Aegospotami, Battle of

Naval battle fought in 405 BC off Aegospotami (now Gelibolu on the northern shore of the Dardanelles) between the Spartans and the Athenians. The Spartan commander Lysander's decisive victory over the Athenian fleet broke its until then unchallenged naval superiority and effectively ended the Peloponnesian War. By virtually annihilating the Athenian fleet, Sparta was able to cut off seaborne supplies from the Black Sea to Athens, leading to the Athenian surrender the following year.

The historians Xenophon and Diodorus Siculus broadly agree Lysander surprised the Athenian fleet while most of its ships were moored, partly or wholly unmanned, and that only nine or ten escaped.