Themistocles

Themistocles in an 1875 illustration

Themistocles (?524 BC-?460 BC^[1]) was an Ancient Greek Athenian^[1] politician and general. He fought against the Persians at the Battle of Marathon as a young man^[source?]. He later persuaded Athens to build a navy^[2] which he commanded in the engagement against the Persians at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC.^[1]

After the war he became unpopular and had to leave. He went to work for the Persian Empire.

References

1. Treffry, Diana, ed. (1998). Collins English Dictionary (Fourth ed.). HarperCollins. p. 1587. ISBN 0 00 470453-3.
2. Smith, William, ed. (1853). A New Classical Dictionary of Biography. Mythology, and Geography (Second ed.). John Murray. p. 758.