Sicilian Expedition

Question 1

What is the mutilation of the Hermes?

Answer 1

Herms are statues in front of houses in Athens. Meant to ward off evil. They were sacred and they were vandalized. Alkibiades implicated for he had also parodied Eleusian Mysteries of Demeter. So he was also blamed for the mutilation of the herms although it was unlikely that he was involved. Radical democrats of oligarchs may have intentionally implicated him

Question 2

Who changes sides and what do they tell the Spartans ?

Answer 2

Alkibiades
Send a Spartan general with force to aid Syracuse
Fortify Dekelea between Athens and Boeotia; this act represented final phase of Peloponnesian war by land

Question 3

Siege of Syracuse?

Answer 3

• Nicias and Lamachus built a wall going from north to south trapping the city. 14 BCE: Athens builds circle fort on Epipolai (“land above the city”) and siege walls; Syracuse builds counterwalls
  -Whoever controll Epipolai control Syracuse
  Lamachos killed (Only Nikias left who is a bad general and is sick)
  -Nikias thought the city was about to surrender so he stops building the siege wall
  -414: Spartan reinforcements at Syracuse led by Gylippos; builds 3rd counter wall; captured Nicias’ fort; won a naval battle
  -Athens sends help under Demosthenes, 5000 more men and 70 more triremes; loses night battle
  Book 7; chapter 24
  -August 27th, 413: Lunar Eclipse delays Athenian withdrawal due to superstitious
  -September 9th: One last attempt to break out of harbour failed and then disastrous retreat
  -Worst defeat in Athenian history: loss of 200 ships and 40, 000 men (7000 in stone quarries); Nicias and Demosthenes killed after capture
  -Sicilian disaster marks the beginning of the end for Athens, who now had hardly any hoplites, no ships or crews to man them and no money to pay for ships

Question 4

Results of Sicilian Disaster?

Answer 4

• lost tens of thousands of men
• Worst defeat in Athenian history: loss of 200 ships and 40, 000 men (7000 in stone quarries); Nicias and Demosthenes killed after capture

Question 5

Whose to blame for disaster?

Answer 5

• Alcibiades instigates this expedition although he later jumps ship
• Some scholars believe that Nicias made a grave mistake by not bringing the cavalry
• Thucydides believed it was the greedy Athenian mob/assembly to blame, incited by ambitious demagogues like Alcibiades
• Didn’t send ships to intercept Spartans, didn’t fortify of the defense walls on epipolai and prevented the last escape due to the lunar eclipse

Question 6

People to know and the spelling of their names

Answer 6

Alcibiades 
Nicias
Thucydides
Demosthenes
Lamachus

Question 7

Land above the city?

Answer 7

Epipolai

Question 8

Quote

Answer 8

Those who had been deceived intern misled others, and they were all held responsible by the troops when word got out the Egesta did not have any money” 6.46 Peloponnesian War

Question 9

When do Spartan reinforcements come?

Answer 9

414

Question 10

Who is leading Syracuse for the Spartans?

Answer 10

Gylippos

Question 11

When was the lunar eclipse that disrupted the battle?

Answer 11

August 27th 413