The Landmark Thucydides 7.1 To 7.87
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- 1.Why were the Syracusans losing hope and discussing surrender in the second year of the Athenian invasion?
- A.
They received word that the Peloponnesian fleet was not coming.
- B.
They lost a series of major battles on the plains outside the city.
- C.
The Athenians were close to completing their siege walls.
- D.
Their leader Hermocrates died in battle.
- 2.Why did Nicias suddenly recommend withdrawal from Sicily in the winter despite a series of recent victories?
- A.
The arrival of the Peloponnesian fleet and construction of a counterwall left his forces besieged from the land side.
- B.
He was timorous and frightened of the reputation of the Spartan general Gylippus.
- C.
He was alarmed by reports that his former colleague Alcibiades had gone over to the Spartans.
- D.
The promised reinforcements from Athens had not arrived and he knew he lacked the manpower to take Syracuse.
- 3.What was the purpose of yet another Spartan invasion of Attica in the summer of 413?
- A.
To destroy the lands providing sustenance to the Athenian population.
- B.
To take the city of Athens by surprise.
- C.
To prevent their allies from getting restive.
- D.
To force the Athenians to fight a two-front war.
- 4.How did the Peloponnesians manage to get Gylippus's army to Sicily despite Athenian naval superiority?
- A.
They waited until a moonless night to set sail.
- B.
25 Corinthian triremes kept the Athenian ships distracted.
- C.
They dug a very long tunnel from the Peloponnesus to Sicily.
- D.
They defeated the Athenians in a major sea battle at Naupactus.
- 5.Why were the mixed results at the battle of Plemmyrium a major success for the Syracusan-Peloponnesian alliance despite losing the naval battle to Athens?
- A.
The Athenians were forced to withdraw from the Great Harbor of Syracuse.
- B.
The allies could replace their lost ships more easily than the Athenians could replace their lost troops, stores, and equipment.
- C.
It was the first time the Athenians had been defeated in battle since they arrived in Sicily.
- D.
It convinced the Athenians that they could not win the war.
- 6.What was the technological innovation that helped the inexperienced Syracusan navy defeat the superior Athenian ships.
- A.
Greek fire.
- B.
Catapults.
- C.
Reinforced prows.
- D.
Boarding corvus.
- 7.Why did Demosthenes elect to attack with his reinforcements as soon as he arrived?
- A.
He knew that his position would only weaken with time.
- B.
He didn't have sufficient supplies to delay.
- C.
He was a foolish and impatient general.
- D.
He hoped to stop the Syracusan counterwall before it extended further.
- 8.Why did Nicias reject Demosthenes's advice to withdraw following the defeat at Epipolae?
- A.
He thought Syracuse was close to collapse.
- B.
He feared to return to Athens in defeat.
- C.
He was convinced that with the reinforcements, their forces were still superior to the allied Syracusan-Peloponnesian forces.
- D.
He wasn't concerned so long as Athens held command of the sea.
- 9.What was the crucial event that sealed the fate of the Athenians at Syracuse?
- A.
Demosthenes's failure at Epipolae.
- B.
The arrival of Gylippus.
- C.
The closure of the Great Harbor.
- D.
The auguries that caused Nicias to delay withdrawal.
- 10.What was so unusual about the harbor battle that took place when the Athenians attempted to break out and escape from Syracuse?
- A.
It was so crowded that it was similar to a land battle fought at sea.
- B.
The Athenians lost a sea battle.
- C.
The battle took place at night.
- D.
No ships were sunk on either side.
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