I climb up a large hill. I am panting by the time I reach the top. It's rather hot here. I can feel my tunic sticking to my body. I am here for one purpose - visiting the Oracle of Delphi. The Oracle often gives great advice and you ignore it at your peril. She is often very cryptic, misconstrue it at your peril. The Oracle herself is a woman, blessed with prophetic powers by the god Apollo.
Not long ago, King Leonidas of Sparta visited the Oracle for advice on the Persian threat. They told him, "Either your great and glorious city must be wasted by Persian men,
Or if not that, then the bound of Lacedaemon must mourn a dead king, from Heracles' line." Leonidas believes himself to be a descendant of Heracles, the greatest hero ever known. Funny though, he was a Theban, according to the mythology.
Leonidas interpreted the oracle as saying that either Sparta will be destroyed, or he will die a heroic death. That is part of the reason he was so cooperative. I'm not sure how well the alliance will fare without him.
I reach the oracle, a small marble building. When I enter the room, it is filled with noxious fumes. I find it strange that anyone can survive in here. She probably goes out for breaks and fresh air when nobody is looking. I am sceptical of the oracle myself but my people will trust it. It's a cryptic message, so I can interpret it in which ever way suits me best.
"Oh wise Oracle," I say, "we seek advice. We have lost a battle against the Persians and they are advancing upon Athens. What must be do?"
She utters an incomprehensible series of babbling sounds. People say it is the language of the gods, but I'm pretty sure that it's rubbish. The gods speak Greek. Not the Makedonian or Spartan varieties, but the Attic (Athenian) variety. The gods are Athenians.
A man translates it as "Though all else shall be taken, Zeus, the all seeing, grants that the wooden wall only shall not fail."
A wooden wall? That must mean the walls of the Acropolis. Since time immemorial, the Acropolis has been used as a fortress to keep out invaders. I'm not so sure about how effective a wooden wall will be against Persian fire arrows. They burn down a lot of things, there is nothing to stop them from burning down the Parthenon.
As I disembark, the salty breeze blows through my hair and I begin to think. What if we wet the wood? Would it work? Probably not. They would still be able to scale the wall and we'll be surrounded anyway. Would salty water make a different? I don't think so, ships still catch on fire. Ships. "Eureka!" I cry, startling my captain.
He looks at me, perplexed, "What is it, Themistocles?"
"I know what it means, the wooden wall, I understand!"
"Well," he says "what does it mean?"
I look at him and lean on a wall of the ship, "Wooden wall, what could it possibly be?"
"Walls of the Parthenon?"
"No, what wooden wall do we see right now? What am I leaning on?"
"A wooden wall... OH, I SEE, the wooden wall of a trireme!"
I nod in approval. Then I say, "Look, we just need to evacuate the people of Athens and transport them to the island of Salamis. We can protect them with our navy. Maybe we can lure them into the straits and destroy them."
"Are you sure we can destroy them?" He says "We had enough trouble at Artemisium as it was."
I tap my nose, "Don't worry, I have a plan." Oh, I have a very good plan, built upon all I've learnt from Marathon and Artemisium. It's amazing how similar land and naval combat are. They are different in that instead of separate men fighting, many are controlling one ship. However, they are similar in the you can use factors such as narrow passages to turn greater numbers into a liability. A small force is much easier to keep organised than a larger one. Not to mention, the Persians are incapable of keeping even basic order.
First, I'm going to need to call for the return of all political exiles of Athens, including Aristides - the just. Athens shall win this war, and we shall win it by sea.
We must, however, evacuate Athens, as nobody will remain to defend it.