Themistocles Why Were Athens Successful

Few city-states of Greece hold the same historical importance as Athens. In an age of conflict between the giant Persian empire and Greeks, the commercial giant of Athens was the focus of the struggle in the lengthy, violent Persian War. In these times, effective and ambitious political figures were the key to the defense and success of a state. Themistocles, a young, bright individual of Athens devoted his life to the success of the state and proved himself to be a worthy leader by developing a fortified naval fleet that made Athens the dominant naval power of Greece. For these reasons, Themistocles had an influential role in the salvation of Greece in post-Marathon Athens.
As a politician in the competitive and active government of Athens, Themistocles quickly developed several traits that set him apart from
These attributes led to several successes later in his life, and contributed to many military successes of Athens. One of these characteristics, and perhaps his most famous, was Themistocles’ ability to use deceit and trickery to undermine those who stood in his way. This manifested itself in many situations, as even “[the fact] that the Greek fleet was at Salamis at all was the result of a Themistoclean ruse” (Strauss 147). Another example is how Themistocles tricked Sparta as a whole; when Athens came under attack by Persian forces and had large portions of its walls destroyed, Sparta insisted it keep its walls unrepaired as a sort of memorial. Themistocles, however, instructed the Athenians to repair the wall and then left for Sparta to stall for time, only admitting the deceit once the