The story of the Piraeus Port is connected to one of the most glorious chapters in Greece’s rich history: the naval Battle of Salamis and the repelling of Persians that saved the future of Western civilization.
Today, the Piraeus Port is the busiest hub for passengers and cargo in Greece and the second biggest in Europe (second to Valencia), connecting Athens to the Mediterranean Sea. About 25 centuries ago, it was not Athens’ main port. Thanks to one of the greatest Athenians in history, however, this changed.
It was General Themistocles who urged Athenians to move the main port from Phaleron to Piraeus with its three natural harbors in 483 BC. This was due to its better strategic location in case the second Persian invasion was by sea. His other strategic move was building the Themistoclean Walls, a long fortification covering the seaside part of Piraeus.
Moving the Phaleron Port to Piraeus
Themistocles’ argument for a Port of Piraeus instead of the existing one at Phaleron was convincing. He first explained that the rocky headland that lay just beyond Phaleron Beach afforded not one but three natural harbors, enough for any fleet and that this was readily fortifiable. The new bigger harbor at Piraeus would be a safe port for the Athenians’ ever-expanding merchant fleet and a trading hub to rival Corinth and Aegina.
Modern-day scholars debate whether Themistocles began this project during his archonship or if he started it later, possibly around 483 to 479 BC. Roman historian Cornelius Nepos (110-25 BC) dates the building of the port of Piraeus after the Battle of Salamis. He wrote that the Athenians used the harbor of Phaleron which was neither large nor convenient, while the triple port of Piraeus which was constructed according to his advice and was enclosed with walls, equaled the city in magnificence and excelled it in utility.
Plutarch also writes that Themistocles constructed the port of Piraeus because he had noticed the favorable shape of its harbors. This act in a way counteracted the policies of the ancient Athenian kings.
As the archon of Athens, Themistocles desired to build up the naval prestige of Athens. The Athenian naval fleet soon became dominant in the Aegean. The same applied to the Piraeus port as a trading hub, making Athens master of the sea trade.
Building the Athenian naval force
After their initial defeat at the hands of the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, the Persians under King Xerxes planned a second invasion of Greece in 480 BC. The people of Athens asked the Oracle at Delphi about the imminent danger of the Persian invasion. The oracle said that the city would be saved by “wooden walls.” It was an oracle hard to decipher. Only Themistocles would solve the riddle. Convinced that by “wooden walls” the oracle meant ships, he had the Phaleron port moved to Piraeus and ordered the building of ships.
Not long before the invasion in c. 483 BC, Themistocles tried to convince the Athenians that by building a strong naval force, they could achieve military supremacy at sea. To achieve that, they would have to use the proceeds from the Lavrion silver mines. At the time, the Lavrion mines were producing substantial quantities of silver, enough to fund a great naval power. Yet the Athenians were reluctant to agree.
Themistocles found an ingenious way to make the Athenians agree to build a powerful fleet. For a long time, Athens was at war with Aegina, which had sided with the Persian Empire. The clever general saw Aegina as the perfect pretext to build up the Athenian fleet, knowing full well that Athens would need this fleet to face the oncoming Persian army.
Plutarch, in his biography of Themistocles in Lives, recounts this tale as well:
“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, [Themistocles], and he alone, dared to come before the people with a motion that this division be given up, and that with 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.”
The Athenians finally agreed to spend the silver mine proceeds to build a powerful fleet, and history rewarded them for that decision.
The Battle of Salamis
The military genius of Themistocles matched his genius regarding his idea to move the Athens port from Phaleron to Piraeus. This was proven when the Persian navy sailed towards Athens. He understood that the only way to defeat the Persians at sea was to turn their overwhelming number of ships to their disadvantage. He believed that the straits and narrow sea passages at Salamis would force the Persian navy to thin their numbers in order to pass through.
From this vantage point, the Greek allied fleet could inflict serious damage on the Persian navy. Herodotus writes that to achieve his goal, Themistocles sent a messenger in secrecy to the Persian commanders. The messenger acted as a defector and informed the Persians that the Greek fleet was in disarray and frightened of the vast Persian fleet. He encouraged them to strike as soon as possible.
The Persians took the bait and sailed into the narrow straits of Salamis, where the allied Greek navy expected them. The Greeks crushed the Persians, sinking a large number of their ships and forcing them to a disorderly retreat.
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