| |
The battle of Aegospotami in 405 was a crushing Athenian defeat that
effectively ended the Great
Peloponnesian
War, leaving the city vulnerable to a siege and naval blockade. The
previous year had ended with a major Athenian victory at the battle of the
Arginusae
Islands, but in the aftermath of this battle six of the eight Athenian generals
had been executed for failing to rescue the survivors from twenty-five ships
sunk during the battle, and the remaining two had gone into exile. They were
replaced by Conon, Adeimantus and
Philocles. The Spartans
also needed a new commander,
Callicratidas, the
admiral for 406, having been killed during the battle of the
Arginusae
Islands. At this time it was against Spartan custom to appoint someone to the
same post twice, so Lysander, the popular
commander of 405, was officially appointed as second in command to Aracus, but
in reality it was Lysander who commanded the fleet. The two sides spent part of
the year improving the quality of their fleets, but eventually Lysander decided
to move into the Hellespont, partly to try and regain control of a number of
cities lost in recent years and partly to try and block the Athenian food
supply from the Black Sea. His first success came at Lampsacus, on the Asian
shore, which was taken by storm. When the Athenians discovered that Lysander
had moved to the Hellespont, they followed with a fleet of 180 ships. They
sailed up the Hellespont, and took up a position at
Aegospotami, opposite
Lampsacus. On the next morning the Athenians put out to sea and formed up in
line of battle outside Lampsacus. Lysander refused to come out and fight, and
after some time the Athenians returned to their base on the beach at
Aegospotami. Lysander sent some of his fastest ships to follow the Athenians
and discover their routine. The same pattern was repeated on the next three
days. This worried Alcibiades, an Athenian
commander in exile for the second time, and he attempted to convince the
current Athenian generals to move up the coast to the city of Sestos, where
they would have a more secure position. On the fifth day Lysander made his
move. Our two sources disagree on the start of the disaster. In Diodorus
Siculus the Athenian commander for the day, Philocles, put to sea with thirty
triremes, and ordered the rest of his fleet to follow. Some deserters told
Lysander, and he decided to take advantage of the split Athenian fleet. The
entire Peloponnesian fleet put to sea, defeated Philocles and then attacked the
unprepared Athenian fleet. While Lysander was attempting to capture Athenian
ships by dragging them out to sea, a Peloponnesian army was landed on the
European shore and captured the Athenian fleet. In Xenophon Lysander took
advantage of Athenian complacency. The Athenians were forced to travel some way
to find food, and had got into the habit of dispersing from their ships at the
end of each day's sailing. On this day Lysander sent out his fast ships as
normal, but this time prepared the entire fleet for battle. When the scouts saw
that the Athenians were beginning to disperse they raised a shield as a symbol.
Lysander crossed the Hellespont and fell on the disorganised Athenians. At this
point our sources come back together. Conon and nine ships managed to escape
from the disaster, but the remaining 170 Athenian ships were all captured.
Conon realised that he had lost the war, and sailed into exile on Cyprus. In
the aftermath of this disaster the Athenian position crumbled. Byzantium and
Chalcedon were the first of a series of Athenian-held cities to surrender to
Lysander, and in each case he allowed the garrisons to return to Athens. News
of the defeat was carried to Athens on the state trireme 'Paralus'. With their
last fleet gone, the Athenians realised that they were about to be besieged by
land and sea, and that they might not expect much mercy if they surrendered.
The city was soon surrounded by two Peloponnesian armies and blockaded by
Lysander's fleet, and the siege of Athens, the final act of the Great
Peloponnesian War, began.
|
|
