History of the Peloponnesian War

They also cut down the trees near at hand and bringing them down to the sea built a stockade by the ships; and at Dascon, where the place was most accessible to the enemy, they quickly erected a bulwark of stones picked up in the fields and of timbers, and pulled down the bridge over the Anapus.

While they were making these preparations nobody came out from the city to hinder them; the first that came against them were the horsemen of the Syracusans, but afterwards the infantry also gathered in full force. And at first they drew near the Athenian camp, but later, when these did not come out against them, they withdrew across the Elorine road and spent the night.

On the next day the Athenians and their allies made preparations for battle, and were drawn up in the following order: On the right were the Argives and Mantineans, the Athenians had the centre, the other allies the rest of the line. Half of their army was in the van, arrayed eight deep; the other half near their sleeping-places, formed in a hollow square, these too arrayed eight deep; and the orders of the latter were, to be on the alert to support any part of the army that was most in distress. And the baggage-carriers they put inside the body of reserves. The Syracusans;