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===The Hero of Salamis===

[[File: Trireme_Ram.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|A Trireme Battering Ram]]

Before the Athenian fleet could engage the Persians, they had to consult the Oracle of Delphi. When the leaders of Athens asked the oracle about their eminent battle and what their prospects were, it replied that “the wooden wall only shall not fall, but help you and your children.” <ref> Herodotus, Book VII, 141</ref> Although the reading sounded like a propitious sign, the Athenians knew that they still had to interpret it correctly. Again, the Athenians were divided with part of them believing the wooden wall referred to a palisade that they should build around the city while another group led by Themistocles thought that it referred to their new trireme fleet. After a second reading by the oracle, Themistocles used his intelligence and oratory skills once more to convince his kinsmen that the prophecy indeed referred to their navy. <ref> Herodotus, Book VII, 143</ref>