The Spartans are deservedly famous as the most tenacious warriors of Greek antiquity. They never gave up, they never backed down, and we have many examples of this, such as the mythical battle of Thermopylae. They could be defeated, but at the cost of much blood and many lives.
However there is one exception, the only time the Spartans surrendered . It happened during the first phase of the Peloponnesian War , which pitted them against Athens. On that occasion the elite of the Spartan army was forced to surrender shamefully. This was what happened in the Battle of Sphacteria .
Sphacteria is a small, narrow and elongated island, located in front of the Bay of Pylos , close to the Messinian coast. In 425 BC an Athenian fleet surprised by a storm took refuge in the Pylos peninsula. Being Spartan territory, they entrenched themselves and fortified the place. This gave rise to the Battle of Pylos, a naval battle won by the Athenians, and which would be the origin of the issue at hand.
Because with their victory and already controlling the port of Pylos, the Athenians isolated 440 Spartan hoplites on the island of sphacteria. Of these, a good number were Spartans, the elite of the city-state, numbering some 2,000 homoioi at the time. (the same ). This prompted them to quickly send representatives to Athens to negotiate an armistice, even agreeing to surrender the entire Spartan fleet as collateral to win back the Spartans.
When peace negotiations failed, the Athenians refused to return Sparta's ships, and began planning an attack on the island, where a garrison kept the Spartans isolated and unable to escape.
When they tried to fight back, the Athenians had occupied the upper parts of the island, from where they massacred them with arrows and spears, even killing their general, Epitadas.
With no other way out, the Spartans took refuge in the northern part, fortifying themselves on a promontory that was difficult to access. There they were besieged for days by the Athenians and their allies, but without being able to advance or expel them from their refuge.
The problem was that the Athenians were in Spartan territory, which made it difficult to send them supplies. In addition, they depended on a single spring as a source of water, while the Spartans had plenty to last a long time, and on top of that, winter was approaching. Despite the Athenian efforts, some Spartans managed to swim to the island with provisions for their compatriots, circumventing the blockade.
Things didn't look good for those in Athens, until one of the Messenian commanders volunteered together with his men to ascend the most dangerous part of the promontory. It must be remembered that the Messenian helots, enslaved for decades by the Spartans (there was even one day a year when the Spartans went out to hunt and kill helots), had little to lose and much to gain in the matter.
The Spartans did not guard this route, thinking that no one would dare to climb it. So when the Messenians appeared surprising them, while at the same time the Athenians attacked from the other side surrounding them, there was little they could do.
They then asked to send a messenger to Sparta asking what they should do. The Athenians did not allow any of the hoplites to leave, but they did allow messengers from Sparta to enter and leave the island with instructions. The message they received read tersely:Sparta commands you to make your own decision, always be honorable .
What they did was what no Spartan had ever done before and no Spartan would do since:they threw down their weapons and shields and surrendered without fight. It was the only time in history that the Spartans surrendered. They have won many battles and lost many others, but they have always preferred death to shame.
Of the 440 hoplites, 292 survived to surrender, including 120 Spartiates. They were taken to Athens as prisoners, where they remained for much of the rest of the war, which would last for another 21 years and would finally be won by Sparta.
Athens left a garrison of Messenians at Pylos, who dedicated themselves to launching attacks on the Spartan territory that had been their home and instigating the desertion of many helots. The Greek world would be shocked, as the Spartans were never supposed to surrender.