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The
Spartans forced the Athenians to return their forces to the land. Demosthenes thought they could still flee by ship, but Nicias wanted to find refuge on land. After a few days of marching, Demosthenes and Nicias became separated; Demosthenes was ambushed by the Syracusans and was forced to
163:. This was a failure. Demosthenes lost about 120 Athenians along with his second-in-command, Procles. Demosthenes' allies also suffered heavy losses. As a result of this loss, Demosthenes did not return to Athens, fearing for his life. However, later that year,
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After the defeat, and upon seeing the disease-ridden
Athenian camp, Demosthenes suggested that they immediately give up the siege and return to Athens, where they were needed to defend the city against a Spartan invasion of
318:. Demosthenes landed his troops and led a bold night attack on Syracusan forces. After initial success, the Athenians became disorganized in what became a chaotic night operation, and were thoroughly routed by
223:, which was Demosthenes' wish however he had failed to persuade the other generals. This gave Athens a strong base close to Sparta, about 45 miles away. Sparta, meanwhile, landed an army on the nearby island of
338:, which delayed the departure as this was considered a bad omen. The delay allowed the Syracusans and Spartans to trap the Athenian forces in the harbour and Eurymedon was killed in the ensuing battle.
367:. Along with Nicias, he is a slave who overthrows "the Paphlagonian," a character representing Cleon. The characters in the play were based on the real people, who were contemporaries of Aristophanes.
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went to assist
Demosthenes, who was planning an invasion of Sphacteria. The Athenian forces successfully attacked Sphacteria, forcing the Spartans to surrender – a very unusual event. See
231:, from landing there. The Spartan landing was repulsed, and the main Athenian fleet (having turned back from its journey to Sicily) arrived in time to chase off the Spartan ships.
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After Athens invaded Sicily in 415 BC, a
Spartan fleet arrived to reinforce their allies in Syracuse, with a stalemate ensuing. In 413 BC, Demosthenes and
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418:, "History of the Peloponnesian War" Book 3, 98. (2007, April 11). In Wikisource, The Free Library. Retrieved 21:45, August 25, 2007, from
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in 421 BC, which ended the first half of the
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Shortly thereafter, both
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The military activities of
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Portrait of
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