DOI Artikel:
Goodwin, William Watson: The Battle of Salamis
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.8560#0294
252
THE BATTLE OF SALAMIS.
next day '"'the wing towards Eleusis and the west," and their left
"the wing towards the east and Piraeus." My chief object has been
to show that ayrjyov jxlv . . . ?rpo? SaAu/uva in chapter 76 must refer to
sending the two hundred Egyptian ships (which probably formed the
west wing of the Persian fleet as it lay near Salamis the afternoon
before the battle) to the northwest point of Salamis to cut off escape
through the bay of Eleusis ; and that the following words, ayyjyov 81...
vrjvcr[, then naturally refer to posting the main Persian force to guard
the southern outlet of the straits, where Aeschylus places it. Then we
can refer the description of the Persian line in chapter 85 to the
direction in which the main Persian force (thus posted in the night)
entered the straits just before the battle to meet the Greeks, who
were probably drawn up in a line from northwest to southeast across
the passage between Aegaleos and the long point of Salamis (Cyno-
sura). The first Greek position, between Salamis and the Heracleum
(as assigned by Diodorus, our only authority), probably from A to H,
was most likely to be changed to one from B to K before the fleets
really met, the right (according to Aeschylus) advancing more eagerly
than the left. As the Persians approached this line, their right became
the west wing towards Eleusis. This interpretation brings Herodotus
into perfect harmony with Aeschylus as regards the three principal
movements of Xerxes, on any of which a disagreement with Aeschy-
lus would seem fatal to anyone's credit. In lesser details we have
seen that Herodotus is in substantial agreement with Aeschylus and
our other authorities, and at variance with the theory which is com-
monly supposed to be supported by his language.
THE BATTLE OF SALAMIS.
next day '"'the wing towards Eleusis and the west," and their left
"the wing towards the east and Piraeus." My chief object has been
to show that ayrjyov jxlv . . . ?rpo? SaAu/uva in chapter 76 must refer to
sending the two hundred Egyptian ships (which probably formed the
west wing of the Persian fleet as it lay near Salamis the afternoon
before the battle) to the northwest point of Salamis to cut off escape
through the bay of Eleusis ; and that the following words, ayyjyov 81...
vrjvcr[, then naturally refer to posting the main Persian force to guard
the southern outlet of the straits, where Aeschylus places it. Then we
can refer the description of the Persian line in chapter 85 to the
direction in which the main Persian force (thus posted in the night)
entered the straits just before the battle to meet the Greeks, who
were probably drawn up in a line from northwest to southeast across
the passage between Aegaleos and the long point of Salamis (Cyno-
sura). The first Greek position, between Salamis and the Heracleum
(as assigned by Diodorus, our only authority), probably from A to H,
was most likely to be changed to one from B to K before the fleets
really met, the right (according to Aeschylus) advancing more eagerly
than the left. As the Persians approached this line, their right became
the west wing towards Eleusis. This interpretation brings Herodotus
into perfect harmony with Aeschylus as regards the three principal
movements of Xerxes, on any of which a disagreement with Aeschy-
lus would seem fatal to anyone's credit. In lesser details we have
seen that Herodotus is in substantial agreement with Aeschylus and
our other authorities, and at variance with the theory which is com-
monly supposed to be supported by his language.