Histories

When the battle was broken off, the Hellenes towed to Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis as many of the wrecks as were still there and kept ready for another battle, supposing that the king could still make use of his surviving ships.

A west wind had caught many of the wrecks and carried them to the shore in Attica [23.5,38.83] (department), Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Attica called Colias. Thus not only was all the rest of the oracle fulfilled which Bacis and Musaeus had spoken about this battle, but also what had been said many years before this in an oracle by Lysistratus, an Athenian soothsayer, concerning the wrecks carried to shore there. Its meaning had eluded all the Hellenes:

1. The Colian women will cook with oars.
2. But this was to happen after the king had marched away.

When Xerxes understood the calamity which had taken place, he feared that some of the Ionians might advise the Hellenes, if they did not think of it themselves, to sail to the Canakkale Bogazi (strait), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Hellespont and destroy the bridges. He would be trapped in Europe (continent)Europe in danger of destruction, so he resolved on flight. He did not want to be detected either by the Hellenes or by his own men, so he attempted to build a dike across to Salamis (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, EuropeSalamis, and joined together Phoenician cargo ships to be both a bridge and a wall, making preparations as if to fight another sea battle.

All who saw him doing this confidently supposed that he fully intended to stay and fight there, but none of this eluded Mardonius, who had the most experience of the king's intentions. While doing all this, Xerxes sent a messenger to Iran [53,32] (nation), AsiaPersia to announce the disaster.