Salamís

Salamís, island, eastern Greece, in the Saronic Gulf, an arm of the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Attica, near Athens. Its area is about 10 sq km (39 sq mi). Wheat, olive oil, and wine are produced here, and fishing is also a major industry. According to Homer, Salamís was the home of the Greek legendary heroes Ajax and Teucer. It was the object of a conflict between Megara and Athens and was taken by the latter in the 6th century bc. The strait between Salamís and the Greek mainland was the site of the Greek naval victory of the Athenian statesman Themistocles over Xerxes I, King of Persia, in the Battle of Salamis in 480 bc. Salamís fell to Macedonia in 318 bc but returned to Athenian control in the following century. The modern port town of Salamís is the largest town on the island. The population of the island (1981) is 28,574.