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ANGUS BOWIE

Queen’s College, Oxford

Ameinias, son of Euphorion, of the Athenian DEME of PALLENE, one of the most successful commanders at the Battle of SALAMIS in 480 BCE. According to the Athenians, when the Persians attacked, Ameinias was the only man not to back water, but attacked and became inextricably entangled with a Persian ship; the Greeks came to his aid and the battle began. The Aeginetans, however, attributed the start to a ship bringing deities from their island (8.84). To his great annoyance, Ameinias was later pursuing the ship of the Carian queen ARTEMISIA when it attacked a ship on the Persian side; deceived, he turned away (8.87). This cost him the prize of ten thousand drachmas offered to whomever captured her alive: the Greeks took it as a great INSULT that a woman should attack Greece (8.88, 93).

Tradition made Ameinias brother of the poet AESCHYLUS, who also fought at Salamis (Diod. Sic. 11.27.2; Vit. Aesch. 4); however, Aeschylus was from ELEUSIS, not Pallene. PLUTARCH (Them. 14.3; cf. Cat. Mai. 29.2) has a slightly different account of the battle, in which Ameinias is from the deme of DECELEA and was attacked by the great ship of Ariamenes, brother of XERXES and admiral of the Persian fleet. They were entangled and Ariamenes was killed attempting to board Ameinias’ TRIREME; his body was found and taken by Artemisia to Xerxes. There is a friendly letter to Ameinias purporting to be from THEMISTOCLES (no. 11; Doenges 1981, 177–81).

SEE ALSO: Athens; Euphorion the Athenian; Naval Warfare