Question

What happened to the Athenians at the end of the Sicilian Expedition? b) What was the fate of the Athenian generals Nicias and Demosthenes at the end of this battle. c) What happened to the rest of the Athenian army at the end of the battle? d) What happened to Athens after this battle? (Thucydides, pp. 525-541; Martin, Chapter 8).

Answer 1

The Athenian expedition was a military expedition that happened between 415 BC - 413 BC as part of the Peloponnesian war and the destination was Sicily
1. At the end of the expedition the entire Athenian was surrounded in the sea so they tried to escape through land but they were ambushed force and captured.
2. Both Nicias and Demosthenes were spared by the Trojan General Gylippus who was the reason for defeating the Athenians who were at the brink of victory. But both were executed against his orders.
3. The entire Athenian army was wiped out. They were either killed, imprisoned or sold as slaves.
4. The impact of the defeat was huge. Most of the Athenian allies withdrew from the alliance. The loss of ships, soldiers and the 30,000 skilled oarsmen in particular was a huge blow to the Athenians. There was also a political shift from democracy. The ultimate blow was the destruction of Athenians by Trojans in 404 BC.