Expedition to Disaster: The Athenian Mission to Sicily 415 BC

by Philip Matyszak

The Athenian expedition to conquer Sicily was one of the pivotal events of the classical period. At this time (415 BC), Athens was locked in a decades-long struggle with Sparta for mastery of the Greek world. The expedition to Sicily was intended to give Athens the extra money and resources to crush the Spartans. New archaeological discoveries allow the ensuing siege to be reconstructed in greater detail than ever before. The cast of characters includes Alcibiades, the flamboyant, charismatic young aristocrat; Nicias, the aging, reluctant commander of the ill-fated expedition and Gylippus, the grim Spartan general sent to mastermind the defense of Syracuse. It was he who stopped the Athenians dead in their tracks within weeks of his arrival, then turned the tables on the invaders. The Athenians were in their turn surrounded, besieged, and forced to ask for mercy from a man who had none to give. In short, we have an epic story packed with colorful characters and dramatic episodes. There are battles on land and sea, siege and counter-siege and tales of self-sacrifice, villainy and heroism. Yet there is also the overarching unifying theme which is the story of the expedition itself. Philip Matyszak's combination of thorough research and gripping narrative makes him the perfect man to do justice to this famous story.

Genres: History, Italy, Greece, War, Ancient History, Nonfiction

277 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2012

About the author

Philip Matyszak is a British nonfiction author, primarily of historical works relating to ancient Rome. Matyszak has a doctorate in Roman history from St. John's College, Oxford. In addition to being a professional author, he also teaches ancient history for Madingley Hall Institute of Continuing Education, Cambridge University.

Reviews

[Adam McPhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

To some extent the tragedy of the Athenian expedition is a morality play written in blood. An empire abandons the values that made it great, and indeed actively turns against those who still hold those values. Yet while the exploitation of the weak and defenceless appears to go unpunished, the blind pride and ambition of the empire eventually over-reaches itself and (with a few deft nudges from fate) collapses into ruin. This is a story that has enjoyed a few re-runs since the fifth century BC, and it is not hard to pick up the plot today.

Among the self-styled elites of today there has been hubris on a massive scale, perhaps best exemplified by the words ‘too big to fail’. As with the Athenians in Sicily, we see the naked self-interest of a group being given a sophisticated spin to convince the majority that being exploited is actually for the best. Politicians, financiers and large corporations appear to share a separate reality in which ordinary people matter only to the degree they can be gulled or coerced into making good for follies that make the Athenian expedition seem wise by comparison.

Many in today’s world have been carelessly damaged by the cynical use of power to satiate greed. Like the Athenians, the perpetrators have paid little attention to Nemesis. The question, perhaps, is whether Nemesis is paying attention to them.

Worth it for Athenian vs Syracusan triremes. Athenians better crewed, could "snap enemy oars like breadsticks" by riding alongside or would maneuver to hit perpendicular, but Syracusans had reinforced prows for head on battering and did better in the close quarters of a harbour. Insanely cool stuff. Like how they had guy just watching from the shore. It's really good, a lot of Thucidydes and Plutarch summed up and contextualized, but that's good because I've always avoided the one and had trouble with the other.

Alcibiades sucks, total psychopath. But I had a lot of sympathy for Nicias, the pessimist general who trouble committing to a plan. And there's something always intimidating about the way a Spartan general will show up in some ancient account and almost magically turn a bunch of nobodies into a competent fighting force (uh, Xenophon's Clearchus aside).

[Alex G · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of the Athenian Democracy at its most bloated and heady, this is the classic Greek take of Nemesis taking revenge on a state that has become so obsessed with their own greatness that they fail to account for reality. A great story through and through, the book recounts misstep after misstep.

[Russell Hogg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Narrative history at its best

The story moves along like an adventure novel but the attention to detail and nuance remains outstanding. Really terrific stuff.

[Jeff Brezenski · Rating 4 out of 5]

The buildup to the eventual siege was well written, but once the siege commenced, the book became a bit of a grind. My recommendation is once you start, do not put the book down.

[Waltram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone has heard of Classical Athens, the birthplace of democracy, and home to great names of history such as Pericles, Socrates, Plato, Sophocles or Aristophanes. Athens rose to prominence thanks to its aggressive expansionism, naval power, ferocious hoplites, derring-do and sense of innovation. They attacked the Persian Empire to liberate Ionian Greek cities and created an empire around the Aegean. They managed to defeat the redoubtable Spartians. What could go wrong? The Athenians saw an opportunity to extend their empire further in Sicily by bringing Ionian colonies to their side and conquering the largest Greek colony on the island, the Dorian city of Syracuse. It should have been an easy conquest, and for a while things were going very well for the Athenians. Yet that expedition was going to cause the downfall of Athens and its empire.

[Kiril Valchev · Rating 4 out of 5]

" Expedition to Disaster " разказва за злощастната Сицилианска експедиция от 415-413 г. пр.н.е., която Атина предприема, с цел подчиняването на Сиракуза (на източния бряг на острова). Дали си временна почивка от кръвопролитията на Пелопонеските войни, атиняните подемат тази експанзионистка, дръзка и цинична кампания, защото..., ами просто защото могат, водени от сляпа гордост и амбиции. Немезида обаче има други планове за тях. Немалко са поуките, които можем да извлечем от случилото се и неслучайно, в края на книгата, Матижак споделя написаното от историка и съвременник на тази гибелна авантюра, Тукидид: "Достатъчно ми е, думите ми да бъдат полезни за онези, които искат да разберат ясно какво се е случило в миналото и какво - тъй като човешката природа не се променя - ще се случи отново в бъдеще, по едно или друго време.".