Close to the end of the campaigning season of 425 BC, the forces of Athens managed to trap a force of 420 Peloponnesian hoplites on the island of Sphacteria in the Peloponnese. The eventual surrender of those hoplites sent shockwaves through the Greek world – Thucydides calls it the greatest surprise of the war (Thucydides 4.40.1, 5.14.3), a calamity unlike any Sparta had suffered before. There, the Spartan garrison was greatly outnumbered, but the attacking Athenians, commanded by Demosthenes and Cleon, had relied upon their light-armed peltasts and psiloi to wear the Spartans down rather than the battle being hoplite versus hoplite. As such, one of the most famous Athenian victories of the war was not ‘typical’ of hoplite warfare.
Athenian arrogance
Athenian arrogance was not new, but what is evident in the aftermath of Sphacteria is that such arrogance could blind Athens to what was in the best interests of the city. They certainly had the upper hand, but Athenians now thought that their advantage was permanent and they squandered the opportunities it brought. Persuaded by the rhetoric of ambitious and selfish demagogues and civic pride, Athens fought on.
At first, this confidence was rewarded. A closely fought battle at Solygeia with the Corinthians ended in Athenian victory (Thuc. 4.43-44). The Athenians then ravaged Corinthian territory around
