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In the battle of Alyzeia (June or July 375) the Athenians defeated a
Spartan fleet that was supporting an attempt to move troops across the
Corinthian Gulf into Boeotia (Theban-Spartan or
Boeotian War, 379-371). In 379, 378 and 377 the Spartans had reached Boeotia by
land, although their campaigns hadn't achieved much. In 376 King
Cleombrotus
hadn’t even reached Boeotia, and had abandoned the entire campaign after
suffering a minor defeat while attempting to cross the Cithaeron mountain
range. This Spartan failure gave the Thebans a chance to conquer their
remaining strongholds in Boeotia, and by the spring of 375 only Plataea in the
south and Orchomenus in the north-west remained in Spartan hands. Even their
former base at Thespiae had been lost.
Battles of the Theban-Spartan War, 379-371 Battles of the Theban-Spartan War,
379-371 BC
In 375 the Spartans decided to ship an army across the Corinthian Gulf into
Boeotia, in an attempt to bypass the difficult land route. Thebes asked for
help from Athens, now the head of a
Second Athenian
League. The Athenians raised a fleet of sixty ships, and gave command to
Timotheus, the son of
the famous Athenian admiral Conon. Timotheus led his fleet around the
Peloponnese, raiding the coast as he went. On his arrival in the west he was
able to win over Corcyra (modern Corfu), Cephalonia, and some of the cities of
Acarnania, on the northern shores of the Corinthian Gulf. The Spartans
responded to the Athenian presence by sending a fleet of 55 ships into the
Gulf, under the command of Nicolochus. The Spartans found the Athenian fleet at
Alyzeia, on the coast of Acarnania, just outside the Corinthian Gulf. Nearby
was the island of Kalamos, with another smaller island further to the south.
Timotheus decided to try and take advantage of the difficult waters and the
local knowledge of some of his ship's crews. Most of his fleet was beached, and
the crews were rested. His fastest ships were sent out to harass the Spartans,
avoiding getting too close to the enemy and tiring them out. The Spartans made
a serious of unsuccessful attempts to get to grips with these ships, and in the
process wore themselves out. After several hours the rest of the Athenian fleet
put to sea, and won a significant victory. It is possible that Spartan
reinforcements, sent from Sicily and Ambracia, arrived just after this battle,
and found the Athenian fleet disorganised after the battle. Timotheus was
hampered by a number of captured ships, but he managed to form part of his
fleet into a cresent, with the prows pointing towards the enemy, and then
back-watered to the safety of the shore. In the aftermath of the battle the
Athenians erected a victory trophy. Soon afterwards Nicolochus probably
returned to the scene with reinforcements, and erected a trophy of his own
after Timotheus refused to fight. This was followed by the news that peace had
been agreed between Athens, Sparta and Thebes, officially bringing the naval
campaign to an end. Elsewhere the peace held for a couple of years, but in the
west it was very quickly breached. On the Athenian side Timotheus helped
restore the democratic faction on Zacynthus, while the Spartans attempted to
intervene in the politics of Corcyra, acting in support of a group of exiled
oligarchs. In 373 this turned into a full scale intervention, which ended with
another Spartan defeat (siege and battle of Corcyra, 373-372 BC).
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Sparta at War, Scott M. Rusch. A study of the rise, dominance
and fall of Sparta, the most famous military power in the Classical Greek
world. Sparta dominated land warfare for two centuries, before suffering a
series of defeats that broke its power. The author examines the reasons for
that success, and for Sparta's failure to bounce back from defeat.
The Spartan Supremacy 412-371 BC, Mike Roberts and Bob Bennett. . Looks
at the short spell between the end of the Great Peloponnesian War and the
battle of Leuctra where Sparta's political power matched her military
reputation. The authors look at how Sparta proved to be politically unequal to
her new position, and how this period of supremacy ended with Sparta's military
reputation in tatters and her political power fatally wounded.
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