Sparta Defeats Athens: The Peloponnesian War Ends
Lysander's Spartan fleet ambushed the Athenian navy at Aegospotami on the Hellespont in 405 BC, capturing 170 of 180 Athenian triremes and executing 3,000-4,000 captured Athenian sailors. The Athenian admiral Conon escaped with only nine ships. The disaster was total: Athens had already lost most of its fleet at Syracuse in 413 BC and had rebuilt it through extraordinary financial sacrifice. With no fleet left, Athens could not import grain from the Black Sea. Lysander sailed to Athens and blockaded the port of Piraeus. After months of starvation, Athens surrendered unconditionally in April 404 BC. Sparta demolished the Long Walls, dissolved the Athenian Empire, installed the oligarchic Thirty Tyrants, and ended the golden age of Athenian democracy.
April 25, 404 BC
Key Figures & Places
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