outed them, winning, as Simonides
calls it, that "glorious and famous victory," the greatest exploit ever
achieved at sea, which owed its success to the bravery of the sailors
and the genius of Themistokles.

XVI. After this naval defeat, Xerxes, enraged at his failure,
endeavoured to fill up the strait with earth, and so to make a passage
for his land forces to Salamis, to attack the Greeks there. Now
Themistokles, in order to try the temper of Aristeides, proposed that
the fleet should sail to the Hellespont, and break the bridge of boats
there, "in order," said he, "that we may conquer Asia in Europe." But
Aristeides disapproved of this measure, saying, "Hitherto we have fought
against the Persian king, while he has been at his ease; but if we shut
him up in Greece, and drive the chief of so large an army to despair, he
will no longer sit quietly under a golden umbrella to look on at his
battles, but will strain every nerve and superintend every operation in
person, and so will easily retrieve his losses and form better plans for
the future."

"Instead of breaking down the existing bridge for him, Themistokles,"
said he, "we ought rather, if possible, at once to build another, and
send the man out of Europe as quickly as possible." "Well then,"
answered Themistokles, "if you think that our interest lies in that
direction, we ought all to consider and contrive to send him out of
Greece as fast as we can." When this resolution was adopted,
Themistokles sent one of the king's eunuchs, whom he had found among the
prisoners, bidding him warn Xerxes that "the Greeks had determined after
their victory to sail to the Hellespont and break the bridge, but that
Themistokles, out of his regard for the king, advises him to proceed as
fast as he can to his own sea, and cross over it, while he
(Themistokles) gained time for him by delaying the allied fleet."
Xerxes, hearing thus, was much alarmed and retired in all haste. And
indeed the battle with Mardonius at Plataea shows us which of the two
was right; for the Greeks there could scarcely deal with a small part of
the Persian army, and what therefore could they have done with the
whole?

XVII. Herodotus tells us that, of Greek States, Aegina received the
prize of valour, and that, of the generals, it was awarded to
Themistokles, though against the will of the voters. When the armies
retired to the Isthmus all the generals laid their votes on the altar
there, and each man decl