The Fall of the Athenian Empire-(A New History of the Peloponnesian War) Donald Kagan - (1987)

THE WAR IN THE HELLESPONT 221
use this very favorable opportttnity to destroy the Athenian fleet entirely.'•
The center should have little trouble carrying out its part of
the strategy; if it succeeded, the resulting weakness in the Athenian
center might lure the right to hurry to its aid, thereby allowing Mindarus
to cut them off. Should that occur, it would be relatively easy
to catch the Athenian right between the victorious Peloponnesian center
and the ships of Mindarus. After that it would not be difficult to
destroy the isolated Athenian left at leisure.
Thrasybulus placed Thrasyllus at the head of the column, on the
left wing opposite the Syracusans. He himself commanded the right,
opposite Mindarus."' We cannot be confident of what strategy he may
have planned in advance. Since the initiative lay with the enemy, he
must be prepared to react swiftly to whatever occurred, but it was
possible, at least, to try to anticipate Mindarus' strategy and to make
contingent plans. Thrasybulus either anticipated the strategy very
well, or he reacted with a shrewd and sure instinct when he saw the
course of events!' Mindarus allowed the Athenian left under Thrasyllus
to move beyond the narrows in front of the Cynossema promontory.
When it had passed by, around the sharp bend that cut off
the sight of the rest of the Athenian fleet, and when the center had
come to the narrowest part of the strait, the Peloponnesian center
launched its attack with excellent results. The left under Thrasyllus
had its hands full with the ships in its waters and, in any case, could
not could not see what was happening to the center because of the
promontory that cut off vision down the strait.
The outcome of the battle hung on the action of the Athenian right
under Thrasybulus. Had he tried to assist the center, he would have
failed, because he would have been badly outnumbered by the combination
of the enemy's center and left and would have been trapped
between them. His ships and the entire Athenian fleet would have
been annihilated. Thrasybulus, however, did not fall into the trap.
When he saw Mindarus moving toward the mouth of the strait to cut
off escape, he employed the greater speed of the Athenians to defeat
J~or the most useful account of the battle, see Busolt, GG III:2, I5I7-1519.
40
Diodorus (IJ.J9·4) erroneously reverses the position of Thrasyllus and
Thcasybulus.
41
Thucydides' language seems to me compatible with either possibility. After describing
the Peloponnesian intentions he says: ol. 'AOTJvaLoL -yv6vn:c; (8. 104.4). yv6vnc;
could mean "knowing the enemy's intentions" or "perceiving what the enemy was
doing."