Battle of Cynossema

Battle of Cynossema
Part of the Second Peloponnesian War
Date411 BC
Location
Off Cynossema, in the Thracian Chersonese
(modern-day Kilitbahir, Eceabat, Çanakkale, Turkey)
40°08′33″N 26°23′16″E / 40.142369°N 26.38775°E / 40.142369; 26.38775
Result Athenian victory
Belligerents
Athens and allies Sparta and allies
Commanders and leaders
Thrasyllus,
Thrasybulus		 Mindarus
Strength
76 ships 86 ships
Casualties and losses
15 ships 21 ships
Cynossema is located in Greece
Cynossema
Cynossema
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Greece

The naval Battle of Cynossema (Ancient Greek: Κυνὸς σῆμα) took place in 411 BC during the Second Peloponnesian War. In the battle, an Athenian fleet commanded by Thrasybulus and Thrasyllus, although initially thrown on the defensive by a numerically superior Spartan fleet, won a narrow victory. This victory had an impact out of proportion to its tactical significance, coming when Athens' traditional democratic government had been replaced by an oligarchy and an Athenian defeat could have ended the war. The newly confident Athenian fleet proceeded to win two more victories in the Hellespont in quick succession, the second being the dramatic rout at Cyzicus, which ended the immediate Spartan threat to Athens' Black Sea lifeline.