History of the Peloponnesian War

After this the Hellenes in Sicily, without the cooperation of the Athenians, continued to make expeditions against one another by land.

At Pylos, meanwhile, the Athenians were still besieging the Lacedaemonians on the island, and the army of the Peloponnesians on the mainland remained in its former position. The blockade, however, was harassing to the Athenians on account of the lack of both food and water;

for there was only one spring, high up on the acropolis of Pylos, and a small one at that, and the soldiers for the most part scraped away the shingle upon the beach and drank water such as one might expect to find there.

And there was scant room for them, encamping as they did in a small space, and since there was no anchorage for the ships,[*](The reference is to the ships which kept up a patrol round the island. There was no anchorage near the shore on the seaward side (4.8.8), so at meal-times the crews of one part of the fleet would make a landing somewhere and eat, while the other part would be out at sea on guard.) the crews would take their food on land by turns, while the rest of the fleet lay at anchor out at sea.

Very great discouragement, too, was caused by the surprisingly long duration of the siege, whereas they had expected to reduce the enemy in a few days, since they were on a desert island and had only brackish water to drink.