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==Athenian Losses==

According to Thucydides ‘this was the greatest Greek achievement of any in this war, or, in my opinion, in Greek history; at once most glorious to the victors, and most calamitous to the conquered’ [7-85]. The entire Athenian army and navy was destroyed. The expedition that had sought to conquer the island of Sicily was a complete disaster. It is impossible to know the extent of the Athenian losses. It is thought that the Athenians lost some one hundred ships. These were very expensive to build and it would take the Athenians years to replace them <ref> Bagnall, Nigel. The Peloponnesian War: Athens, Sparta, And The Struggle For Greece (New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2006), p. 213</ref>. As significant as the loss of the ships were the deaths or capture of the many trained oarsmen. The Athenians navy was reliant on these men to power their triremes and again it took years to replace these men. The entire army was annihilated by the Syracuse and their allies. One again exact figures are impossible to determine but the Athenians certainly lost several thousand soldiers and cavalrymen<ref>Bagnall, p 289</ref>. Per one historian ‘The total number of prisoners taken would be difficult to state exactly, but it could not have been less than 7,000’, <ref> Thucydides, [7-85] </ref>. This was an utter disaster for the Athenians and they were now practically defenseless before the Spartans and their allies. Plutarch states that when news of the disaster reached the city, the citizens at first were incredulous and then began to panic. The Spartan’s had once again invaded Attica and were camped within miles of the city. The Syracuse Navy was sent east to help the Spartans to defeat Athens. It seemed that the Athenians were on the verge of defeat <ref> Kagan, p. 215</ref>. New of the Sicilian disaster encouraged many of the cities and islands in the Athenian Empire to revolt. However, by a superhuman effort, the Athenians could continue with the war. Private Citizens donated their wealth to the city and these funds were employed in building new ships. The citizens also enlisted in the army. Despite the odds, the city could survive. It did this by once again returning to the cautious strategy of Pericles. The Athenians to the amazement of all Greece could continue the war. This was because the Spartans were too conservative and cautious and the Syracuse navy was recalled to deal with an invasion by the Carthaginians <. This allowed the Athenians to maintain control over their Empire. However, after the Sicilian disaster, the Athenians were always on the backfoot and they could no longer go on the offensive. The Athenians continued the war for a further nine years but they had been so weakened by the Sicilian expedition that they could no longer achieve victory <ref> Kallet, Lisa. Money and the Corrosion of Power in Thucydides: The Sicilian Expedition and its Aftermath (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001), p 198</ref>. It could no longer provide its army and navy with the same level of resources. The Athenian army and navy were never as large as it was and it was usually outnumbered. If the city had not suffered such heavy losses in Sicily, it seems unlikely that Sparta could have ever defeated it. The economy was also badly hit and the Athenians had to raise special taxes to fight the war. Gradually, over time, the ability of the Athenians to finance the war was greatly curtailed<ref>Kallet, p. 213</ref>.

==The Oligarchy in Athens==