Ep. 0290: ‘The Mad Dream of Conquest,’ Pt. III

Here it is, FINALLY — the third installment of ‘The Mad Dream of Conquest’ series, about the Athenian expedition to Sicily during the Peloponnesian War in the 5th century BC. Enjoy!

Join CJ as he discusses:

• The Syracusan reaction to news of a huge, inbound Athenian expeditionary force, including the wise advice of Hermocrates (that wasn’t sufficiently heeded at first)
• The arrival of the Athenians in the area, & initial difficulties & disappointments they began to encounter
• The debate among the 3 Athenian strategoi (Nicias, Lamachus & Alcibiades) over how to proceed, the strategy adopted, & the lack of significant progress
• The recall of Alcibiades to Athens for trial, & his subsequent escape
• Athenian successes in Sicily that they failed to capitalize upon sufficiently to defeat Syracuse prior to the onset of the winter of 414/415
• Athenian & Syracusan diplomatic efforts during that first winter
• The success of Syracusan diplomacy (with the help of Alcibiades) in securing aid from Corinth & Sparta
• Gylippus, the Spartan strategos sent to take command of the Syracusan war effort against Athens
• Initial Athenian successes during the campaign season of 414 that (despite the death of Lamachus) drove the Syracusans to the brink of surrender
• The arrival of Gylippus in the nick of time, & his stunning successes in turning the tide of the war against Athens & nullifying their efforts to circumvallate & besiege Syracuse
• Nicias’ extremely downtrodden & pessimistic report back to Athens, sent during the winter of 414/413, in which he demanded that the Athenian Assembly either authorize the evacuation of his expeditionary force, or send him significant reinforcements (men, supplies, & money), along with a strong request that he (Nicias) be relieved of command if they chose the latter option

As promised, here’s a zoomed out map of the expedition to Sicily, showing 1) how far the Athenians traveled, & 2) the relative locations of significant cities on Sicily & on the adjacent ‘toe’ of Italy , plus a more zoomed-in map of Syracuse, its harbors, & the surrounding territory.

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• Syracuse, 415-413 BC: Destruction of the Athenian Imperial Fleet by Nic Fields
• A War Like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War by Victor Davis Hanson

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The post Ep. 0290: ‘The Mad Dream of Conquest,’ Pt. III first appeared on The Dangerous History Podcast.