History of the Peloponnesian War

And we shall make recital of them not by way of deprecation but of protestation and declaration of what a city, in case you take ill advice, you have to enter the list withal.

We therefore say that we not only first and alone hazarded battle against the barbarian in the fields of Marathon, but also afterwards, when he came again, being unable to resist him by land, embarked ourselves, every man that was able to bear arms, and gave him battle amongst the rest by sea at Salamis, which was the cause that kept him back from sailing to Peloponnesus and laying it waste city after city; for against so many galleys you were not able to give each other mutual succour.

And the greatest proof of this is the Persian himself, who, when his fleet was overcome and that he had no more such forces, went away in haste with the greatest part of his army.

"Which being so, and evident that the whole state of the Grecians was embarked in their fleet, we conferred to the same the three things of most advantage, namely, the greatest number of galleys, the most prudent commander, and the most lively courage. For of four hundred galleys in the whole, our own were few less than two-thirds; and for commander Themistocles, who was the principal cause that the battle was fought in the strait whereby he clearly saved the whole business and whom, though a stranger, you yourselves have honoured for it more than any man that came unto you.

And a forwardness we showed more adventurous than any other in this, that when none of them had aided us by land before, and the rest of the cities, as far as to our own, were brought into servitude, we were nevertheless content both to quit our city and lose our goods, and even in that estate not to betray the common cause of the confederates, or divided from them to be unuseful, but to put ourselves into our navy and undergo the danger with them, and that without passion against you for not having formerly defended us in the like manner.