7. First Actions at Pylos and
Sphacteria
- 425
summer
- Of the five ships left at Pylos,
Demosthenes sends
two
to alert the fleet at Zacynthus.
- The Spartans fortify Sphacteria
with 420
soldiers.
- Demosthenes prepares for battle by
drawing up his ships under the fortification and
enclosing them in a
stockade,
- and by posting
60
hoplites on the
beach.
- The Spartan fleet
(43
ships)
arrive.
- The Spartans conduct a
simultaneous land and sea assault--attempting to force a
landing on the shore.
- The Athenians are victorious: the
Spartans could not use all 43 ships at once, but had to
row up in small detachments.
- The Spartan trierarch Brasidas loses
his
shield
when he is attempting to land, and the Athenians
afterwards use it for a trophy.
- The Spartan fleet sails to the
bay.
- 50 of the Athenian
ships arrive, but put in at
Prote when they see that Demosthenes has everything under
control and that there is no place to
anchor.
- On the next day, the
Athenians
sail into the bay and attack the Spartan fleet
successfully.
- The
Spartan
garrison on the island of
Sphacteria is now isolated.
- Athenian
ships cruise up and down
Sphacteria.
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