Temple of Aphaea Agamemnon against Priam. According to the standard myths, Zeus raped the nymph "Aigina", who bore the first king of the island, Aiakos. This king had the sons Telamon (father of the Homeric hero Ajax) and Peleus (father of the Homeric hero Achilles). The Greek idolize heroes who fallen at war, to die on the battleground was a great honor it depicted courage and strength. When a hero died it was though that they become immortal because they prove themselves to the Gods. The sculptures preserve extensive traces of a complex paint scheme, and are crucial for the study of painting
Battle of Salamis in the nearby straits of Artemisium. In the resulting Battle of Thermopylae, the rearguard of the Greek force was annihilated, whilst in the Battle of Artemisium the Greeks had heavy losses and retreated after the loss at Thermopylae. This allowed the Persians to conquer Phocis, Boeotia, Attica, and Euboea. The Allies prepared to defend the Isthmus of Corinth while the fleet was withdrawn to nearby Salamis Island. Although heavily outnumbered, the Greek Allies were persuaded by the Athenian general Themistocles to bring the Persian fleet to battle again, in the hope that a victory would prevent naval operations against the