In 480 BC, the Persian army of King Xerxes I broke through the Greek defences at Thermopylae and went on to sack Athens. Athenian commander Themistocles managed to persuade the other Greek leaders not to abandon Attica entirely, but to help him move the population of Athens to the nearby island of Salamis, and trust to the Greek fleet.

By leaking his position to Xerxes, Themistocles managed not only to head off a planned desertion, but also to draw the Persians into the Strait of Salamis, where the lack of space and the choppy conditions helped inflict heavy losses. Xerxes reluctantly abandoned his campaign, and fearing the Greeks might cut his bridge over the Hellespont raced home to Asia.

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