Battle of Aegospotami

Battle of Aegospotami
Part of the Peloponnesian War
Date405 BC
Location
Aegospotami, Hellespont
(present-day Çanakkale Province, Turkey)
40°15′N 26°33′E / 40.250°N 26.550°E / 40.250; 26.550
Result
  • Athens is besieged and surrenders
  • End of the Peloponnesian War
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Lysander
Aracus
Cleomedes of Samos[1]		 Conon
Philocles
Adeimantus
Strength
170 ships[2]

180 ships[3]

36,000 men[4]
Casualties and losses
Minimal 160 ships,
3,000 sailors executed[5]
Battle of Aegospotami is located in The Aegean Sea area
Battle of Aegospotami
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Location of the Battle of Aegospotami

The Battle of Aegospotami (Greek: Μάχη στους Αιγός Ποταμούς) was a naval confrontation that took place in 405 BC and was the last major battle of the Peloponnesian War. In the battle, a Spartan fleet under Lysander destroyed the Athenian navy. This effectively ended the war, since Athens could not import grain or communicate with its empire without control of the sea.

  1. ^ Pausanias; Levi, P. (July 27, 2006). Guide to Greece, Volume 2 (2nd ed.). Penguin. p. 10.9.10. ISBN 978-0140442267.
  2. ^ Eggenberger, p 6. The author writes that the Athenians had 170 ships and that 20 escaped.
  3. ^ Donald Kagan, The Fall of the Athenian Empire, (1987), p. 386; Diod. 13.105.1.
  4. ^ Donald Kagan, The Fall of the Athenian Empire, (1987), p. 386.
  5. ^ Pomeroy et al, p 327. The authors claim 171 Athenian ships were captured and a "handful" escaped.