Figure it out
Athens did not 'defet' the Persians in the 'battel' of Salamis. A confederation of Southern Greek navies did it.
They did it by:
Inducing the Persians to believe that the Greek fleet oud flee the battle and escape through the passage between Salamis and Megara, so the Persians sent off a third of their fleet to cover this.
Remaining within the enclised waters off Salamis, which required the remaining Persian fleet to enter around both sides of the island of Psytallia, which further split the fleet and made it adopt a line ahead formation.
They then fell on the lines rom the flank, concentrating their force against a dispersed enemy.
Thus the originally superior Persian fleet had a third taken out of the battle, was caught in an inferior line of battle, and attacked from the flanks with numerical superiority. Its heavier ships were negated by the close engagement in enclosed waters. The odds were well and truly turned in favour of the Greek fleet.
The Greeks won the Battle of Salamis through genius strategy and used similar tactics to the ones used at Thermopylae. The Greeks sailed their fleet into a narrow channel between two parts of the island of salamis, completely taking away the advantage of the large, phoenician built, Persian ships and taking away the advantage of their numbers, just like at Thermopylae. The Greeks then used their smaller, more maneuverable ships to ram and sink the Persian vessels, dealing a crushing defeat to Xerxes army. This defeat caused Xerxes to lose his will to fight, and he returned to Persia with the bulk of his army only leaving behind 70,000 in a hopeless last effort to defeat the Greeks. This Persian army of 70,000 would later be crushed at the Battle of Plataea, the final battle of the Persian wars.
The Greek and Persian fleets.
There were several - the most notable were Salamis (in the Saronic Gulf between the island of Salamis and Athens in 480; Mykale in Asia Minor 479 BCE and Eurymedon in Asia Minor 466 BCE.
A coalition of southern Greek city-states defeated a Persian fleet of Phoenician, Greek and Egyptian ships at the naval battle of Salamis.
They had smaller boats and were eaiser to control.
Figure it out
It was a sea battle. The Greek fleet assembled at the island of Salamis in preparation to fighting the Persian fleet.
The Persian war fleet at the battle of Salamis.
The Greeks sank half the Persian fleet off the small island of Salamis during the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC as part of the Greco-Persian Wars. This naval battle was a significant turning point in the conflict, leading to Greek victory and the eventual defeat of the Persian invasion.
They attacked the Persian navy when it was divided and not in optimal battle formation.
Superior strategy they split the Persian fleet so that a third of it was not present at the battle, so evening up the numbers of ships on either side. Superior tactics - they engaged the Persian fleet when it was strung out coming around an island in the middle of the strait st Salamis.
In 480 BCE when the Greek fleed defeated the Persian fleet.
Control of the sea and blockade of the Persian sea resupply from Asia Minor.
The Greeks won the Battle of Salamis through genius strategy and used similar tactics to the ones used at Thermopylae. The Greeks sailed their fleet into a narrow channel between two parts of the island of salamis, completely taking away the advantage of the large, phoenician built, Persian ships and taking away the advantage of their numbers, just like at Thermopylae. The Greeks then used their smaller, more maneuverable ships to ram and sink the Persian vessels, dealing a crushing defeat to Xerxes army. This defeat caused Xerxes to lose his will to fight, and he returned to Persia with the bulk of his army only leaving behind 70,000 in a hopeless last effort to defeat the Greeks. This Persian army of 70,000 would later be crushed at the Battle of Plataea, the final battle of the Persian wars.
Destruction of the Persian fleet meant the eventual failure of the Persian attempt to incorporate the mainland Greek city-states within the Persian Empire.
Salamis which destroyed Persian sea power.
King Xerxes' fleet of ships from Phonecia, Egypt and Asian-Greeks was defeated at the Battle of Salamis by the Greek fleet led by Spartan Admiral Eurybiades.