Eurybiades

Eurybiades (/ˌjʊrɪˈbaɪəˌdiːz/; Greek: Εὐρυβιάδης) was the Spartan commander in charge of the Greek navy during the Second Persian invasion of Greece (480-479 BC). He was the son of Eurycleides, and was chosen as commander in 480 BC because the Peloponnesian city-states led by Sparta, worried about the growing power of Athens, did not want to serve under an Athenian despite the Athenians' superior naval skill. For all the enmity between the two, Eurybiades was ultimately assisted by the Athenian naval commander Themistocles. His first act as commander was to sail the fleet to Artemisium, north of Euboea, to meet the Persian fleet. When they arrived the Greeks found that the Persians were already there, and Eurybiades ordered a retreat, although the Euboeans begged him to stay. Instead, they bribed Themistocles to keep the fleet there, and Themistocles used some of his bribe to pay off Eurybiades (at least according to Herodotus). The subsequent Battle of Artemisium was indecisive, and the Greeks removed their fleet to Salamis Island. Initially at Salamis, Eurybiades wanted to move the fleet to the Isthmus of Corinth, where the armies of the Hellenic League were building fortifications. Themistocles, the better naval tactition, saw the benefits of fighting at Salamis and wanted to force a naval battle there. Eurybiades was insistent, and Themistocles had to threaten to withdraw the Athenian fleet (the largest contingent of the Greek forces) in order to make Eurybiades sta