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The siege of Naupactus in 426 was a
short-lived Spartan attempt to capture a key Athenian naval base on the
northern shores of the Gulf of Corinth. Naupactus was a city located towards
the western end of Locris, the coastal area on the northern side of the Gulf of
Corinth, and had been an Athenian naval base for much of the Great
Peloponnesian War. The area had been the base for an unsuccessful Athenian-led
invasion of Aetolia (the largely mountainous to the north of Locris), which had
come to grief at the battle of Aegitium in
426, but even before this campaign the Aetolians had sent messengers to Sparta
and to Corinth asking for an army to help them capture Naupactus. The Spartans
agreed to this request and sent an army of 3,000 allied hoplites, commanded by
Eurylochus, a full Spartan, and accompanied by only two other Spartans. In the
autumn of 426 this army moved to Delphi, from where envoys were sent out to
threaten the neighbouring Locrians. Although the Locrians had agreed to support
the Athenian invasion of Aetolia earlier in the year, most of them now agreed
to support the Spartans, with many actually providing troops. Oeneon and
Eupalium, two towns that refused to support the Spartans, were captured as they
advanced west through Locris towards Naupactus. The Spartan attack on Naupactus
began well. The outskirts of the city, outside the city walls, were quickly
captured, and the small garrison in Naupactus when the attack began was clearly
not large enough to hold the entire circuit of the walls. The Spartans had a
short window of opportunity to take the city, but they failed to take it. The
Athenian commander Demosthenes had remained in
the area after his defeat at Aegitium. He reacted to the news of the siege by
persuading the Acarnanians to provide him with 1,000 hoplites to help with the
defence of the city. Demosthenes was then able use his fleet to move this
relief army into the city. Once it was clear that Naupactus was properly
garrisoned Eurylochus abandoned the siege. His new target was Amphilochian
Argos (modern Amfilochia), at the eastern end of the Gulf of Ambracia. His hope
was that the capture of this city would allow him to subdue all of Acarnania, a
success that would have largely eliminated the Athenian presence in
north-western Greece. Instead he suffered a crushing defeat at
Olpae in 426.
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