Diodorus on Sphacteria
Diodorus of Sicily: Greek historian, author of the Library of World History. His activities can be dated between 60 and 30 BCE.
The greatest Athenian victory in the Archidamian War was, no doubt, the capture of Pylos in the southwest of the Peloponnese in 425 by general Demosthenes and his political ally Cleon. Here, the Athenians could receive runaway slaves and helots, which did great damage to the Spartan economy. Even better, a small Spartan army that had occupied the nearby island of Sphacteria surrendered: 292 Spartans, including 120 elite Spartiates, surrendered. From now on, the Spartans could no longer invade Attica, because the Athenians would in that case execute the POWs. Even more important was that the myth of Spartan invincibility had been shattered to pieces.
The story is told by several authors. The most important one is Thucydides (History of the Peloponnesian War 4.3-23, 26-40), but the great historian, who profoundly hated Cleon, presents this victory as a bit of good luck, whereas the operation appears to have been carefully planned. The account of Diodorus (Library of World History, 12.61-63) is, although it is much briefer, less biased. It is almost certainly based on Ephorus of Cyme.
The translation was made by C.H. Oldfather, with some modifications.
The Sphacteria Campaign |
||
|
[12.61.1] Demosthenes now led an expedition against Pylos, intending to fortify this stronghold as a threat to the Peloponnese; for it is an exceptionally strong place, situated in Messenia and 75 kilometer distant from Sparta. Since he had at the time both many ships and an adequate number of soldiers, in twenty days he threw a wall about Pylos. The Spartans, when they learned that Pylos had been fortified, gathered together a large force, both infantry and ships. |
||
|
[12.61.2] Consequently, when they set sail for Pylos, they not only had a fleet of forty-five fully equipped triremes but also marched with an army of twelve thousand soldiers; for they considered it to be a disgraceful thing that men who were not brave enough to defend Attica while it was being ravagednote should fortify and hold a fortress in the Peloponnese. |
||
|
[12.61.3] Now these forces under the command of Thrasymedes pitched their camp in the neighborhood of Pylos. And since the troops were seized by an eager desire to undergo any and every danger and to take Pylos by storm, the Spartans stationed the ships with their prows facing the entrance to the harbor in order that they might use them for blocking the enemy's attempt to enter, and assaulting the walls with the infantry in successive waves and displaying all possible rivalry, they put up contests of amazing valor. |
||
|
[12.61.4] Also to the island called Sphacteria, which extends lengthwise to the harbor and protects it from the winds, they transported the best troops of the Spartans and their allies. This they did in their desire to forestall the Athenians in getting control of the island before them, since its situation was especially advantageous to the prosecution of the siege. |
||
|
[12.61.5] And though they were engaged every day in the fighting before the fortifications and were suffering wounds because of the superior height of the wall, they did not relax the violence of their fighting. As a consequence, many of them were slain and not a few were wounded as they pressed upon a position which had been fortified. |
||
|
[12.61.6] The Athenians, who had secured beforehand a place which was also a natural stronghold and possessed large supplies of missiles and a great abundance of everything else they might need, kept defending their position with spirit; for they hoped that, if they were successful in their design, they could carry the whole war to the Peloponnese and ravage, bit by bit, the territory of the enemy. |
||