The Twitter Herodotus

8.61 Adeimantus again rebuked Themistocles--he was a "cityless man"--but Them. noted that the Athenians still had 200 fully manned ships.

8.62 Finally, Themistocles said that if Eurybiades withdrew from Salamis the Athenians would sail off & make a home for themselves in Italy.

8.63 Eurybiades decided, then, that they would fight at Salamis, probably because he was afraid the Athenians would desert the Greek cause.

8.64 The next A.M. an earthquake prompted the Greeks to seek help from Ajax & Telamon. They sent men to Aegina to get the heroes’ images.

8.65 While Attica was being ravaged a huge dust cloud floated from Eleusis toward Salamis, presaging the destruction of the Persian fleet.

8.66 The Persians now had as many men and ships as they’d ever had: they’d made up their losses with Greek conscripts.

8.67 Xerxes went down to the fleet at Phalerum and had Mardonius ask the various commanders assembled there whether he should fight at sea.

8.68 Everyone said he should except Artemisia. She urged him not to meet the Greeks at sea but to either stay put or go to the Peloponnese.

8.69 The others thought Xerxes would punish her for speaking her mind, but in fact he admired her for it. Still, he decided to fight at sea.

8.70 Xerxes' fleet drew up for battle, but there wasn't much daylight left. Meanwhile, his army began marching toward the Peloponnese.