He fought at the naval Battles of Artemisium and Salamis in 480 BC.
[3] Herodotus mentions that Damasithymus was one of the most noted of the men commanding the Persian ships.
[8] When Xerxes saw Artemisia sink Damasithymus's ship, he thought that she had sunk a Greek ship[9] and, according to Herodotus, he said: "My men have become women, and my women men.
"[10] But, according to Polyaenus, he said: "O Zeus, surely you have formed women out of man's materials, and men out of woman's.
"Now, even though it be true that she had had some strife with him before, while they were still about the Hellespont, yet I am not able to say whether she did this by intention, or whether the Calyndian ship happened by chance to fall in her way.