War Strategy - Ideology at Salamis

In 480 BC, the Greek sailors led by Themistocles soundly and horrifically defeated the Persian navy of Xerxes, even though they were outnumbered 2 to 1. The importance of freedom to the common Greek sailor, drawn and bound by a single national idea, was a more powerful driver of success than the mercenary payment promised the forced conscripts that came from all over the vast Persian empire. In his book, Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power, Victor David Hanson notes that the Greek ideas of personal initiative, free speech and flexibility was a critical motivator; in contrast, all these elements that forge the foundation of what we take for granted in Western demoncracy, were an anthema to Persian thought.

During the battle, Xerxes sat on a throne high above the seas and watched his navy destroyed, while Themistocles was in the lead ship, urging his navy onward.

Strategy, teamwork motivation and initiative are all hallmarks of how we like to think we can be successful. In the West, they continue to be fundamental to how we think and how we act.