up a trophy upon the islet in front of Plemmyrium, they retired to
their own camp.
Unsuccessful at sea, the Syracusans had nevertheless the forts in
Plemmyrium, for which they set up three trophies. One of the two
last taken they razed, but put in order and garrisoned the two others.
In the capture of the forts a great many men were killed and made
prisoners, and a great quantity of property was taken in all. As the
Athenians had used them as a magazine, there was a large stock of
goods and corn of the merchants inside, and also a large stock
belonging to the captains; the masts and other furniture of forty
galleys being taken, besides three galleys which had been drawn up
on shore. Indeed the first and chiefest cause of the ruin of the
Athenian army was the capture of Plemmyrium; even the entrance of
the harbour being now no longer safe for carrying in provisions, as
the Syracusan vessels were stationed there to prevent it, and
nothing could be brought in without fighting; besides the general
impression of dismay and discouragement produced upon the army.
After this the Syracusans sent out twelve ships under the command of
Agatharchus, a Syracusan. One of these went to Peloponnese with
ambassadors to describe the hopeful state of their affairs, and to
incite the Peloponnesians to prosecute the war there even more
actively than they were now doing, while the eleven others sailed to
Italy, hearing that vessels laden with stores were on their way to the
Athenians. After falling in with and destroying most of the vessels in
question, and burning in the Caulonian territory a quantity of
timber for shipbuilding, which had been got ready for the Athenians,
the Syracusan squadron went to Locri, and one of the merchantmen
from Peloponnese coming in, while they were at anchor there,
carrying Thespian heavy infantry, took these on board and sailed
alongshore towards home. The Athenians were on the look-out for them
with twenty ships at Megara, but were only able to take one vessel
with its crew; the rest getting clear off to Syracuse. There was
also some skirmishing in the harbour about the piles which the
Syracusans had driven in the sea in front of the old docks, to allow
their ships to lie at anchor inside, without being hurt by the
Athenians sailing up and running them down. The Athenians brought up
to them a ship of ten thousand talents burden furnished with wooden
turrets and screens, and fastened ropes round the piles from their
boats, wrenched them up and broke them, or dived down and sawed them
in two. Meanwhile the Syracusans plied them with missiles from the
docks, to which they replied from their large vessel; until at last
most of the piles were removed by the Athenians. But the most
awkward part of the stockade was the part out of sight: some of the
piles which had been driven in did not appear above water, so that
it was dangerous to sail up, for fear of running the ships upon
them, just as upon a reef, through not seeing them. However divers
went down and sawed off even these for reward; although the Syracusans
drove in others. Indeed there was no end to the contrivances to
which they resorted against each other, as might be expected between
two hostile armies confronting each other at such a short distance:
and skirmishes and all kinds of other attempts were of constant
occurrence. Meanwhile the Syracusans sent embassies to the cities,
composed of Corinthians, Ambraciots, and Lacedaemonians, to tell
them of the capture of Plemmyrium, and that their defeat in the
sea-fight was due less to the strength of the enemy than to their
own disorder; and generally, to let them know that they were full of
hope, and to desire them to come to their help with ships and
troops, as the Athenians were expected with a fresh army, and if the
one already there could be destroyed before the other arrived, the war
would be at an end.
While the contending parties in Sicily were thus engaged,
Demosthenes, having now got together the armament with which he was to
go to the island, put out from Aegina, and making sail for
Peloponnese, joined Charicles and the thirty ships of the Athenians.