Thucydides at Pylos and Sphacteria: Assessing Strategy Over Chance

This essay provides clarity to Thucydides ambiguous account of Athens campaign to Pylos during the Peloponnesian War. The Pylos campaign is significant in the Peloponnesian War because it is the only example of an Athenian decisive victory over elite Spartan troops on land, which enabled the political space for negotiations that could have ended the Archidamian War (these negotiations failed). a critical geographical error in Thucydides depiction not only negates the likelihood of the Spartans executing their amphibious assault as portrayed, but also calls into question the accuracy of his account and the scrupulousness of his motives. It is true, sometimes, that truth is stranger than fiction. On its face, Thucydides account of the Pylos campaign seems to fit neatly into this platitude. When subjected to a thorough analysis, Thucydides account is opaque, haphazard, and incomplete. Studying the authors evidence that the Athenian strategy is deliberate enables a reader to glean new lessons of strategy from the campaign. Such a reading facilitates an appreciation for the brilliance and flexibility of the Athenian plan. The Athenians forced both the Peloponnesian fleet and Spartan land army to divert from their original strategic actions and into unfavorable positions, from which they never recovered.