a smaller compass to make them more
solid and made their cheeks stouter, and from these let stays into the
vessels' sides for a length of six cubits within and without, in the
same way as the Corinthians had altered their prows before engaging the
squadron at Naupactus. The Syracusans thought that they would thus have
an advantage over the Athenian vessels, which were not constructed with
equal strength, but were slight in the bows, from their being more used
to sail round and charge the enemy's side than to meet him prow to prow,
and that the battle being in the great harbour, with a great many ships
in not much room, was also a fact in their favour. Charging prow to
prow, they would stave in the enemy's bows, by striking with solid and
stout beaks against hollow and weak ones; and secondly, the Athenians
for want of room would be unable to use their favourite manoeuvre of
breaking the line or of sailing round, as the Syracusans would do their
best not to let them do the one, and want of room would prevent their
doing the other. This charging prow to prow, which had hitherto been
thought want of skill in a helmsman, would be the Syracusans' chief
manoeuvre, as being that which they should find most useful, since the
Athenians, if repulsed, would not be able to back water in any direction
except towards the shore, and that only for a little way, and in the
little space in front of their own camp. The rest of the harbour would
be commanded by the Syracusans; and the Athenians, if hard pressed, by
crowding together in a small space and all to the same point, would
run foul of one another and fall into disorder, which was, in fact, the
thing that did the Athenians most harm in all the sea-fights, they not
having, like the Syracusans, the whole harbour to retreat over. As to
their sailing round into the open sea, this would be impossible, with
the Syracusans in possession of the way out and in, especially as
Plemmyrium would be hostile to them, and the mouth of the harbour was
not large.

With these contrivances to suit their skill and ability, and now more
confident after the previous sea-fight, the Syracusans attacked by land
and sea at once. The town force Gylippus led out a little the first and
brought them up to the wall of the Athenians, where it looked towards
the city, while the force from the Olympieum, that is to say, the heavy
infantry that were there with the horse and the light troops of the
Syracusans, advanc