How Did The Athenian Lose The Battle Of Aegospotami?

The Battle of Aegospotami was a decisive naval battle fought in 405 BCE between the Spartans and the Athenians. The battle was fought at the end of the Peloponnesian war, resulting in Spartan victory, and the end of the war. The Peloponnesian War (431- 404 BCE) was fought between Ancient Greece’s most powerful city-states, Athens and Sparta. The war occurred because of the growing tensions between Athens and Sparta, and the Athenians controlling the Delian League, which was a military alliance led by Athens that protected its members who were unable to defend themselves from enemies. The Athenians lost the Battle of Aegospotami because they weren't strategically ready for a naval battle, the failure of their leadership and the success in Spartan

External factors such as resource shortages and strategic alliances of the Spartans, helped to weaken the Athenian's positions in the battle. By the end of the war, around 405 BCE, the Athenians were already suffering from the effects of a long war as they were low on resources and their influence failed to spread to other city-states as they began to lose some allies. Sparta, on the other hand, still had a lot more resources they could use for the remainder of the war and had been getting financial help from the Persian Empire to defeat Athens. The “History of the Peloponnesian War'' by Thucydides talks about how the Athenian resources were depleted, their naval power diminished and their state weakened due to their previous loss in the battle of Sicily which is mentioned in the quote “Being overthrown in Sicily and having lost, besides other ammunition, the greatest part of their navy, and the city being then in sedition”. Furthermore, the book also talks about the Spartan alliance with Persia, which provided Lysander with the financial resources needed to build up a naval power strong enough to challenge the Athens Navy, which was more dominant than the Spartans. This alliance eventually helped to defeat the Athenian Navy in the Battle of Aegospotami. During this time, the Athenians struggled to maintain their fleet and people’s support of their war efforts, but couldn’t due to their lack of resources. This is backed up by the claims made by ancient history author Christopher Planeaux who said “With the Delian League fleet destroyed, Athens became utterly defenceless.The Peloponnesians surrounded the polis, and the Delian League had no more money. Refugees jammed inside the polis soon began to starve, and Athens neared revolution again.”.The Spartans had set up strategic blockades and captured Athenian resource ships,