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| |-|Athenians Trapped= | | |-|Athenians Trapped= |
| [[File:DTAG - Krater scene of hoplite combat.png|thumb|250px|Scene of hoplite combat from a black-figure Korinthian krater / 600-590 BCE (Archaic Greece)]] | | [[File:DTAG - Krater scene of hoplite combat.png|thumb|250px|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 II of Sparta|Agis]] mustered his troops and fleet. |
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| | Sparta then descended on Demonsthenes' outpost, attacking from both the sea and the mainland. |
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| | The Athenian general had to mount a hasty defense. |
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| | He pulled his boats back to the foot of the ramparts and fixed them in place with stakes, providing extra cover. |
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| | 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. |
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| | His gamle paid off, and the Spartans did indeed attempt to land at this location, though Desmothenes' forces made them hesitate. |
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| | 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!" |
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| | He paid for his actions when his [[shield]] slipped into the sea after descending from his boat, leaving him open to many blows. |
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| | The battle raged on into the night and continued to the next day, remaining locked in a stalemate. |
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| | However, on the evening of the second day, Athenian reinforcements arrived. |
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| | '''Learn More:''' |
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| | When the Peloponnesian War began in 431 BCE, the Spartans faced a unique problem. |
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| | 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. |
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| | This tactic wasn't effective against Athens, which was protected by considerable fortifications that stretched all the way to the city's port of [[Port of Piraeus|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. |
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| |-|The Athenian Fleet Arrives= | | |-|The Athenian Fleet Arrives= |
| | [[File:DTAG - Chalcedony scaraboid gem.png|thumb|250px|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. |
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| | The fleet decided to hold off their attack until the next day, when they swarmed the Spartan ships. |
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| | They successfully captured five enemy ships and damaged many others, cutting off access to the nearby island of Sphakteria. |
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| | 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. |
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| | Meanwhile, the 420 Spartans on Sphakteria were trapped, and Sparta was completely helpless to rescue them. |
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| | '''Learn More:''' |
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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 {{Wiki|Battle of Navarino}} in 1827. |
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| |-|Spartans Trapped= | | |-|Spartans Trapped= |
| | [[File:DTAG - Funerary monument fragment relief.png|thumb|250px|Fragment of a marble relief from a funerary monument with battle scene showing soldiers falling, escaping, or lying dead / 390 BCE (Classical Greece)]] |
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| |-|Negotiations= | | |-|Negotiations= |
| |-|Attack on Sphakteria= | | |-|Attack on Sphakteria= |
