Athenian military

The Athenian military was the main armed force of Athens, one of the major city-states of Ancient Greece. Its army was largely similar to those of other Greek states, but Athens was best known as a maritime power in the Mediterranean Sea, and its navy was the core of its strength. The fleet grew from about 200 ships built in 483 BC with the proceeds of the silver, copper and lead mines at Laurion, and its main warships were triremes crewed by rowers drawn largely from the lower classes of Athenian society. This navy defeated larger Persian forces at Salamis under Themistocles and at the Eurymedon under Cimon, and it gave Athens hegemony over other Greek city-states in the Athenian Empire. The fleet was destroyed and the empire lost during the Peloponnesian War, and Athens later regained only part of its naval power.