Battle of Delium - Battle

Battle

Pagondas moved his army into position near the Athenians, although both armies were hidden from each other by a hill. The Boeotians had 7,000 hoplites, 1,000 cavalry, 500 peltasts, and 10,000 light troops. The right wing was formed by troops from Thebes, and the Thebans drew themselves up to a depth of 25 men rather than the usual 8, the centre by men from Haliartus, Coronea, and Copiae, and the left wing by troops from Thespiae, Tanagra, and Orchomenus. They were later joined by the Locrians. When Hippocrates learned of the Boeotian army, he joined the main Athenian force, leaving 300 cavalry behind at Delium. The Athenians had about the same numbers of hoplites and cavalry, but had fewer lightly armed troops, mostly from their allied cities.They lined up at the usual depth. Because of the asymmetry in deployment the Theban right wing would almost certainly be victorious, but also because of their deployment the Athenian hoplite line was longer and would outflank the Boetian left line. This unique deployment by the Theban general Pagondas explains the subsequent unfolding and progress of the battle.

The Boeotians charged unexpectedly while Hippocrates was giving a speech to his men. The centre lines saw the heaviest fighting. As Thucydides reports, the Boeotian left wing was surrounded and close to defeat, and only the Thespian contingent stood its ground. The victorious Athenian line got into confusion as it circled round the Thespian contingent and surrounded it. Some of the Athenian hoplites fought and killed one another when they met at the other end, mistaking their countrymen for the enemy. This was history's first documented incident of fratricide (Geoffrey Regan, Back Fire, Robson Books Ltd., London, 1995). It is thought the incident occurred in part because no "state" shield devices were in use, a practice which seems to have become general by the time of the Second Battle of Mantinea, fought in 362 BC between the Thebans and the Spartans (and each side's allies) . In any case, Pagondas sent his cavalry to support the Boeotian left wing and the Athenians were defeated in turn. Meanwhile, the Boeotian right wing was also victorious, and the Athenians fighting there fled; when the Athenian centre saw that their two wings had been defeated they also fled. About 500 Boeotians and 1,000 Athenians had been killed, including Hippocrates.

One of the Athenian hoplites in the battle was the philosopher Socrates. Plato has Alcibiades give the following account of the retreat of the Athenians at Delium, and Socrates' own actions then:

"Furthermore, men, it was worthwhile to behold Socrates when the army retreated in flight from Delium; for I happened to be there on horseback and he was a hoplite. The soldiers were then in rout, and while he and Laches were retreating together, I came upon them by chance. And as soon as I saw them, I at once urged the two of them to take heart, and I said I would not leave them behind. I had an even finer opportunity to observe Socrates there than I had had at Potidaea, for I was less in fear because I was on horseback. First of all, how much more sensible he was than Laches; and secondly, it was my opinion, Aristophanes (and this point is yours); that walking there just as he does here in Athens, 'stalking like a pelican, his eyes darting from side to side,' quietly on the lookout for friends and foes, he made it plain to everyone even at a great distance that if one touches this real man, he will defend himself vigorously. Consequently, he went away safely, both he and his comrade; for when you behave in war as he did, then they just about do not even touch you; instead they pursue those who turn in headlong flight." (Plato, Symposium, 220d–221c)

The Boeotians chased the Athenians until nightfall. Most of the Athenians returned to the fort at Delium, where a Boeotian herald announced that they were offending land sacred to the Boeotians and must leave. The Athenians replied that the land was now theirs and was now sacred to them, and that they held it in self-defense from the Boeotians, who were allies of the Spartans.