantus still issued a decree in Lampsacus around 200 BC mentioning a feast for his own father, also named Themistocles, who had greatly benefited the city.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Foster |first1=Edith |last2=Lateiner |first2=Donald |title=Thucydides and Herodotus |year=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-959326-2 |page=227 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TLUuoPELY4kC&pg=PA227}}</ref> Later, [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] wrote that the sons of Themistocles "appear to have returned to Athens", and that they dedicated a painting of Themistocles in the [[Parthenon]] and erected a bronze statue to [[Artemis Leucophryene]], the goddess of Magnesia, on the [[Acropolis]].<ref name="DH200" /><ref>Paus. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.%201.1.2&lang=original 1.1.2], [https://books.google.com/books?id=Wz72pKpgpx8C&pg=PA38 26.4]</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Habicht |first1=Christian |title=Pausanias Guide to Ancient Greece |year=1998 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-06170-5 |page=5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9cJYpYbScEUC&pg=PA5}}</ref> They may have returned from [[Asia Minor]] in old age, after 412&nbsp;BC, when the Achaemenids took again firm control of the Greek cities of Asia, and they may have been expelled by the Achaemenid satrap [[Tissaphernes]] sometime between 412 and 399 BC.<ref name="DH200">{{cite book |last1=Harvey |first1=David |last2=Wilkins |first2=John |title=The Rivals of Aristophanes: Studies in Athenian Old Comedy |year=2002 |publisher=ISD |isbn=978-1-910589-59-5 |page=200 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NQVPDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA200}}</ref> In effect, from 414&nbsp;BC, [[Darius II]] had started to resent increasing Athenian power in the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] and had Tissaphernes enter into an alliance with [[Sparta]] against [[Athens]], which in 412 BC led to the Persian conquest of the greater part of [[Ionia]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology |last=Smith |first=William |publisher=Little & Brown |year=1867 |volume=3 |location=Boston |pages=1154–1156}}</ref>

[[Plutarch]], in the 1st century&nbsp;AD, indicates that he met in Athens a lineal descendant of Themistocles (also called Themistocles) who was still being paid revenues from [[Asia Minor]], 600&nbsp;years after the events in question.<ref name="PT32">Plutarch [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;query=chapter%3D%23248;layout=;loc=Them.%2031.1 Themistocles, 32]</ref>

== Assessments ==

=== Character ===
[[File:Beeld, Themistocles - Unknown - 20408398 - RCE.jpg|thumb|Bust of Themistocles]]
It is possible to draw some conclusions about Themistocles's character. Perhaps his most evident trait was his massive ambition; "In his ambition he surpassed all men";<ref name = PT5 /> "he hankered after public office rather as a man in delirium might crave a cure".<ref name = h164 /> He was proud and vain,<ref name = h226 /> and anxious for recognition of his deeds.<ref name = PT18>Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182;layout=;query=chapter%3D%23234;loc=Them.%2019.1 Themistocles 18]</ref> His relationship with power was of a particularly personal nature; while he undoubtedly desired the best for Athens, many of his actions also seem to have been made in self-interest.<ref name = h164 /> He also appears to have been corrupt (at least by modern standards), and was known for his fondness of bribes.<ref name = h217 />

Yet, set against these negative traits, was an apparently natural brilliance and talent for leadership:<ref name = h164 />

:Themistocles was a man who exhibited the most indubitable signs of genius; indeed, in this particular he has a claim on our admiration quite extraordinary and unparalleled. By his own native capacity, alike unformed and unsupplemented by study, he was at once the best judge in those sudden crises which admit of little or of no deliberation, and the best prophet of the future, even to its most distant possibilities. An able theoretical expositor of all that came within the sphere of his practice, he was not without the power of passing an adequate judgment in matters in which he had no experience. He could also excellently divine the good and evil which lay hid in the unseen future. In fine, whether we consider the extent of his natural powers, or the slightness of his application, this extraordinary man must be allowed to have surpassed all others in the faculty of intuitively meeting an emergency.<ref name = TI138 />

Both Herodotus and Plato record variations of an anecdote in which Themistocles responded with subtle sarcasm to an undistinguished man who complained that the great politician owed his fame merely to the fact that he came from Athens. As Herodotus tells it:

:Timodemus of Aphidnae, who was one of Themistocles's enemies but not a man of note, was crazed with envy and spoke bitterly to Themistocles of his visit to Lacedaemon, saying that the honors he had from the Lacedaemonians were paid him for Athens' sake and not for his own. This he kept saying until Themistocles replied, 'This is the truth of the matter: if I had been a man of [[Belbina (island)|Belbina]] I would not have been honored in this way by the Spartans, nor would you, sir, for all you are a man of Athens.' Such was the end of that business.<ref>Herodotus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D125%3Asection%3D1 VIII, 125].</ref>

As Plato tells it, the heckler hails from the small island of Seriphus; Themistocles retorts that it is true that he would not have been famous if he had come from that small island, but that the heckler would not have been famous either if he had been born in Athens.<ref>Plato, ''Republic'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0168%3Abook%3D1%3Asection%3D330a I, 330a].</ref>

Themistocles was undoubtedly intelligent, but also possessed natural cunning; "the workings of his mind [were] infinitely mobile and serpentine".<ref name = h164 /> Themistocles was evidently sociable and appears to have enjoyed strong personal loyalty from his friends.<ref name = h164 /><ref name = PT24 /> At any rate, it seems to have been Themistocles's particular mix of virtues and vices that made him such an effective politician.<ref name = h164 />

=== Historical reputation ===
[[File:Kerameikos7 Athens.JPG|thumb|Ruins of the [[Themistoclean Wall]] in the [[Kerameikos]] of Athens, Greece, named after Themistocles]]
Themistocles died with his reputation in tatters, a traitor to the Athenian people; the "saviour of Greece" had turned into the enemy of liberty.<ref>Holland, p. 364</ref> However, his reputation in Athens was rehabilitated by [[Pericles]] in the 450s&nbsp;BC, and by the time Herodotus wrote his history, Themistocles was once again seen as a hero.<ref name = L169>Lazenby, p. 169</ref> Thucydides evidently held Themistocles in some esteem, and is uncharacteristically flattering in his praise for him (see above).<ref name = TI138 /> Diodorus also extensively praises Themistocles, going as far as to offer a rationale for the length at which he discusses him: "Now on the subject of the high merits of Themistocles, even if we have dwelt over-long on the subject in this digression, we believed it not seemly that we should leave his great ability unrecorded."<ref name = DSXI59>Diodorus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0084;query=chapter%3D%23135;layout=;loc=11.58.1 XI, 58]</ref> Indeed, Diodorus, whose history includes [[Alexander the Great]] and [[Hannibal]], goes so far as to say that
<blockquote>But if any man, putting envy aside, will estimate closely not only the man's natural gifts but also his achievements, he will find that on both counts Themistocles holds first place among all of whom we have record. Therefore, one may well be amazed that the Athenians were willing to rid themselves of a man of such genius.<ref name = DSXI58 /> </blockquote> Plutarch offers a more nuanced view of Themistocles, with more of a critique of Themistocles's character. He does not detract from Themistocles's achievements, but also highlights his failings.<ref name = PT3 />
[[Napoleon]] compared himself to Themistocles after the Battle of Waterloo, in his surrender letter;
<blockquote>Royal Highness, – Exposed to the factions which divide my country, and to the enmity of the great Powers of Europe, I have terminated my political career; and I come, like Themistocles, to throw myself upon the hospitality ({{lang|fr|m'asseoir sur le foyer}}) of the British people. I claim from your Royal Highness the protections of the laws, and throw myself upon the most powerful, the most constant, and the most generous of my enemies.|Napoleon. (letter of surrender to the [[George IV of the United Kingdom|Prince Regent]]; translation).{{sfn|Booth|1815|p=57}}</blockquote>

=== Political and military legacy ===
[[File:Map athenian empire 431 BC-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|Map of the Athenian Empire in 431&nbsp;BC]]

Undoubtedly the greatest achievement of Themistocles's career was his role in the defeat of Xerxes' invasion of Greece. Against overwhelming odds, Greece survived, and classical Greek culture, so influential in Western civilization, was able to develop unabated.<ref>Holland, pp. xvi–xvii</ref> Moreover, Themistocles's doctrine of Athenian naval power, and the establishment of Athens as a major power in the Greek world, were of enormous consequence during the 5th century BC. In 478&nbsp;BC, the Hellenic alliance was reconstituted without the Peloponnesian states into the [[Delian League]], in which Athens was the dominant power.<ref name = h362>Holland, pp. 362–365</ref> This was essentially a maritime alliance of Athens and her colonies, the Aegean islands, and the Ionian cities. The Delian league took the war to Persia, eventually invading Persian territory and dominating the Aegean.<ref name = h362 /> Under [[Pericles]]' guidance, the Delian league evolved into the [[Athenian Empire]], the zenith of Athenian power and influence.<ref>Butler, p. 195</ref>{{sps|date=November 2024}} Themistocles seems to have deliberately set Athens up as a rival to Sparta in the aftermath of Xerxes' invasion, basing this strategy on Athenian naval power (contrasted with the power of the Spartan army).<ref name = PT19 /> Tension grew throughout the century between Athens and Sparta, as they competed to be the leading state in Greece.<ref name = h371 /> Finally, in 431&nbsp;BC, this tension erupted into the [[Peloponnesian War]], the first of a series of conflicts that tore Greece apart for the next century.<ref name = h371>Holland, p. 371</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Platias |first1=Athanasios |last2=Trigkas |first2=Vasilis |year=2022 |title=Themistocles must be destroyed: Sparta Confronts a Rising Athens |journal=The Historical Review of Sparta |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=129–156}}</ref>

Diodorus provides a rhetorical summary that reflects on Themistocles's achievements:
<blockquote>What other man, while Sparta still had the superior strength and the Spartan Eurybiades held the supreme command of the fleet, could by his single-handed efforts have deprived Sparta of that glory? Of what other man have we learned from history that by a single act he caused himself to surpass all the commanders, his city all the other Greek states, and the Greeks the barbarians? In whose term as general have the resources been more inferior and the dangers they faced greater? Who, facing the united might of all Asia, has found himself at the side of his city when its inhabitants had been driven from their homes, and still won the victory?<ref name = DSXI59 /></blockquote>Modern scholars have endorsed this view, seeing Themistocles as a quintessential leader and strategist able to transform his city in pursuit of his naval doctrine.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Platias |first1=Αthanasios |chapter=Themistocles: Leadership and Grand Strategy |year=2022 |title=Democracy and Salamis |pages=99–129 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-030-98430-4 |last2=Trigkas |first2=Vasillis |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-98431-1_5}}</ref>

The South American plant genus ''[[Themistoclesia]]'' (named by [[Johann Friedrich Klotzsch]], 1851) is named in honour of Themistocles.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Themistoclesia'' Klotzsch |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30024056-2 |website=Plants of the World Online |access-date=17 March 2021}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
*''[[Temistocle (Porpora)|Temistocle]]'' (1718), opera by [[Nicola Porpora]]
*''[[Temistocle (J.C. Bach)|Temistocle]]'' (1772), opera by [[Johann Christian Bach]] based on the life of Themistocles<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/2010664417/ |title=Temistocle. Libretto. German |website=[[Library of Congress]]|date=1772 }}</ref>
*''[[Thémistocle]]'' (1785), opera by [[François-André Danican Philidor]] based on the life of Themistocles.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Fran%C3%A7ois_Andr%C3%A9_Danican_Philidor_Th%C3%A9mistocle_trag%C3%A9d?id=ubuB3-vhEJwC&hl=en_US |title=Thémistocle, tragédie lyrique en trois actes, paroles de Mr Morel, représentée, pour la première fois devant leurs Majestés à Fontainebleau le 13 8bre 1785 et à Paris sur le théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique le mardi 23 Mai 1786... Mise en musique par A. D. Philidor |publisher=chez Le Duc |year=1787 |language=fr}}</ref>
*In the movie ''[[The 300 Spartans]]'' (1962), Themistocles is portrayed by the actor [[Ralph Richardson]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/93100/the-300-spartans |title=The 300 Spartans}}</ref>
*In the movie ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' (1962), [[T. E. Lawrence]] ([[Peter O'Toole]]) quotes [[Francis Bacon]]'s paraphrase of Themistocles: "I cannot fiddle, but I can make a great state from a little city."<ref>Bacon, Francis. "Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates", ''[https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bacon_s_Essays/puyRlNXLPcoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA283&printsec=frontcover Bacon's Essays]''. C. S. Francis & Company, 1857. 283.</ref>
*The film ''[[300: Rise of an Empire]]'' (2014) largely centers around Themistocles's ([[Sullivan Stapleton]]) command of the Greek allied fleet against the second Persian invasion of Greece.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/film-review-300-rise-of-an-empire-1201122602/#! |title=Film Review: '300: Rise of an Empire' |date=3 March 2014}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist|20em}}

== Bibliography ==
=== Ancient sources ===
{{Refbegin}}
* [[Cornelius Nepos]], [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/nepos.htm#Themistocles ''Themistocles''] via Tertullian.org
* [[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0084 ''Biblioteca Historica''] via [[Perseus Project]]
* [[Herodotus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Hdt.+toc ''The Histories''] via Perseus Project
* [[Libanius]], ''Declamationes''.
* Plutarch, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0182&layout=&loc=Them.+1 ''Themistocles''] via Perseus Project
* [[Plutarch]], ''Moralia''.
* [[Thucydides]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0200&query=book%3D%231 ''History of the Peloponnesian War''] via Perseus Project
{{Refend}}

=== Modern sources ===
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Hanson |first=Victor Davis |title=Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power |publisher=DoubleDay |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-385-50052-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/carnageculturela00hans}}
*{{cite book |last=Frost |first=Frank J. |title=Plutarch's Themistocles, An Historical Commentary |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1980}}
*{{cite book |last=Behmel |first=Albrecht |title=Themistokles: Sieger von Salamis. Herr von Magnesia |publisher=Ibidem |year=2000 |isbn=978-3-932602-72-6 |language=de}}
*{{cite book |last=Holland |first=Tom |title=Persian Fire |publisher=Abacus |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-349-11717-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/persianfirefirst00tomh}}
*{{cite book |last=Simon Hornblower |first=Anthony Spawforth |title=The Oxford Classical Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-19-866172-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780198661726}}.
*{{cite book |last=Green |first=Peter |title=Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age |publisher=Orion |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7538-2413-9}}
*{{cite book |last=Lazenby |first=J. F. |title=The Defence of Greece 490–479 BC |publisher=Aris & Phillips |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-85668-591-0}}
*{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Themistocles |volume=26 |pages=758–759 |first=John Malcolm |last=Mitchell}}
*{{cite book |last=Strauss |first=Barry |title=The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter That Saved Greece—and Western Civilization |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7432-4450-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/battleofsalamisn00stra}}
*{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Jeffrey A. |title=Themistocles: The Powerbroker of Athens |publisher=Pen & Sword |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-5267-9045-3}}
* {{Citation |last=Booth |first=John |title=The Battle of Waterloo: Containing the Accounts Published by Authority, British and Foreign, and Other Relevant Documents, with Circumstantial Details, Previous and After the Battle, from a Variety of Authentic and Original Sources |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9IIBAAAAYAAJ |year=1815 |edition=2nd |publisher=J. Booth & T. Ergeton |location=London}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{wikiquote inline}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Gera |first1=Deborah Levine |title=Themistocles' Persian Tapestry |journal=The Classical Quarterly |year=2007 |volume=57 |issue=2 |pages=445–457 |doi=10.1017/S0009838807000493 |s2cid=170957241}}
*Livius.org, [https://www.livius.org/th/themistocles/themistocles.html Themistocles] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017124022/http://www.livius.org/th/themistocles/themistocles.html |date=17 October 2013 }} by Jona Lendering
*Lexicon of Greek Personal Names, [http://www.lgpn.ox.ac.uk/id/V2-31577 Θεμιστοκλῆς]

{{Plutarch}}
{{Ancient Athenian statesmen}}
{{Achaemenid rulers}}
{{Ancient Greece topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:520s BC births]]
[[Category:459 BC deaths]]
[[Category:5th-century BC Greek people]]
[[Category:5th-century BC Greek politicians]]
[[Category:Achaemenid satraps of Lydia]]
[[Category:Ancient Athenian admirals]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek emigrants to the Achaemenid Empire]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:Ancient Thracian Greeks]]
[[Category:Battle of Artemisium]]
[[Category:Battle of Salamis]]
[[Category:Medism]]
[[Category:Ostracized Athenians]]
[[Category:People of the Greco-Persian Wars]]