Themistocles was a very important character in Greek history. He was not an aristocrat, but had to work his way up. Once he had done so, he flew. Themistocles was the one who realized Athens had extra money and should invest it to secure their safety. Under him, Athens bought many
triremes, small boats seen above. The triremes were fast and maneuverable, meant to ram into bigger ships. Themistocles, instead of letting Athens run free with their newfound silver, bought these ships and gave Athens a navy. These came in handy when the Greeks became threatened by the Persians. The Athenians, with the help of Sparta's delaying tactics, destroyed the Persian navy because of these triremes. Themistocles was a hero.
Because of this accomplishment, all powers of that time were scared of the Greeks. They had secured their safety and could now grow. Themistocles launched Athens into its golden Classical Age. It was now the ancient world's "Big Apple." But now that they were safe with no threat, out of the blue Athens got rid of Themistocles. They
ostracised him. He was voted by the Athenian assembly into banishment. Ironically, he died in Persia, the very place he had once triumphed against. The most important things I've learned in history class this year are: that you can work your way up, to take risks, and to not get on people's nerves.
