100: Sicily, The Hard Road Ahead

About this episode

The episode explores the strategic decisions made by Nicias and the response from Syracuse following Athens' initial victory.

A shocked city, a careful army, and a plateau that decides everything. We follow the tense weeks after Athens’ first win outside Syracuse, when momentum gave way to method. Nicias, often branded cautious, makes a hard strategic choice: pause late in the season, refill the coffers, request cavalry, and prepare for a siege that can actually hold under pressure. Meanwhile, Syracuse hears Hermocrates at last. His blunt case—discipline over bluster, reform over blame—shrinks a muddled command, tig...

People in this episode

Host: Mark Selleck

Topics covered

• Ancient Greece
• Sicily
• Athens
• military strategy
• Syracuse
• Nicias
• Hermocrates

Keywords

• Sicily
• Nicias
• Hermocrates
• Athens
• Syracuse
• military strategy
• siege
• discipline

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Syracuse, Sicily

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