History of the Peloponnesian War

For some time they forbore from attacking each other, and stood on their guard; but afterwards the Athenians did not choose through their own act to be worn out with fatigue by waiting there, but to attack them as quickly as possible;

and so they advanced with a cheer, and commenced the action. The Syracusans received them, and charging with their ships stem to stem, as they had determined beforehand, with their beaks equipped as they were, they stove in the Athenian vessels to a considerable extent of the foreships, while the dart-men fighting on their decks inflicted great damage on the Athenians, and still more those Syracusans who were sailing about in their small boats, falling close in upon the oars of the enemy's ships, sailing up to their sides, and thence discharging their darts upon the seamen.

At length, by fighting in this way with all their might, the Syracusans gained the victory, and the Athenians turned and fled between the merchantmen into their own station. The Syracusan ships pursued them as far as those vessels;

but then the beams that were hung from the merchantmen over the passages between them, with [*]( i. e. heavy weights made something in the form of that fish.) dolphins attached to them, stopped their progress.

Two, however, elated by their victory, came up close to them, and were destroyed, one of them being captured with its crew.

After the Syracusans had sunk seven Athenian ships and disabled many more, having taken some of the men prisoners and killed others, they retired, and erected trophies for both the engagements; entertaining now a confident hope that by sea they were very decidedly superior, and thinking that they should conquer the enemy's land forces also. Accordingly they began to prepare for making another attack in both ways.