415–413 BC · Sicily — Syracuse and surrounding territory Theater
415–413 BC
Athens launched its greatest military gamble: an armada of 134 triremes and 27,000 men to conquer Syracuse and use Sicily as a base to encircle and strangle Sparta. The expedition went wrong from the start. Alcibiades — its visionary advocate — fled to Sparta after being recalled to face charges of sacrilege. Nicias, who had opposed the expedition, commanded it reluctantly and incompetently. The Spartan general Gylippus arrived and energised Syracusan resistance. Athens's navy was defeated in Syracuse harbour; a desperate overland retreat turned to slaughter. Almost the entire expedition was destroyed — perhaps 40,000 Athenian and allied soldiers and sailors killed or enslaved.
Commanders