As unfortunate as it may seem, war has played a large part in history. In classical Greek Civilization this view remains consistent. This difference in exploring the wars of the Greeks is that many of them were fought against one another. Greek vs. Greek. this is because, unlike many other cultures, the Greeks did not first consider themselves Greeks as we consider ourselves Americans. They associated themselves more closely with the city-state in which they lived. They were first Athenians, Spartans, or Corinthians and they considered each of their city-states much like separate countries. If we can imagine being a Portlander, a New Yorker, or a Los Angeleno and that these cities were separate countries, then we can begin to understand how the Greeks thought of each other.
Of the Greek City-States, Athens and Sparta were the classic rivalry. Other city-states made war with one another, but none equaled the scale of those fought between Athens and Sparta and each others colonies. Each were considered leading City-States among all of the Greeks. Like other city-states, they founded colonies across the Mediterranean and for the most part these colonies remained loyal to their mother city-states.
The dominance of Athens and Sparta came to a climax during the Peloponnesian Wars. These were fought between the two city-states and their colonies. At this point both of leading city-states could no longer support their increasing populations with their own food production and they each relied heavily on the food surplus of their colonies to support their needs. When hostilities had broken out between them, the primary target for consideration was the others imported food. If these imports could be prevented, then the losing city-state would be at the mercy of the victor. For Athens, these key colonies were around the Black Sea. For Sparta, these key colonies were on the island ofSicily.
The Syracusan Expedition was launched against the Spartan colony of Syracuse on the island of Sicily about 415 BC. This was the second and much larger Athenian attempt to force Sparta and her colonies (known as the Peloponnesian League) to its knees. A successful attack and capture of the colony of Syracuse would have certainly meant the eventual loss of the Spartan colonies on Sicily as well as much of the military capability of Sparta. The following is a summary of the events of the battle which changed the coarse of the Peloponnesian Wars, the power struggle between Athens and Sparta and history as well.
The Events of the Syracusan Expedition
The leading proponent of having war with Sparta was a young influential man named Alcibiades. He wanted a renewed attempt at conquering the Spartan colonies on Sicily that had failed in 425 BC. This time, though, he had in mind an expedition on a grand scale, much larger than had been previously undertaken. The goal was that in conquering Syracuse, which was one of the most prominent colonies on Sicily, the other Spartan colonies would fall and the whole island would be under the domination of Athens. It was hoped that this would eventually lead to the conquering of other Spartan colonies on the Italian Peninsula. All of these areas were rich in corn and timber which Athens needed in great supply to feed its people and build ships for its great fleet.
Although many of the supporters of continued war with Sparta had died either of old age or in battle, Alcibiades was able to convince the Assembly of Athens to vote in favor of the expedition. By the summer of 415 BC a hundred triremes were launched for Syracuse from Athenian Shipyards and others from the colonies of Athens. These ships meet at Corcyra to form a combined fleet of one hundred thirty-four triremes, six thousand soldiers, fifteen hundred Athenian Hoplites, and equipment to be used for resupply and siege warfare.
Though the Athenian Fleet had difficulties remaining well supplied because many of their allies in Italy and Sicily were either unable or unwilling to aid them at that time, the Athenian Fleet and Army arrived later that year to begin their attack on Syracuse. Also, Alcibiades was found to be involved in a controversy. He had been accused of religious sacrilege and this included mocking the Mysteries of Eleusis which was a prominent cult in Athens at this time. He was called back to Athens, but he escaped on the return trip and made his way to Sparta.
The Athenians, nevertheless, won the first decisive battle, but were forced to return back to friendly ports because of the approach of winter. During this time, the Syracusans better prepared their defenses for the expected renewed attack from the Athenians in the Spring. Syracuse, fearing that this would not be enough to hold back the massive Athenian force, sent ambassadors to Sparta to request assistance.
By Spring of 414 BC, the attack was renewed. This time the Athenians had been reinforced by contingents of cavalry from both Athens and other colonies in Sicily. In no time, the Athenians had won a decisive battle which ensured them a position on the steep plateau of Epipolae which rose above Syracuse. In this position, the Athenians began building ramparts to cut off the enemy from the mainland. It was common in siege warfare to cut off the supplies of the enemy in order to starve the population into submission so that they would surrender. Though the Syracusans tried desperately to counter this action, it was not long before there was talk of surrender among them.
Just in time, the Spartans joined the battle in order to save their colony. they were lead by a man named Gyluppus who was able to raise an army of three thousand Sicilians. After a successful attack against the Athenians, they were able to capture the summit of Epipolae ending all hopes for the Athenians to cut off the city from the mainland. Also, the Syracusan Navy, which had been unable to counter the Athenian Fleet had been reinforced and now numbered eighty ships. Although the Athenians still outnumbered the forces against them, they were weighed down by the troops which they carried and their hull were in a poor state of repairs since they had not been able to perform the needed maintenance on them during the winter. These factors did not allow them the upper hand and thus they were unable to outmaneuver the enemy ships either to attack or even to escape the Great Harbor of Syracuse to sail to safety.
The Athenians sent reinforcements of their own by early summer of the same year. This fleet of seventy-three triremes and fifteen hundred Athenian Hoplites were sent to break through the wall of ships that prevented the Athenians from having control of the harbor. If this were possible, then the attack could be continued as planned. The reinforcement force, lead by the Athenian, Demosthenes, decided to attack the summit first. the attack was made on a moonlit night and was almost a success, but was repulsed by the Spartans and their allies. Then the only option was to attempt to free the blockade of ships and retreat. Demosthenes had the idea to use the Athenian superiority of troops on their ships as boarding parties to capture the enemyąs ships. This, however, did not succeed because the Athenian ships were simply to weighed down to be of any match to the faster and more maneuverable Syracusan and Spartan Ships. After a desperate struggle, the fleet of Demosthenes was forced to withdraw.
The Athenians were forced to leave behind the bulk of their original fleet of one hundred and thirty ships and thousands of sick and wounded soldiers which had been beaten during the battle. Many were enslaved. The loss was so great that the Athenian military was never able to recover from it. The might of the Athenian Empire was at itąs end and soon Athens itself would be staved into submission by the vary Spartans that they had sought to win out in Sicily. It was said that later on some Athens slaves captured during the Syracusan Expedition were able to earn their freedom from their captors by reciting plays by Euripides. Even if the Athenians had lost the battle, they still had a strong reputation as intellectuals and artists.