Conon’s Desperate Escape at Mytilene
An Athenian admiral was trapped, his fleet cornered by Sparta in a narrow harbor. He sent his fastest ship through enemy lines to beg for help.
Unknown — "Gold phiale (libation bowl)" (4th–3rd century BCE), public domain
Cornered at Mytilene.
406 BC. Conon, Athens’ admiral, found himself and forty ships blockaded inside Mytilene’s harbor by the Spartan Callicratidas. Food ran low. Conon realized he had one chance: send the swiftest trireme, crewed by volunteers, to break through the enemy at night and warn Athens.
A single ship, a city’s hope.
Against all odds, the trireme slipped past the Spartans. The rowers reached Athens and sounded the alarm. The city mobilized every ship it could muster—even freeing slaves to row. But the victory at Arginusae that followed would lead to another crisis: generals executed for failing to rescue drowning sailors, and Athens’ military leadership gutted at the worst possible moment.
Conon’s gamble saved his men from certain destruction, but Athens’ rescue mission would end in disaster—the infamous trial of the Arginusae generals.
