After the stunning victory at Salamis, Themistocles received a wreath of olive leaves in acknowledgement of his brilliance. A vote to decide who should receive the award for achieving the victory fell into dispute. It seems that Themistocles' characteristic ability to make enemies remained with him, even at the moment of his greatest glory.

The next few years were extremely eventful in Athens. The city needed to be rebuilt and the Persians remained a threat on land for the next year or so, before finally being decisively beaten at Plataea by a Spartan led army. The Athenians now found themselves at the head of an anti-Persian naval alliance, which in time would prove to be the springboard for an Athenian empire.

Once again though, Themistocles' shrewd foresight had alerted him to dangers his fellow Athenians could still not see. Sparta, he argued, would not easily accept the new pre-eminence of Athens. Opportunity to prove his suspicions correct came only a year after the victory at Salamis.