Salamis is the largest island in the Saronic Gulf, so close to Attica that it is part of the Athens metropolitan area: many residents cross the strait every day to work.
Its name is tied to the Battle of Salamis (September 480 BC), one of the decisive moments in Greek and European history. After the fall of Thermopylae and the burning of Athens by the Persians, the Athenian Themistocles persuaded the allies to fight in the strait between the island and the coast: the nimble Greek triremes lured Xerxes's larger fleet into a confined space and defeated it. The poet Aeschylus, who fought there, made it the subject of his tragedy "The Persians". A monument on the Kynosoura headland commemorates the battle.
What to see
| Place | Why |
|---|---|
| Kynosoura headland | Overlooking the strait of the battle, with the burial mound of the fallen |
| Cave of Euripides | Where by tradition the playwright, born on the island, withdrew to write |
| Faneromeni monastery | 17th-century monastery with frescoes, on the north-west coast |
| Archaeological museum | Finds from the Mycenaean to the classical period |
The cleanest beaches are in the south, towards Kanakia and Peristeria.
Getting there
The ferry from Perama, near Piraeus, to Paloukia takes about 15 minutes and runs very often, day and night; another link runs from Nea Peramos, near Megara.
See also the history of Athens.