History of the Peloponnesian War

When Gylippus had prepared the fleet for action, he took the whole army under cover of the night, and himself intended to assault by land the forts on Plemyrium, while at the same time, according to agreement, thirty-five of the Syracusan triremes sailed to the attack from the great harbour, and forty-five sailed round from the lesser, where their arsenal was situated; wishing to effect a junction with those within, and at the same time to sail against Plemyrium, in order that the enemy might be disconcerted by an attack on both sides.

The Athenians, on the other hand, having with all speed manned sixty ships to oppose them, with five and twenty of them engaged the five and thirty of the Syracusans that were in the great harbour, and with the remainder went to meet those that were sailing round from the arsenal. Thus they immediately entered into action before the mouth of the great harbour, and for a long time resisted each other, the one side wishing to force an entrance, the other being anxious to prevent them.

In the mean time Gylippus, when the Athenians in Plemyrium had gone down to the sea, and were paying attention to the naval engagement, surprised them by suddenly at daybreak assaulting the forts, of which he took the largest first, and then the other two; their garrisons not having awaited his attack, when they saw the largest easily carried.

From the first that was taken the men escaped with difficulty to their camp, as many of them as took refuge in their boats and merchantmen; for as the Syracusans were getting the better in the engagement with their ships in the great harbour, the fugitives were chased by one trireme, and that a fast sailer; but when the other two forts were taken, at that time the Syracusans, in their turn, were now being beaten, and so those who were flying out of the forts sailed along shore with greater ease.

For the Syracusan ships that were fighting before the mouth of the harbour, having forced their way through those of the Athenians, sailed in without any order, and being entangled with one another, transferred the victory to the Athenians; who routed both these, and those by which they were at first being defeated in the harbour.