424 BC · Delium, Boeotia Theater
424 BC
Flush with their successes at Pylos, Athens launched an ambitious two-pronged invasion of Boeotia. One column was supposed to distract the Boeotians while the other seized Delium; the plan unravelled and the Athenians faced the massed Boeotian army alone. Pagondas used an innovative tactic — concentrating his Theban contingent in a column 25 men deep while thinning his weaker allies — which overwhelmed the Athenian right. The Athenians routed; Hippocrates was killed among 1,000 Athenian hoplites. Socrates was among the survivors who fought their way out in good order.
Commanders