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

386 THE FALL OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE
stroying his fleet, and driving him from the straits. The Athenians
appear to have pursued Lysander by way of Chios." But they were
at least a day or two behind, for they were only at Elaeus, at the mouth
of the Hellespont, when they heard of the fall of Lampsacus. They
hurried to their base at Sestos and then made camp at Aegospotami,
on the beach just across the Hellespont, about three miles away (see
Map q)." A key to understanding the course of events is that Aegospotami
was only a beach, a place without a proper harbor, a little
to the east of the modern Turkish town called Siitliice, or Galata in
its Greek form, the ancient town of Aegospotami." The Athenian fleet
consisted of 180 ships." This included about 36,ooo men, so the small
town of Aegospotami was unable to supply the food, water, and other
things that so vast a force required.
The nearest place to get adequate supplies was Sestos, about twelve
miles away, so the Athenians would often need to divide their forces
to obtain supplies, and the men would often be scattered in search of
food and water. Why did they establish their base in so inconvenient
a location? The answer lies in strategic requirements that seemed to
outweigh logistical difficulties. The Athenians were eager to engage
the enemy in a great battle as soon as possible, before their own money
11
Xen. :z.I.I8.
HXen. 2.1.20-21. For the location of Aegospotami, see Bommelaer, Lysandre, III­
II]; and map at end. The ancient sources for the battle of Aegospotami are Xen.
z.I.:zz-Jo;Diod. I]. IOS-6;Plut. Lys. Io-I 1 and A/c. 36-J7;Frontinus 2.1. 18;Polyaenus
1.45·2; Paus. 9·J2·9i and Nepos, Ale. 8. The most helpful modern accounts are: D.
Lotze, Lysander und der Peloponnesische Krieg (Berlin, 1965), 32-J7; C. Ehrhart, Phoenix
XXIV (1970), 225-228; B. S. Strauss, AJP CIV (I98J), 24-35; and Bommelaer, Lysandre,
IOI-115.
15
Piut. Ale. 36.5. For the location of the Athenian base and the town of Aegospotami,
see Strabo 7·33 I, fr. 55· Bommelaer(Lysandre, IT I-113) has a useful discussion, placing
the site to the east of the modern Turkish town of Siidiice, at the mouth of the stream
called Biiyiik Dere, located just south of the point, the Si.itliice Burnu (see Map I 3).
B. S. Strauss, in a forthcoming article ("A Note on the Topography and Tactics of
the Battle of Aegospotami" to be published in AJP), which he has been kind enough
to show me, points out the advantages of such a location: "It has two streams (hence
potamr), a beach for triremes, and it is indeed directly opposite Lampsacus." In addition,
a site farther to thC southwest would require the Athenians rowing to Lampsacus to
fight a strong current and an unfavorable wind. "The wind is a strong northeasterly;
the surface current flows southward at an average rate of about I knot along the coast
... and even faster in the center of the straits." These facts, coupled with the greater
distance between Lampsacus and any other suggested site, make it clear that an Athenian
fleet sailing up the strait from any other site would have run the risk of exhausting
itself by the time it came to grips with the enemy.
J 6 0iod. IJ.I05.I.