Salamis

Salamis, the ancient name of Koluri, a mountainous island of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, off the N.W. coast of Attica. A war for its possession between Athens and Megara terminated in favour of the former towards the close of the 7th century B.C. The narrow strait between its eastern shore and the mainland was the scene of the great naval battle of the Persian War, in which the armament of Xerxes, containing 1,200 triremes and 3,000 smaller vessels, was completely vanquished by the combined fleets of the Athenians, Spartans, and Corinthians, numbering in all 366 triremes (480 B.C.).