Battle of Pylos

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Battle of Pylos
The south of the Peloponnese
The south of the Peloponnese
date Spring 425 BC Chr.
place Pylos
output Athenian victory
consequences Armistice negotiations
Parties to the conflict

Athens

Sparta

Commander

Demosthenes , Eurymedon , Sophocles

Thrasymedidas , Brasidas , Epitadas

Troop strength
nearly 50 ships;
60 hoplites ,
lightly armed, riflemen
40 Messenians
43 ships;
far superior land army
losses

low

some ships, after the armistice total loss of the fleet

The Battle of Pylos took place during the Peloponnesian War in 425 BC. Chr. Instead, and is closely related to nearby out battle of sphacteria . It ended with a victory for the Athenians over the Spartans.

Fortification of Pylos

In the spring of 425 BC On the one hand , Sparta had been able to induce Messina in Sicily to rebel against Athens ; on the other hand, as almost every year, the Spartans had invaded Attica under King Agis , so that the Athenians had to withdraw behind their long walls. In this situation, the Athenians sent their fleet under Eurymedon , Sophocles and Pythodorus , whose destination was initially Messina.

Then but, one decided to Gulf of Ambracia to go where previously the Athenian general Demosthenes in the battle of olpae a victory was achieved. Demosthenes, who rode with the fleet without authority, advised, however, to land on the west coast of Messenia , from where one could stir up the restless slaves against their Spartan masters directly on the Peloponnese . The generals were skeptical, but when adverse winds forced a break, they landed at Pylos , where a natural harbor and a steep rock offered protection. After recognizing the favorable location of the place, Demosthenes used the compulsory break to inspire the soldiers on board to fortify the castle rock, which was easy to defend. Although almost all aids were missing in the wilderness, the most important work was completed in six days. The fleet commanders now accepted Demosthenes' request and left him with a number of hoplites and riflemen and three ships. The fleet meanwhile drove on to Naupaktos , Kerkyra and Zakynthos .

Landing attempts

When the Spartans heard that the Athenians had landed at Pylos, they withdrew their troops from Attica and had them march to Messenia. At the same time they sent a fleet of sixty ships to attack the Athenians from sea and land at the same time. Demosthenes had in the meantime received support from two Messenian robbery ships with about 40 well-armed and war-experienced men. The arming of his own troops, however, left a lot to be desired (sometimes shields had to be woven from willow). When he heard of the approach of the Spartans, he sent two of his ships to call back the Athenian fleet to Pylos.

The "Shield of Brasidas "

Upon their arrival, the Spartans immediately overran the fortifications. Apart from his riflemen, Demosthenes had only a few heavily armed men to oppose the Spartan superiority . However, since there were only two narrow and steep entrances, it was still possible to knock off the Spartans. The situation did not change either when the Spartan fleet arrived under the command of Thrasymedidas and attempted a simultaneous storm from sea with 43 ships. The majority of the Spartan skippers shied away from the dangerous surf, which only allowed a landing at one point. The war hero Brasidas , the only one who tried seriously, was wounded on Pylos beach and lost his bronze shield, which was later displayed in the Athens arsenal. In the absence of better ideas, the Spartan general Epitadas occupied the island of Sphakteria opposite the castle rock with 440 men , which ruled the Bay of Pylos and separated it from the sea.

Sea battle in the port

After the messengers of Demosthenes had found the fleet in Zakynthos, which had been reinforced by a few guard ships from Naupaktos, Eurymedon and Sophocles appeared three days later with almost 50 ships off Pylos. The Spartans anchored their ships in the port of Pylos (Bay of Navarino ). Since the Athenians occupied the island of Sphakteria and found no other suitable anchorage, they drove back to the uninhabited island of Prote for the night . The next morning they returned ready for action, and since the Spartan ships lay idle on the shore of the bay and Thrasymedidas had neglected to block the entrances, the Athenians entered the harbor through both mouths. There they met the unprepared Spartans, whose ships were already launched but not yet fully manned. In the confusion, the Athenians immediately captured five ships and damaged many others. The Spartans fought more steadfastly from the shore and tried to pull their boats ashore again, which they also succeeded in doing with the ones they had conquered at the beginning.

Blockage of Sphakterias

The victory at sea was clear, as the remnants of the Spartan fleet were no longer operational. The Athenians immediately circumnavigated the island of Sphakteria and set up a guard to block the Spartan hoplites of Epitadas who had been cut off there. As a result, the Spartans sent negotiators to the Athenians to negotiate an armistice. The Athenians responded by demanding the surrender of the enemy fleet as a condition. The Spartans accepted and sent their envoys to Athens to negotiate, but no agreement was reached. After the armistice expired, the Athenians found an excuse to refuse the agreed return of the ships in Pylos, so that the Spartan fleet was completely lost.

The blockade of Sphakteria lasted 72 days, then because of the approaching winter the Athenians set out to conquer the island, which they succeeded in the battle of Sphakteria . The rock of Pylos remained in Athenian possession even after the Peace of Nikias and could only be found in 409 BC. To be recovered from Sparta.

Individual evidence

  1. Thucydides , IV 2-5.
  2. Thucydides, IV 8-12.
  3. ^ Thucydides, IV 13-14.
  4. ^ Thucydides, IV 14-16 and 23.
  5. Diodor , XIII 64,4ff and Xenophon , Hellenika , I 2,18.