Tours: The Battles of Pylos and Sphakteria

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Opening RemarksContextAthenians TrappedThe Athenian Fleet ArrivesSpartans TrappedNegotiationsAttack on SphakteriaConsequencesClosing Remarks

• Herodotos: Welcome to Pylos, traveler. This area along with the nearby island of Sphakteria, were important battlegrounds during the Peloponnesian War.

("Who are you?")

• Herodotos: My name is Herodotos, and I am a traveler from Halikarnassos. I retrace the cause of various events, such as wars and great calamities. I describe what I see and record what I am told - all with the aim of providing a better understanding of why these things occur. Look for me to introduce you to many sites.

("What do you think of this place?")

• Herodotos: I always find it a shame that such lovely looking places were exposed to so much violence. It's difficult to take pleasure in relaxing on the sand knowing how stained it is with blood.

("Let's begin the tour.")

• Herodotos: The Peloponnesian War was a great conflict between rivals Sparta and Athens. It lasted many years, and cost a great number of lives on both sides. The Battles of Pylos and Sphakteria occured almost one after the other, and culminated with one of the most surprising outcomes in the entire war. Ah, but I will not spoil it for you. You'll have to experience it on your own. I'll wait for you at the end of the tour.

Artistic maps of Greece, showing Sparta, Athens and the Athenian landing on the island of Pylos / 2019

Since 431 BCE, the Peloponnesian War had been raging between Athens, Sparta, and their allies, with neither side gaining much ground.

But in 425 BCE, an Athenian general named Demosthenes changed that.

After a storm forced his fleet to stop in Pylos, Demosthenes realized a military presence in the area would give them an advantage against Sparta.

Unfortunately, the fleet's strategists did not believe him, and left Demosthenes in Pylos with five triremes and 1,000 men.

The Spartans, meanwhile, were too busy celebrating a religious festival to notice the enemy on their doorstep.

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In 431 BCE, Sparta, a city with formidable military prowess, went to war with Athens, a city whose power came from its naval fleet and considerate financial resources.

Athens demanded annual tributes from several Greek cities, and frequently intervened in their affairs. Because of this, some of the cities had a grudge against Athens, and consequently supported Sparta's cause.

Scene of hoplite combat from a black-figure Korinthian krater / 600-590 BCE (Archaic Greece)

Once Sparta discovered the Athenian presence on Pylos, the Spartan king Agis mustered his troops and fleet.

Sparta then descended on Demonsthenes' outpost, attacking from both the sea and the mainland.

The Athenian general had to mount a hasty defense.

He pulled his boats back to the foot of the ramparts and fixed them in place with stakes, providing extra cover.

Then, going against all the established rules of battle, he descended with his hoplites to fight on the rocky shore, where he believed the Spartans would disembark.

His gamle paid off, and the Spartans did indeed attempt to land at this location, though Desmothenes' forces made them hesitate.

One of the Spartan leaders, Brasidas, decided to make the first move by ramming the rocks with hi sboat, exclaiming, "It's only a few planks!"

He paid for his actions when his shield slipped into the sea after descending from his boat, leaving him open to many blows.

The battle raged on into the night and continued to the next day, remaining locked in a stalemate.

However, on the evening of the second day, Athenian reinforcements arrived.

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When the Peloponnesian War began in 431 BCE, the Spartans faced a unique problem.

Sparta's army consisted of incredibly skilled and formidable hoplites. As such, their military strategy normally involved ravaging their enemy's territory and forcing the opposing army to face them on the battlefield.

This tactic wasn't effective against Athens, which was protected by considerable fortifications that stretched all the way to the city's port of Piraeus. Athen's population – as well as the peasants from surrounding areas – were well-protected within the city's walls, leaving the Spartans with little to do. After a few weeks, they returned home to revise their strategy.

Chalcedony scaraboid gem engraved of a ship with steersmen, oarsmen and warriors / 525-500 BCE (Archaic Greece)

The sudden arrival of the Athenian fleet stacked the odds in Athens' favor.

The fleet decided to hold off their attack until the next day, when they swarmed the Spartan ships.

They successfully captured five enemy ships and damaged many others, cutting off access to the nearby island of Sphakteria.

Then, to add insult to injury, the Athenians raised a stake hung with weapons they'd captured from the Spartans, including the shield of Brasidas.

Meanwhile, the 420 Spartans on Sphakteria were trapped, and Sparta was completely helpless to rescue them.

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The bay where the Athenians arrived was increbily vast, measuring 4km long and 3km wide. It was even large enough to accomodate the forces of England, Russia, France, and the Ottoman Empire during the Battle of Navarino in 1827.

Fragment of a marble relief from a funerary monument with battle scene showing soldiers falling, escaping, or lying dead / 390 BCE (Classical Greece)

With 420 of their men trapped on Sphakteria, Sparta needed to re-evaluate their position.

The Spartans on the island were essentially the Athenians' hostages, and Sparta could not move to rescue or resupply them without putting their lives in danger.

In an effort to save the trapped soldiers, the Spartan leadership negotiated an immediate truce with the Athenian strategists.

Sparta agreed to hold back its fleet and halt their attacks on Pylos, and in return, the Athenians permitted them to send supplies to their men.

In the meantime, Sparta sent ambassadors to Athens to try and negotiate a better deal.

The hasty truce greatly humiliated Sparta, as they were forced to recognize just how helpless their infantry was in the face of an Athenian fleet.

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The Spartan general Brasidas was renowned for his ingenuity and quick thinking.

In addition to coming up with the idea of ramming ships into Pylos, Brasidas would eventually realize that the best way to win the Peloponnesian War was not to fight Athens directly, but to attack the city through its allies.

Kleon, concept art by Yan Li / 2017

To bargain for the safety of their men, Sparta sent ambassadors to Athens to propose a cessation of hostilities.

The ambassadors tried to emphasize that their situation was not a result of strategic incompetence or lack of strength, but rather plain bad luck.

According to them, the Spartans on Sphakteria did not deserve to suffer further, because they were trapped through no fault of their own.

These statements provoked the ire of Kleon, a popular Athenian politician known for his populist speeches.

Kleon insisted that the terms of negotiations be discussed openly before the assembly and the Athenian people, instead of in private.

The Spartan ambassadors were not as comfortable with public speaking as the Athenians, so they decided to leave.

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Kleon was well-known in Athens for frequently demanding violent or drastic solutions to situations discussed in the assembly.

For example, in 428 BCE, after Mytilene – one of Athens' most powerful allies – unsuccessfully revolted, Kleon demanded the death of its inhbitants as punishment. Athens eventually decided against this course of action, but Kleon continued to gain power and influence over the city's politics.

Attic red-figure kylix showing a peltast (a light infantry soldier) / 510 BCE (Archaic Greece)

Following the failed attempts of the Spartan ambassadors, hostilities resumed.

Back in Athens, Kleon took matters into his own hands. After being elected general, or strategos, he left to join the ongoing battle accompanied by javelin-armed infantry and archers.

With renewed strength and numbers, the Athenians landed on Sphakteria and engaged their enemy.

The battle was hard fought, but they eventually managed to surround the remaining Spartans.

It was then that Kleon invited the Spartans to surrender, as he hoped to return to Athens with prisoners.

The Spartans were exhausted after spending seventy-two days on the island, so they accepted Kleon's offer and laid down their arms.

A Spartan capitulation had previously being unheard of, and the news of their surrender echoed throughout Greece like thunder.

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The Athenian force that landed on Sphakteria was made up of hoplites, but also light infantry, archers, and peltastes.

This gave them an edge over the Spartan army, which adhered to the usualy strategy of forming its hoplites into a phalanx/ The Spartan hoplites tried advancing on the Athenians hoplites, but were consistently harassed on all sides by the Athenian light infantry. Whenever the Spartans tried fighting back, the light infantry, unburdened by heavy armor, would flee to safety, then return to harass them again.

Eventually, the Spartans were forced to retreat to an old fort and they surrendered soon after.

Terracotta relief of a warrior dragging a captive / 540-520 BCE (Archaic Greece)

The Spartans' capitulation completely changed the course of the Peloponnesian War.

Athens used their new prisoners of war as leverage, and threatened to execute them if Sparta ever returned to pillage their lands.

This gave the Athenians the freedom to conduct their own raids, which were aided further by their eventual seizing of the island of Kythera.

Sparta tried to negotiate for peace, but were unsuccessful.

Kleon, meanwhile, was emboldened by his victory, and continued to gain popularity with the Athenian people - popularity that translated to power.

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The Spartan prisoners captured after the Battle of Sphakteria were not forgotten by the city. During the negotiations for the Peace of Nikias in 421 BCE, Sparta requested that Athens free the prisoners.

• Herodotos: I hope you enjoyed learning about the battles of Pylos and Sphakteria. The battles were hard-fought by both sides, but Athens' victory gave them an enormous boost in morale. It encouraged them to be more aggressive, and it was some time before Sparta recovered from the aftershocks of their historic surrender. Now, is there anything else you'd like to do?

("I'm ready for the quiz.") ("Take on the next suggested tour.") ("Take me on a random tour.") ([LEAVE] "That's all for now.")

• Herodotos: Then I will say farewell, though I hope our paths will cross again someday.

Gallery

• File:Assassin's Creed Discovery Tour- Battle of Pylos and Sphakteria - Ep. 21 - Ubisoft -NA-