History of the Peloponnesian War

Afterwards it seemed best to Demosthenes, before going further, to make an attempt with engines upon the cross-wall. But when he brought his engines up they were burned by the enemy, who defended themselves from the wall, and the assaults which he made at many points with the rest of his army were regularly repulsed; it therefore seemed best not to waste more time, and so with the consent of Nicias and his other colleagues he undertook, as he had planned, the attack upon Epipolae.

Now it seemed impossible to approach the heights in the daytime and make the ascent without being observed; he accordingly ordered provisions for five days, took with him all the stonemasons and carpenters, and also a supply of arrows, and whatever things they would need while building a wall, in case they should succeed in their undertaking, and after the first watch, accompanied by Eurymedon and Menander, led out the entire army and advanced to Epipolae, leaving Nicias behind in the fortifications.

When they had reached Epipolae, taking the route by Euryelus, which had been followed by the former army in the first ascent, they got by the Syracusan guards without being observed, and advancing to the Syracusan fort at that point captured it and killed some of the guards;

most of these, however, fled at once to the camps, of which there were three upon Epipolae—one belonging to the Syracusans, one to the other Siceliots, and one to the allies—and brought word of the attack, informing also the six hundred Syracusans who were posted as an advanced guard on that part of Epipolae.

These hastened at once to the rescue, but Demosthenes and the Athenians met them and put them to rout despite their vigorous resistance. This body of Athenians then straightway pressed forward, in order that, taking advantage of their present impulse, they might not be too late to accomplish the purpose for which they had come; while another party at the very first proceeded to seize the cross-wall of the Syracusans, where the guards did not wait to receive them, and to lay low the battlements.

But the Syracusans and their allies, as well as Gylippus with his own troops, came up from the outworks; yet, since this daring attempt had been made upon them unexpectedly at night, they were still dazed as they attacked the Athenians and were at first forced back by them.

But while the Athenians were by now going forward, in some disorder, considering themselves victorious and wishing as quickly as possible to push their way through all the enemy's forces that had not yet been engaged, in order that they might not rally again when they themselves relaxed their onset, it was the Boeotians who first made a stand against them, and by making a charge routed and put them to flight.