Raid on Athens

The Raid on Athens was a battle that took place around the 5th Century BC in the harbour of Athens.

Tensions had risen between the city-states of Athens and Sparta and the Delian and Peloponnesian Leagues. In an effort to reduce Athen's naval capacity, commanders in Sparta planned a raid in order to disrupt the main fleet whilst it was resting in Athens.

Sparta hired mercenaries to infiltrate the port at night and destroy several galleys. Once they arrived they began burning several galleys but only managed to fully destroy three. The Athenian City Guard accompanied by several Athenian hoplites arrived at the port and recovered many damaged galleys before successfully repelling the Spartan raid.

Whilst the mercenaries sustained ten casualties, the majority of the troops were able to safely evacuate.

Twenty civilians were murdered by the raiders when they arrived at the port. Most of them were slaves or merchants who were at the scene when the raiders landed.