Despised, a half-breed foreigner, an uncouth commoner, a serial failure - and the savior of western civilization

Themistocles isn't ignored but he seems to play a second string position to other contemporary ancient Greeks. Or at least, that is my general sense.

In The Savior Generals by Victor Davis Hanson, Hanson puts more substance and grit into the character than comes through in most descriptions.

The salvation of Athenian civilization rested solely on the vision of a single firebrand, one who was widely despised, often considered a half-breed foreigner, an uncouth commoner as well, who had previously failed twice up north at Tempe and Artemisium to stop Xerxes’ advance. How well Themistocles argued to the Greek admirals determined whether tens of thousands would live, die, or become permanent refugees or slaves in the next few days. Themistocles had earlier gone up and down the shores of Salamis rallying the terrified Athenians, and he kept assuring Eurybiades and the demoralized Greeks that they must fight at Salamis to save Hellenic civilization and could assuredly win. He pointed out that the Greeks could do more than just repel the enemy armada and reclaim the Greek mainland. By defeating the Persian navy, they could trap Xerxes’ land forces and then bring the war back home to Persian shores. Yet to the Peloponnesians, who were about ready to sail away from Salamis, this vision of the stateless Themistocles seemed unhinged — or perhaps typical of a lowborn scoundrel who throve in the shouting matches of Athenian democracy but otherwise had no clue how to stop an enemy fleet three times the size of their own.

But was Themistocles wrong? He alone of the generals amid the panic fathomed enemy weaknesses that were numerous. He might have failed to save his city from burning, but he still had confidence he could save what was left of Athens from the Persians. Hundreds of thousands of Xerxes’ army were far from home. The year was waning. And they were getting farther each day from the supply bases in Asia Minor and northern Greece — even as the army was forced to leave ever more garrisons to the rear to ensure conquered Greeks stayed conquered. The tipping point, when the overreaching attackers could be attacked, would be right here at Salamis.

Yet the general, and admiral of the fleet, was no wild-eyed blowhard. In his midforties, Themistocles had already fought at Marathon (490), conducted a successful retreat from the failed defense line at Tempe (480), battled the larger enemy fleet to a draw at Artemisium, and this year marshaled the largest Athenian fleet in the city’s history. In the last decade, he knew enough of war with Persians to have good cause for his confidence that logistics favored the Greeks.

We like a clean cognitive world where everything makes sense and move toward success and truth in a smooth incline. The reality, of course, is that success and truth show up in the strangest places, in the most improbable guises, and that the implausible is not infrequently the necessary.

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