History of the Peloponnesian War

and it was hard to distinguish of anything for the noise. For the Syracusians and their confederates prevailing encouraged each other and received the assailants with exceeding great shouts (for they had no other means in the night to express themselves); and the Athenians sought each other and took for enemies all before them, though friends and of the number of those that fled, and by often asking the word, there being no other means of distinction, all asking at once they both made a great deal of stir amongst themselves and revealed the word to the enemy. But they did not in like manner know the word of the Syracusians, because these, being victorious and undistracted, knew one another better;

so that when they lighted on any number of the enemy, though they themselves were more, yet the enemy escaped as knowing the watchword; but they, when they could not answer, were slain.

But that which hurt them most was the tune of the Paean, which being in both armies the same, drave them to their wits' end. For the Argives and Corcyraeans and all other of the Doric race on the Athenians' part, when they sounded the Paean, terrified the Athenians on one side; and the enemy terrified them with the like on the other side.

Wherefore at the last, falling one upon another in divers parts of the army, friends against friends, and countrymen against countrymen, they not only terrified each other, but came to handstrokes and could hardly again be parted.