At the end of the first part, I described how a plague enveloped Athens and killed nearly 25% of the population. The loss was so devastating that citizens needed to raid nearby towns for supplies and more soldiers; because despite this, Athens is still in the midst of a terrible war with Sparta.
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Surrendering
Cleon, the Athenian general during this period, was granted ships by the Ecclesia. With these, he sailed and found the island of Pylos in 425 B.C., where he and his men set up a fort. Cleon's plan was to get the Helots in Sparta to revolt, causing chaos in their city-state. However, the Spartans knew he was there and sent some men to Sphacteria to keep an eye on them. Upon realizing what was going on, Cleon sent some of his own men to get a better look at these Spartans. In what seemed like something pulled straight out of a bad joke, they accidentally set fire to the area. This however allowed them to see that there were actually only 120 Spartiates. Cleon broke away from the Greek rules and used anything they could get their hands on to defeat them. The Spartans quickly surrendered as these men represented 10% to 5% of their whole army.
In Delium, Athenians battled the Spartans, who lost 2-3,000 men out of 7,000. After Sparta surrendered, some allies switched sides as this was not the city-state they thought it once was following the humiliating defeat.
Alcibiades
A statesman and a general, he appeared before the Ecclesia in 416 convincing them to conquer Syracuse in Sicily, saying there is plenty of grain that would solve their food problems. This was a bad idea because instead Athens should be recuperating during this time of peace. However, due to his status and skillful way with words, he convinced them successfully.
Before leaving, the hermai (which were symbols of masculinity and good luck) were defaced. All fingers pointed towards Alcibiades as the culprit, most likely stemming from enemies he developed. The Ecclesia recalled him for a trial, but instead he fled with his men to Sparta. This left Nicias himself, who was very old and dying of cancer, in charge of the attack.
August 413
Nicias arrives in Syracuse and meanders about and builds only a few earthworks. Mistakenly, he didn't block the Great Harbor which allowed supplies and enemy soldiers to enter. Instead, Nicias kept sending word home requesting more ships, supplies, and, men. Athens grants it all without blinking an eye, even with Spartans camped out 13 miles outside their city. So many soldiers were sent that eventually slaves abandoned their masters since they were not around; plus they believed that Sparta would succeed in the end.
At the Great Harbor, the Athenians packed in tight to prevent the Syracusan navy from escaping. Eventually the Athenians get surrounded and all of the ships were destroyed. This forced the 40,000 men left on land, including Nicias, to flee inland. Since this occurred in the dead of summer, it took 8 days to travel 20 miles, all while being chased down by horsemen. They finally came upon the Assinarus River, and in just a few hours 18,000 men were cut down. Allies and slaves were sold into slavery, and Nicias was sentenced to death. Nobles were branded on the forehead and forced to work the limestone quarries. No one came home from this.
With such a crushing defeat, it was difficult for many Greeks to see an end to this war. For the Spartans, this was the perfect opening they needed to finish Athens once and for all.