Page:History of Greece Vol V.djvu/125

BATTLES OF THERMOPYL^ AND ARTEMISIUM. 101 injurious to the main fleet at Aphetae, it proved the entire ruin of the squadron detached to circumnavigate Euboea, who, over- taken by it near the dangerous eastern coast of that island, called the Hollows of Euboea, were driven upon the rocks and wrecked. The news of this second conspiracy of the elements, or intervention of the gods, against the schemes of the invaders, was highly encouraging to the Greeks ; and the seasonable arrival of fifty-three fresh Athenian ships, who reinforced them the next day, raised them to a still higher pitch of confidence. In the afternoon of the same day, they sailed out against the Persian fleet at Aphetas, and attacked and destroyed some Kilikian ships even at their moorings ; the fleet having been too much dam- aged by the storm of the preceding night to come out and fight.i But the Persian admirals were not of a temper to endure such insults, — stiU less to let their master hear of them. About noon on the ensuing day, they sailed with their entire fleet near to the Greek station at Artemisium, and formed themselves into a half moon ; while the Greeks kept near to the shore, so that they could not be surrounded, nor could the Persians bring their entire fleet into action ; the ships running foul of each other, and not finding space to attack. The battle raged fiercely all day, and with great loss and damage on both sides : the Egyptians bore off the palm of valor among the Persians, the Athenians among the Greeks. Though the positive loss sustained by the Persians was by far the greater, and though the Greeks, being near their own shore, became masters of the dead bodies as well as of the disabled ships and floating fragments, — still, they were them- selves hurt and crippled in greater proportion with reference to their inferior total : and the Athenian vessels especially, foremost in the preceding combat, found one half of their number out of condition to renew it.2 The Egyptians alone had captured five Grecian ships with their entire crews. Under these circumstances, the Greek leaders, — and Themia- tokles, as it seems, among them, — determined that they could no longer venture to hold the position of Artemisium, but must ' Herodot. viii, 12, 13, 14; Diodor. xi, 12. " Herodot. viii, 17, 18.