Themistocles and the Trireme Escape
As Persian troops poured into Athens, Themistocles ordered the city abandoned—except for the snakes in the temple.
Théodore Rousseau — "The Forest in Winter at Sunset" (ca. 1846–67), public domain
The last to leave Athens.
Persian troops closed in, torching homes as Themistocles oversaw a desperate evacuation. He left one strange detail: snakes from the temple of Athena were given special care, carried with the holy objects to Salamis. The city emptied, the Acropolis smoldered.
A city becomes a baited hook.
While most would despair, Themistocles was already plotting. He sent a message—supposedly a secret—to Xerxes, pretending to betray his own people. He lured the Persian fleet into the narrow straits near Salamis, where Greek ships lay in wait.
Victory born from ashes.
The Persians thought Athens was broken. Instead, their navy was shattered. Themistocles' gamble turned a burned city into the trap that saved Greece. Sometimes, the only way out is straight through the fire.
Themistocles turned the burning of Athens into a trick, luring the Persians into a trap at Salamis and changing the course of Greek history.
