History of the Peloponnesian War

They, then, in compliance with this request sent a messenger, and the market was prepared: upon which the Syracusans suddenly backed water and sailed to the city, landing immediately, and taking their dinner:

while the Athenians, supposing that they had retreated to the city because they were worsted by them, went ashore at their leisure, and were engaged both with other matters and with providing their dinner, imagining that for that day at least they would not have to fight again.

But the Syracusans having suddenly manned their ships, sailed out against them a second time; while they, in much confusion, and most of them unrefreshed, went on board without any order, and with great difficulty put off to meet them.

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.

At this time Demosthenes and Eurymedon arrived with the succours from Athens, consisting of above seventy-three ships (including the foreign ones) and about five thousand heavy-armed of their own and the allies, with dart-men, both Grecian and barbarian, not a few, slingers, bow-men, and the rest of the armament on a large scale.

No slight consternation was produced at the moment amongst the Syracusans and their allies, at the thought that they were to have no final deliverance from their dangers, seeing that there was newly come, none the less for the fortification of Decelea, an armament equal, or nearly so, to the first, and that the power of the Athenians appeared great on all sides; while in the former Athenian forces fresh confidence (considering their late misfortunes) had now sprung up. Demosthenes, on the other hand, seeing how matters stood, thought that it was not possible for him to waste the time, and 'so to experience the fate which Nicias had done.