THE BEECHMONT CREST GUIDE TO ANCIENT GREECE
After the Battle of Marathon: the Athenians regroup and develop a navy
After the Battle of Marathon a new Athenian leader, Themistocles, convinced his fellow citizens that a fundamental change of strategy was needed. Although the Greeks had bested the Persians at Marathon, the enemy had come too close for comfort—just twenty-six miles from the gates of Athens.
Themistocles solution: an Athenian navy. This was of course expensive, but the Athenians had recently tapped a rich silver deposit. The silver financed the ancient equivalent of a massive defense spending bill.
By 480 B.C. the Athenians had extensive port facilities, and a fleet of 200 triremes—massive warships with three banks of oars.
Before long, they would have an occasion to put these warships and facilities to practical use.