The Sicilian Expedition
In 415 BCE Athens voted to send a large expedition to Sicily, ostensibly to help the small city of Segesta against Selinus, but with the real goal of conquering Syracuse and using Sicilian wealth and manpower to win the Peloponnesian War. The Athenian assembly approved an armada of 134 triremes and 27,000 men — Athens' largest ever overseas expedition. The expedition had three generals: the brilliant but unreliable Alcibiades, the cautious and pious Nicias who had opposed the expedition, and the aggressive Lamachus. Just before departure, the herms throughout Athens were found mutilated overnight. Alcibiades was accused of involvement. He demanded immediate trial but was allowed to sail; he was recalled mid-campaign and defected to Sparta. Lamachus was killed in early fighting. Nicias, chronically ill and indecisive, failed to press early advantages against Syracuse. The Syracusans improved their defenses and Sparta dispatched the general Gylippus, who reinvigorated Syracusan resistance. Athenian forces, which had nearly completed a siege wall, now found themselves besieged. A second Athenian fleet under Demosthenes arrived in 413 BCE. A night attack on the heights of Epipolae failed catastrophically. The Athenians tried to break out by sea but were defeated in the harbor. Trying to escape by land, the entire force was hunted down. Nicias and Demosthenes were executed. Some 7,000 prisoners were confined in stone quarries where most died of exposure. The disaster shattered Athenian power. The city lost its fleet, treasury, and best soldiers. Sparta, encouraged by Athens' weakness and subsidized by Persian gold, would press the war to final victory.
- Year: 415 BCE
- Category: Military
