Siege of Andros
| date | 408 to 406 BC Chr. |
|---|---|
| place | on the island of Andros |
| output | canceled |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Alkibiades , Aristocrates , Adeimantos , Thrasybul , Konon , Phanosthenes |
|
| Troop strength | |
| 1,500 hoplites , 150 horsemen, 100 ships | |
| losses | |
|
low |
many (all Spartans); |
Sybota - Potidaia - Spartolus - Stratos - Naupactus - Plataea - Olpai - Tanagra - Pylos - Sphacteria - Corinth - Megara - Delion - Amphipolis - Mantinea - Melos - Syracuse - Miletus - Syme - Eretria - Kynossema - Abydos - Kyzikos - Ephesus - Chalcedon - Byzantium - Andros - Notion - Mytilene - Arginus - Aigospotamoi
The siege of Andros was an operation in the Peloponnesian War that Athens waged in 408 BC. BC tried to regain its lost positions in the Aegean Sea . After two years it was canceled without success.
prehistory
After his successes on the Hellespont ( battle of Kyzikos , 410 BC) and on the Bosporus ( conquest of Byzantium , 408 BC), Alcibiades returned in the summer of 408 BC. Back to Athens in triumph. After being appointed commander-in-chief of the Attic armed forces ( strategos autokrator ), he had an expeditionary corps of 1,500 hoplites and 150 horsemen equipped and sailed with 100 ships to bring the breakaway islands of the Aegean back under Athenian rule. He was also accompanied by two colleagues: Aristocrates , a respected politician and experienced general, and Adeimantos , who was probably elected to the office of strategist because of his personal friendship with Alcibiades .
Landing and battle
The next, not entirely insignificant, island that opposed Athens was Andros , located southeast of Euboia on the way to the Hellespont, which had been in existence since the constitutional turmoil of 411 BC. Had an oligarchic government that had joined the Peloponnesian League .
Alkibiades landed in the port of Gaurion, which he quickly fortified, and then turned towards the capital of the same name, Andros. The Andrians advanced towards him with their departure and fought a battle in which they were defeated. After the Spartans fighting with them all fell, they withdrew behind their walls.
siege
Since he could not take the city, Alcibiades had it surrounded with an enclosure wall. Then he left the command of the siege to the general Thrasybul and drove with the bulk of his force to Samos , from where he plundered Kos and Rhodes . After some time, Thrasybul grew tired of the siege and was relieved by his colleague Konon in order to initiate another siege in Phocaea himself . Konon commanded 20 ships off Andros, but did not stay long either, since he was appointed by the Athenians to succeed the deposed Alcibiades after the Battle of Notion (407 BC).
The strategist Phanosthenes is mentioned as the last commander of the siege of Andros, a citizen of Andros who fled from the oligarchical coup of 411 and was given citizenship by the Athenians. However, Phanosthenes only had four ships left for the blockade at sea. Nevertheless, he succeeded in capturing two Spartan blockade breakers and capturing their commander Dorieus from Rhodes. Although Dorieus had been sentenced to death by the Athenians for his role in the apostasy of Thurioi and participation in the Battle of Abydos , he was released without a ransom , probably because of his prestige as a former Olympic champion .
Deduction
Even Phanosthenes' small forces are likely to have withdrawn in the following year at the latest, as the Athenians after the Battle of Mytilene gathered all available ships for the Battle of the Arginus (406 BC) to free Konon, who was besieged on the island of Lesbos desperate situation in the port of Mytilene .
consequences
The siege of Andros showed the difficulties of Athens, which despite enormous efforts failed to regain his lost possessions in the Aegean. The main reason for this was the permanent threat from the Spartan fleet, which was constantly being re-equipped with Persian subsidies.