Naval Battles 1 (By Land)

This thematic program examines for the first time four great naval battles fought in Greek waters, namely Salamis, Actium, Lepanto and Navarin. Ancient naval battles were quite risky; they involved massive investments in money in building ships and trained manpower for rowing and marines. Losing a battle at sea often meant that ships that were captured gave the enemy a very expensive war tool. For this reason, naval battles, though rare, tended to be among the most decisive engagements from the Persian invasion all the way to WWII.

Salamis (480 BC) has a solid position as one of the most influential battles of all time including land battles. At Actium (31 BC) the victory left Octavian as the most dominant leader and through a swirl of political actions created the line of Emperors that would rule for centuries. Lepanto (1571 AD, one of the decisive battles of the world, and the greatest naval engagement between Actium and Trafalgar, marked the first significant victory for a Christian naval force over a Turkish fleet and the climax of the age of galley warfare in the Mediterranean. In Navarin (1827 AD), the combined fleets of Britain, France and Russia defeated the Ottoman fleet enabling the Greek Independence.