Thucydides battle of mantinea

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By Thucydides

Written 431 B.C.E

Translated by Richard Crawley

Chapter XII

Seventh Year of the War - Occupation of Pylos -Surrender of the Spartan Army in Sphacteria

Next summer, about the time of the corn's coming into ear, ten Syracusan and as many Locrian vessels sailed to Messina, in Sicily, and occupied the town upon the invitation of the inhabitants; and Messina revolted from the Athenians. The Syracusans contrived this chiefly because they saw that the place afforded an approach to Sicily, and feared that the Athenians might hereafter use it as a base for attacking them with a larger force; the Locrians because they wished to carry on hostilities from both sides of the strait and to reduce their enemies, the people of Rhegium. Meanwhile, the Locrians had invaded the Rhegian territory with all their forces, to prevent their succouring Messina, and also at the instance of some exiles from Rhegium wh

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Battle of Sphacteria

425 BCE battle between Athens and Sparta, part of the Peloponnesian War

For the battle during the Greek War of Independence, see Battle of Sphacteria (1825).

Battle of Sphacteria
Part of the Peloponnesian War
Date 425 BC Location Sphacteria, a small island at the entrance to the bay of Pylos Result Athenian victory
Belligerents
Athens	Sparta
Commanders and leaders
Demosthenes Kleon	Epitadas † Hippagretas Styphon
Strength
3,000+ soldiers, 8,000 lightly armed rowers	440
Casualties and losses
Few	148 killed, Remainder captured

The Battle of Sphacteria was a land battle of the Peloponnesian War, fought in 425 BC between Athens and Sparta. Following the Battle of Pylos and subsequent peace negotiations, which failed, a number of Spartans were stranded on the island of Sphacteria. An Athenian force under Cleon and Demosthenes attacked and forced them to surrender.

Overview

In the wake of the failed peace negotiations, Demosthenes initially attempted to starve out th

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Sphacteria (425 BCE)

Q1303524

Pylos/Sphacteria: site of a small but important battle during the Peloponnesian War (431-404), during which the Athenian general Demosthenes and the statesman Cleon captured 292 Spartan soldiers, including 120 elite Spartiates (425 BCE).

In the winter of 426/425, the Athenian commander Demosthenes had noticed that a place in the southwestern Peloponnese called Pylos (not to be confused with the palace of the Homeric hero Nestor) could easily be fortified, and that the Athenians could use it as a base for further raids in the region. Moreover, this part of the Peloponnese, Messenia, was hostile against the Spartans, who had subdued the inhabitants, had made helots of them, and terrorized them. The Athenian garrison at Pylos offered them an opportunity to escape. This would greatly damage the Spartan economy. Demosthenes' proposal was imaginative, and the statesman Cleon, a "hawk", was able to see to its financing.

When Demosthenes had landed at Pylos in the spring of 425, the Spartans immediately sent a fleet, which included their future genera