Pylos and Sphacteria (Peloponnesian War)

The promontory of Pylos, which is separated by a narrow channel from the island of Sphacteria, was seized and fortified by an A then i an force under Demosthenes, B.C. 425. Here he was besieged by the Spartans under Thrasymelidas, with a land force and a fleet of 43 ships, the crews of which occupied Sphacteria. Demosthenes repulsed an attack on Pylos, and Eurymedon, arriving with 50 A then i an ve els, defeated the Spartan fleet, and blockaded Sphacteria. After a protracted siege, the arrival of reinforcements, under Cleon, enabled the A then i ans to land 14,000 men in the island, and the garrison, reduced from 420 to 292, surrendered. q