follows in his tragedy of the
Persae:

"And well I know a thousand sail
That day did Xerxes meet,
And seven and two hundred more,
The fastest of his fleet."

The Athenian ships, a hundred and eighty in number, had each eighteen
men on deck, four of whom were archers, and the rest heavy-armed
soldiers. Themistokles now chose the time for the battle as judiciously
as he had chosen the place, and would not bring his triremes into line
of battle before the fresh wind off the sea, as is usual in the morning,
raised a heavy swell in the straits. This did not damage the low flat
ships of the Greeks, but it caught the high-sterned Persian ships,
over-weighted as they were with lofty decks, and presented their
broadsides to the Greeks, who eagerly attacked them, watching
Themistokles because he was their best example, and also because
Ariamenes, Xerxes's admiral, and the bravest and best of the king's
brothers, attacked him in a huge ship, from which, as if from a castle,
he poured darts and arrows upon him.

But Ameinias of Dekeleia and Sokles of Pedia, who were both sailing in
the same vessel, met him stem to stem. Each ship crashed into the other
with its iron beak, and was torn open. Ariamenes attempted to board the
Greek ship, but these two men set upon him with their spears, and drove
him into the sea. His body was noticed by Queen Artemisia floating
amongst the other wreckage, and was by her brought to Xerxes.

XV. At this period of the battle it is said that a great light was seen
to shine from Eleusis, and that a great noise was heard upon the
Thriasian plain near the sea, as though multitudes of men were escorting
the mystic Iacchus in procession. From the place where these sounds were
heard a mist seemed to spread over the sea and envelop the ships. Others
thought that they saw spirit-forms of armed men come from Aegina, and
hold their hands before the ships of the Greeks. These it was supposed
were the Aeakid heroes, to whom prayers for help had been offered just
before the battle. The first man to capture a ship was Lykomedes, an
Athenian captain, who cut off its ensign and dedicated it to Apollo with
the laurel crown at the Temple at Phlyae.

In the narrow straits the Persians were unable to bring more than a part
of their fleet into action, and their ships got into each other's way,
so that the Greeks could meet them on equal terms, and, although they
resisted until evening, completely r