Arginusae
Arginusae refers to three small islands located off the western coast of Asia Minor, opposite the southern tip of Lesbos. The islands are historically significant for their role in the naval battle that occurred in 406 BC, during the latter part of the Peloponnesian War. In this pivotal engagement, an Athenian fleet commanded by General Conon faced off against the Spartans, who were initially blockading them. The Athenians, bolstered by a new flotilla and reinforcements, achieved a notable victory when Spartan commander Callicratidas was killed in action, leading to a collapse of the Spartan right wing.
Despite the Athenian success in battle, a subsequent storm prevented the rescue of stranded sailors, resulting in severe casualties. The aftermath led to a political reckoning in Athens, where six Athenian generals faced trial and execution for alleged negligence. This event exemplified the interplay of military success and political consequences in ancient Greece. The Battle of Arginusae was one of the largest confrontations between Greek forces during the war, marking a notable moment in the conflict that ultimately contributed to Athens' downfall in 404 BC.
Arginusae
The name of three small islands off the Aegean (western) coast of Asia Minor, opposite the southern end of the island of Lesbos
Tthe principal event in the islands' history, described by Thucydides, Xenophon and Diodorus, took place in 406 BC toward the end of the Peloponnesian War, when the Athenian navy won its last victory against the Spartans. An Athenian fleet under Conon had been blockaded by superior forces under Callicratidas in the harbor of Mytilene (Lesbos). But by ruthless conscription of their last resources of manpower and money the Athenians contrived to raise a new flotilla of one hundred and ten triremes, manned by 22,000 men and reinforced by forty vessels from subject allies. Learning that this naval force was approaching, Callicratidas sailed from Cape Malea at midnight in order to surprise the enemy fleet at dawn; and the Athenians put out to sea to confront him. Callicratidas himself was killed early in the action, and after sustaining heavy losses the whole of the Spartan right wing, of which he had been the commander, broke and fled southward; and then the left wing, under a Theban general Thrasondas, fled as well. The Athenians set up a trophy on the headland of Cynossema (Kilidülbehar) after which the battle is sometimes named; it had been the greatest engagement between Greek and Greek during the course of the war.
On the Spartan side seventy-five ships were sunk; among the victors thirteen went to the bottom, and twelve were put out of action. But a gale sprang up from the north, and the eight generals in command of the Athenian fleet retired to shelter without being able to rescue the survivors from their disabled, water-logged ships. Athens was appalled by a casualty list of 5,000, and six of the generals (including the son of Pericles) were tried before the Assembly for negligence and put to death. Not for the first time, politics had ruined what the navy had achieved; and in the following year the last Athenian fleet was destroyed at Aegospotami, so that Athens was obliged to capitulate in 404.