(2) The complete absence in his account of the actual battle of any details of the general movements of the fleets is accounted for, if, as is suggested, he had misapplied the information which he possessed on this point,—if he had, in fact, used it up beforehand.
His description of this night-movement is given in the following words
“When midnight arrived, the west wing put out and made a turning movement towards Salamis; and those about Keos and Kynosura put out in order, and occupied the whole strait as far as Munychia with their ships. The object of these movements was to rob the Greeks of the possibility of retreat, so that vengeance might be taken upon them when cut off in Salamis for the battles fought near Artemisium.”
H. viii. 76.
He then recurs to the occupation of Psyttaleia.
“Persians were disembarked on the island called Psyttaleia, in order that, when the battle took place, as the damaged vessels and their crews would be for the most part carried in that direction (for the island lay in the line of the approaching sea-fight), they might save their friends and destroy their foes.
“These measures they carried out quietly, so that the enemy might not get wind of them.”
Any attempt to apply this description to the movement made on the night preceding the battle renders the passage absolutely incomprehensible. No useful end can be gained by discussing the difficulties at length. It will be sufficient to point them out, in order to make their insoluble character quite clear.
(1) What does Herodotus mean by the “west wing” of the Persian fleet? He distinguishes it from the ships about Keos and Kynosura. Where were their positions? Keos is not identifiable. Some suppose it to be an alternative name for Kynosura. But of the identity of the latter there can be no doubt. It is certainly the long narrow “dog’s tail” of a peninsula to the west of Psyttaleia, jutting out from the island of Salamis. There is an exactly similar peninsula at Marathon, which was called by the same name. This being so, the ships about Kynosura could only be the west wing of the fleet! How, then, does the distinction arise in Herodotus?
(2) This “west wing” put out towards Salamis with intent, according to Herodotus’ language in the next sentence, to prevent the Greeks from escaping by the western strait. If so, they must have occupied the narrows either at or just north of the island of St. George.