History of the Peloponnesian War

When the fleet was ready, Gylippus led out his whole land-force under cover of night, intending in person to make an assault by land upon the forts of Plemmyrium, and at the same time, on a preconcerted signal, thirty-five Syracusan triremes sailed to the attack from the Great Harbour, while forty-five sailed round from the lesser harbour, where their ship-yard was, purposing to form a junction with those inside the harbour and simultaneously attack Plemmyrium, so that the Athenians, thus assailed from both directions, might be thrown into confusion.

But the Athenians, hastily manning sixty ships to oppose them, with twenty-five engaged the thirty-five Syracusan ships that were in the Great Harbour, and with the rest went to meet the squadron that was sailing round from the ship-yard. And so they at once engaged in battle in front of the mouth of the Great Harbour, and for a long time held out against one another, one side wishing to force the entrance, the other to prevent this.

Meanwhile Gylippus, noticing that the Athenians on Plemmyrium had gone down to the sea and were giving their attention to the sea-fight, surprised them by making a sudden attack at daybreak upon the forts; and first he captured the largest, and afterwards the two smaller ones also, their garrisons not awaiting the attack when they saw the largest so easily taken.

Of the garrison of the fort that was taken first, all that succeeded in escaping to the boats and to a certain merchant ship were rescued and brought to camp, but it was with difficulty; for the Syracusans were at the time having the best of the fight with their ships in the Great Harbour, and a trireme, and that a fast sailer, was sent in pursuit. But when the other two forts were taken, the Syracusans, as it chanced, were by this time losing the fight, and those who fled from these forts had less difficulty in sailing past them.

For the Syracusan ships that were fighting in front of the entrance, after they had forced back the Athenian ships, sailed into the harbour in disorder, and falling foul of one another made a present of their victory to the Athenians, who routed not only this squadron but also the ships by which they were at first being beaten inside the harbour.

And they sank eleven of the Syracusan ships, slaying most of the men, except only the crews of three ships, whom they took alive; but of their own ships three were destroyed. And drawing up on shore the wrecks of the Syracusan ships and setting up a trophy on the little island that faces Plemmyrium, they withdrew to their own camp.

The Syracusans had fared thus in the sea-fight, but they held possession of the forts on Plemmyrium and set up three trophies for these. One of the two forts last taken they demolished, but the other two they repaired and garrisoned.

In the capture of the forts many men were killed or made prisoners, and much property in all was taken; for since the Athenians used the forts as a warehouse, there were in them many wares belonging to merchants as well as food, and also much property belonging to the trierarchs[*](The trierarchs, appointed yearly from a selected list of well-to-do citizens, received from the state at the beginning of their year of service the bare ship, without rigging or equipment, which each had to provide for himself.)—in fact the sails and other tackle of forty triremes were taken there, as well as three triremes that had been drawn up on shore.

But the greatest and most serious blow suffered by the Athenian army was the taking of Plemmyrium; for the work of bringing in provisions through the entrance to the harbour could no longer be carried on with safety (since the Syracusans lying in wait there with ships hindered this, and from now on the convoys could only make their entrance by fighting), and in general this event brought consternation and discouragement to the army.