Editing Salamis Island (section)

== History ==
[[File:Salamis 339-318 BC.jpg|left|thumb|287px|Coin of Salamis, 339–318 BC. Obverse: Female head. Reverse: [[Boeotian shield]] (shield of [[Ajax the Great|Ajax]]) and sword in sheath]]

Salamis was probably first colonised by [[Aegina]] and later occupied by [[Megara]], but became an [[Athens|Athenian]] possession in the time of [[Solon]] or [[Peisistratos (Athens)|Peisistratos]], following the war between Athens and Megara around 600 BC.<ref name=odcw>"Salamis", ''Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World'', Ed. John Roberts. Oxford University Press, 2007.</ref>  According to [[Strabo]], the ancient capital was at the south of the island; in classical times it was to the east, on the Kamatero Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Salamis; in modern times it is on the west.<ref>{{cite book|title=Greece – Blue Guide series|first1=Stuart|last1=Rossiter|first2=Ernest|last2=Benn|date=1981}}</ref>

According to [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'', Salamis took part in the [[Trojan War]] with twelve ships under the leadership of Ajax ({{Lang|grc-Latn|Aias|italic=no}}).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D2%3Acard%3D546|title=The Iliad|last=Homer}}</ref>

Salamis island is known for the [[Battle of Salamis]], the decisive naval victory of the Athenian-led allied [[Greece|Greek]] fleet, led by [[Themistocles]], over the [[Persian Empire]] in 480 BC. It is said to be the birthplace of [[Ajax the Great|Ajax]] and [[Euripides]], the latter's birth being popularly placed on the day of the battle. In modern times, it is home to [[Salamis Naval Base]], headquarters for the [[Hellenic Navy]].

[[Arvanites]] were recorded among the inhabitants of the island in 1688. They lived in poverty as most of the [[Arvanites]] in Greece at the time.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6aphAAAAMAAJ |title=International Journal of the Sociology of Language |date=1974 |publisher=Mouton |pages=66 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Salamis Tablet|The oldest known counting board]] was discovered on Salamis Island in 1899.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://users.ju.edu/ssundbe/salamis.html |title=salamis |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080103213141/http://users.ju.edu/ssundbe/salamis.html |archive-date=January 3, 2008 }}</ref>  It is thought to have been used by the [[Babylonians]] in about 300 BC and is more a gaming board than a calculating device. It is marble, about {{convert|150|x|75|x|4.5|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}, and has carved Greek symbols and parallel grooves.

During the [[German invasion of Greece]] in [[World War II]], the harbor was bombed by the [[Luftwaffe]] on April 23, 1941, sinking the Greek battleships {{ship|Greek battleship|Kilkis||2}} and {{ship|Greek battleship|Lemnos||2}}.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-fornv/greece/grksh-hl/kilkis.htm|title = Kilkis (Battleship, 1914–1941)|publisher = Naval Historical Center|archive-url = http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20121016074038/http%3A//www%2Ehistory%2Enavy%2Emil/photos//sh%2Dfornv/greece/grksh%2Dhl/kilkis%2Ehtm|archive-date= October 16, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = http://history.navy.mil/photos/sh-fornv/greece/grksh-hl/lemnos.htm|title = Lemnos (Battleship, 1914–1941)|publisher = Naval Historical Center|archive-url = http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20140706124657/http%3A//www%2Ehistory%2Enavy%2Emil/photos/sh%2Dfornv/greece/grksh%2Dhl/lemnos%2Ehtm|archive-date= July 6, 2014 }}</ref>

In the 1960s and 1970s, during the [[Greek military junta of 1967–1974|military junta]] period, changes in land legislation allowed the subdivision of land plots.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=68833|title = One-sixth of houses are for vacation use|publisher = Kathimerini|date = April 19, 2006|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080318210707/http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=68833|archive-date = March 18, 2008}}</ref> This opened the island to massive unplanned and unregulated urban and suburban development, including many weekend homes, especially along the northern and eastern coasts. The lack of corresponding investment in [[Municipal infrastructure|infrastructure]], combined with heavy industry, has led to sea and beach pollution on this side of the island. There are, however, ongoing initiatives such as help from the European Union's [[Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds|Cohesion Fund]] toward improving sewerage by 2008.<ref name=ek73930 />

An oil spill occurred off the coast of Salamis Island in September 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/greek-island-bay-black-oil-spill-salamis-selinia-taker-sinks-ecological-disaster-athens-a7944291.html|title = Greek island bay turned black after crude oil spill| website=[[Independent.co.uk]] |date = 13 September 2017}}</ref>