User: What about the battle of Salamis (fought in 480 BC), do many historians believe make it one of the most significant battles of human history?
Assistant: The battle (fought between the Persian Empire and Greek City-States in 480 BC) is still considered by many historians to be a foundational event in the development of Western Civilization and modern Democracy.  Some say that if the Greeks had lost at Salamis it could have had profound effects on the trajectory of human history.  Historian's trace back much of today's Western ideals in philosophy, culture, politics, and science to Ancient Greece.  They deduce that if Persia had won the Greco-Persian wars it could have oppressed the blossoming of many modern Western schools of thought.  

Salamis is one of many skirmishes fought over the course of almost half a century during this conflict.  There were other pivotal battles that contributed to the Greek victory, like Marathon and Plataea.  However, if Salamis had been won by the Persians, the Greek navy would have been unable to stop them from establishing beachheads across Greece.  Much of the Greek victory has been attributed to their use of the environment to their advantage; leveraging natural chokepoints (like at Salamis) to reduce the effectiveness of Persia's numerical advantage.  Had Salamis fallen to the Persians it's reasonable to assume that this strategy would have failed and Persia's massive armies would have been able to dominate the Greeks.  

It's also impossible to predict the outcome of the war if Persia had won this battle, even though chances are things would have ended very differently.  Salamis is perhaps more highly regarded because of the long odds the Greek navy faced.  They were able to prevail despite being largely outnumbered, which could also be why it's considered such a remarkable event.