History of the Peloponnesian War

​The Athenians, perceiving this, dashed in upon them through each entrance, and attacking most of the ships which were already afloat and facing them, put them to flight; and pursuing them as far as the short distance allowed, they disabled many and captured five, one of these with its crew; and they rammed the rest which had fled to the shore. Some ships, moreover, while still being manned, were battered before they could put out; and some they lashed and towed off empty, the men having fled to the shore.

​Seeing this and being deeply distressed by the disaster, because their men were being cut off on the island, the Lacedaemonians rushed to the rescue, and going into the sea with their arms, they seized the ships and dragged them back. In this conflict, each man felt that the cause was lost wherever he himself was not personally active.

​Great indeed was the clamor, and the usual manner of fighting of both sides was reversed in the struggle for the ships; for the Lacedaemonians, in their eagerness and consternation, did nothing less, so to speak, than fight a sea-fight from the land, while the Athenians, who were winning and wished to push their present good fortune to the utmost, fought a land-battle from their ships.

​After inflicting much trouble upon each other and receiving many wounds they parted, and the Lacedaemonians saved their empty ships, except those taken at first.

​When both sides had returned to their camps, the Athenians erected a trophy, restored the dead, and secured the wrecks, and immediately began to sail round the island and keep it under guard, looking upon the men as cut off; while the Peloponnesians on the mainland, who had now been reinforced from all sides, remained in their position at Pylos.