Themistocles (Greek: Θεμιστοκλῆς; c. 524–459 BC [1]) was an Athenian soldier and statesman. As archon in 493 BC, he convinced the Athenians that a powerful fleet was needed to protect them against the Persians. During the second Persian invasion under Xerxes I, he commanded the Athenian squadron and through his strategy the Greeks won the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC. After the war, he persuaded the Athenians to rebuild the walls of the city on a vastly larger scale than had existed before.
In league with the Spartans, yes, those Spartans, he preserved the freedom of
He didn’t come to a good end, and he was dishonest and sneaky and, well, a politician, so let’s not get all misty-eyed about him, but he saved the world that ours grew from, and out of which freedom and democracy were to evolve.
He saw a terrible future under the eastern way of government and planned and persuaded and intrigued until the West could defend itself and survive.
And that’s why we in the freedom-loving Right blog.
Imperfect, divided, mutually quarrelsome as often as not; we still see the threats approaching and try, as best we can, to rearm the shrinking world of freedom and the culture it springs from. Even when things look as black as they do today for freedom’s cause, we need to fight and fight again, and plan and persuade and rage and swear and sneer and joke wherever and whenever we can.
Because the bad guys aren’t going to stop.
So let’s hear it for Themistocles: the dirty, sneaky, pig-headed father of the West’s survival.
Haroo!
