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As divided as the Greeks were, there were just as many divisions within the various city-states at the advent of the Persian invasion in 480 BC. Many Greeks wanted to remain neutral and some, such as the Macedonians, even aligned with the Persians. The Athenians, though, knew that they had little choice; it was just a matter of <i>how</i> they would fight the Persians. The Athenians needed a bright, strong leader with foresight, which they received when Themistocles was elected <i>archon</i> in 493 BC. Themistocles rose to the position, which was essentially commander in chief, through a combination of charisma, guile, intelligence, and sheer will power. For Themistocles, though, obtaining the position was only half of the battle, he needed to convince his fellow Athenians to choose the best course for victory.
Any study of the great minds of history reveals that well most of these people were imbued with the qualities that Themistocles possessed, they were also recipients of some well-timed fortune as well. Themistocles’ fortune came when a large silver deposit was discovered in 483 BC about twenty-five miles southeast of Athens in a place that would later be named Laurium. <ref> Hale, John R. <i>Lords of the Sea: The Epice Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy.</i> ( London: Penguin, 2009), p. 7</ref> The large surplus of silver was certainly an economic boon for the Athenians, but in a democracy, even an ancient nascent one such as theirs, how the newly acquired funds would be spent required a debate. One faction thought the silver should be placed in a public dole fund, while the ever forward thinking Themistocles argued it should be invested in the creation of a modern navy of triremes. According to the first century AD Greek-Roman historian, Plutarch, Themistocles used his intelligence, oratory skills, and familiarity with Greek pettiness to convince the Athenians to follow his plan.
“And so, in the first place, whereas the Athenians were wont to divide up among themselves the revenue coming from the silver mines at Laureium, he, and he alone, dared to come before the people with a motion that this division be given up, and that these moneys triremes be constructed for the war against Aegina. This was the fiercest war then troubling Hellas, and the islanders controlled the sea, owing to the number of their ships. Wherefore all the more easily did Themistocles carry his point, not by trying to terrify the citizens with dreadful pictures of Darius or the Persians – these were too far away and inspired no very serious fear of their coming, but by making opportune use of the bitter jealousy which they cherished toward Aegina in order to secure armament he desired. The result was that with these moneys they built a hundred triremes, with which they actually fought at Salamis against Xerxes.” <ref> Plutarch. <i> Lives.</i> Translated by Bernadotte Perrin. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1968), Themistocles, IV, 1-2</ref>
In the days following the Greek victory at Salamis, there was no Greek more revered and honored than Themistocles. In their awards ceremony for the victors, the Spartans gave Themistocles second prize for the guile and cunning he employed at Salamis and the only reason he did not win the first prize was because he was not a Spartan. <ref> Jordan, Borimir. “The Honors for Themistocles after Salamis.” <i>American Journal of Philology.</i> 109 (1988) pgs. 551-53</ref> Unfortunately for Themistocles, though, the honeymoon did not last long.
Once the Persian threat was eliminated, the Greeks returned to their internecine squabbling, which began to focus more on the struggle between Athens and Sparta for control of the Hellenic League. Politicians from both cities accused their enemies of “medizing,” or collaborating with the Persians, which usually did not have to be proven to destroy one’s career and possibly life. Themistocles became the prime target of Spartan vitriol after he had Athens’ walls rebuilt, but factions within Athens also viewed him as a threat and ostracized him. <ref> Hornblower, Simon. “Greece: The History of the Classical Period.” In <i>The Oxford History of Greece and the Hellenistic World.</i> Edited by John Boardman, Jasper Griffin, and Oswyn Murray. (Oxford, Oxford University Press), p. 146-7</ref>
Seeing no other options, Themistocles finally fled to the protection of his old enemies in Persia. King Artaxerxes I (ruled 465-424 BC) received the former Athenian general and allowed him to live out his last few years in exile. The manner of Themistocles’ death is disputed by the ancient sources, though, with Thucydides claiming that he died of an illness, <ref> Thucydides. <i> The Peloponnesian War.</i> Translated by Steven Lattimore. (Indianapolis: Hacket Publishing, 1998), I, 138</ref> while Plutarch stated that he took his own life by drinking bull’s blood. <ref> Plutarch, Themistocles, XXXI, 5</ref> However he died, there is no doubt that Themistocles’ demise was one of the most precipitous declines of a former leader in world history.