Aegospotami
Aegospotami, located on the east coast of the Thracian Chersonese in present-day Turkey, was the site of a pivotal naval battle during the Peloponnesian War in 405 BC. This decisive engagement marked the culmination of the long-standing conflict between Athens and Sparta. Spartan general Lysander commanded the Spartan fleet, which had received substantial support from the Persian prince Cyrus II. The battle unfolded when Lysander's forces, having previously avoided confrontation, launched a surprise attack on the Athenian fleet, which was led by commanders Conon and Philocles. This unexpected assault resulted in a significant defeat for Athens, with the loss of 171 ships and tens of thousands of prisoners taken by the Spartans. The defeat at Aegospotami severely weakened Athens, leading to its eventual surrender in April of the following year. The battle exemplifies strategic maneuvering and the impact of alliances in ancient warfare, highlighting the shifting dynamics that ultimately altered the course of Greek history.
Aegospotami
Aigos potamoi (or potamos)
A place with an open beach bearing the name of a stream (the Karaova Suyu) that descends into the sea at that point; on the east coast of the Thracian Chersonese (Gallipoli [Gelibolu] peninsula), facing the Hellespont (Dardanelles), at a point where its channel is two miles wide.
The decisive and final engagement of the Peloponnesian War was fought there in 405 BC; Xenophon offers a graphic description. The Spartan Lysander, with the aid of large subsidies from his Persian friend Cyrus II, had mustered two hundred ships and moved them, together with his land forces, to the Hellespont, where he captured Lampsacus (Lapseki, on the Asian coast opposite Aegospotami). An Athenian fleet of a hundred and eighty ships under Conon and Philocles proceeded to Aegospotami, where they offered battle on four successive days. But their challenges met with no response from Lysander; and during the afternoons the Athenian crews foraged ashore for their evening meal. On the fifth day, however, after both fleets had acted precisely as before and the Athenian crews had disembarked, Lysander led his fleet at full speed across the channel, and the Athenians were taken completely by surprise, losing one hundred and seventy-one of their ships in the subsequent battle. Tens of thousands of prisoners were captured, and by November Lysander was blockading the Piraeus. In April of the following year Athens surrendered.