Sparta captured approximately 170 Athenian ships and executed more than three thousand Athenian soldiers, thus sealing its victory over Athens in the Peloponnesian War.
Date: September, 405 b. c.e.
Category: Wars and battles
Locale: Aegospotami, in the Chersonese on the shore of the Hellespont (Dardanelles)
Summary In the last stage of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 b. c.e.), Sparta built a fleet, thanks to Persian support, and carried out operations along the coast of Asia Minor, but with only moderate success.
To block the route of grain ships heading from the Black Sea to Athens, Lysander of Sparta entered the Hellespont with the Peloponnesian fleet and seized Lampsacus by force. The Athenian generals stationed their ships on the opposite shore at Aegospotami (ee-guh-SPAH-tuh-mi), but they could not lure Lysander into battle. Then, according to historian Xenophon, Lysander attacked the Athenians while they were searching for food and captured nearly the entire fleet. Only nine ships escaped.
Significance After this battle, Sparta besieged Athens by land and by sea. Lacking the resources to rebuild its fleet, Athens could not withstand the siege and was forced to surrender to Sparta in (probably late March) 404 b. c.e. Terms included the destruction of defensive walls and fortifications, reduction of the fleet to twelve ships, surrender of foreign lands, and an alliance with Sparta.
Further Reading
Hanson, Victor Davis. A War Like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War. New York: Random House, 2005.
Kagan, Donald. The Fall of the Athenian Empire. Ithaca, NY.: Cornell University Press, 1987.
_. The Peloponnesian War. New York: Viking, 2003.
Strauss, Barry. “Aegospotami Reexamined.” American Journal of Philology 104 (1983): 24-35.
Andrew Wolpert
See also: Lysander of Sparta; Peloponnesian Wars.
World History
