Salamis - Barry Strauss

Salamis tells the story of possibly the greatest naval battle of the ancient world. Involving hundreds of thousands of combatants and well over a thousand triremes - the ranking naval war engine of the time - it was the culminating battle in a twenty-year struggle between the Persian Empire and the Greeks. Against all odds - and with the help of a little treachery, a brilliant strategy and a lucky wind - the Greeks defeated the Persians, and with it began the rollback of the Persian Empire, and the beginning of the Hellenic imperium. This epic tale is told through the individual stories of twelve characters, six from each side, each of which played a major role in the battle and its aftermath.