armament frittered away, until familiarity with the sight of it had
bred contempt in the breasts of their enemies. They therefore eagerly
seconded the proposal of Demosthenes, and forced Nikias, though sorely
against his will, to yield to their representations. Accordingly,
Demosthenes with the land force assaulted the outlying fort on the
high ground of Epipolæ by night, and took it by surprise, killing part
of its garrison and putting the remainder to flight. He did not halt
there, but followed up his success by marching further on towards the
city, until he was met by some Bœotian heavy-armed troops, who had
been the first to rally, and now in a compact mass met the Athenians
with their spears levelled, and with loud shouts forced them to give
way with severe loss. The whole Athenian army was by this thrown into
confusion and panic, as the fugitives broke the formation of those
troops who were still marching to the front, so that in some cases
they actually fought with one another, each believing the others to be
enemies. Thus the Athenians fell into sad disorder and ruin; for they
were unable to distinguish friends from foes in the uncertain light,
as the moon, now nearly setting, glanced upon spear-points and armour
without showing them clearly enough to enable men to see with whom
they had to deal. The moon was behind the backs of the Athenians: and
this circumstance was greatly against them, for it made it hard for
them to see the numbers of their own friends, but shone plainly on the
glittering shields of their antagonists, making them look taller and
more terrible than they were. Finally, attacked as they were on every
side, they gave way and fled. Some were slain by the enemy, some by
their own countrymen, and some were dashed to pieces by falling down
the precipices; while the rest, as they straggled about the country,
were cut off by the Syracusan cavalry. Two thousand men perished, and
of the survivors few brought back their arms.