Battle of Cyzicus The naval Battle of Cyzicus took place in 410 BC during the Peloponnesian War . In the battle , an Athenian fleet commanded by Alcibiades , Thrasybulus , and Theramenes routed and completely destroyed a Spartan fleet commanded by Mindarus . The victory allowed Athens to recover control over a number of cities in the Hellespont over the next year . In the wake of their defeat , the Spartans made a peace offer , which the Athenians rejected . Prelude . In the wake of the Athenian victory at Abydos in November 411 BC , the Spartan admiral Mindarus sent to Sparta for reinforcements and began working with the Persian satrap Pharnabazus to plan for a new offensive . The Athenians , meanwhile , were unable to follow through on their victory , since the depletion of the Athenian treasury precluded any major operations . Thus , by the spring of 410 BC , Mindarus had built a fleet of eighty ships , and with the support of Pharnabazus ' s troops , besieged and took the city of Cyzicus . The Athenian fleet in the Hellespont withdrew from its base at Sestos to Cardia to avoid the superior Spartan force , and ships under Alcibiades , Theramenes , Thrasybulus that had been dispatched to raise money combined with this force , creating a fleet of 86 ships . This fleet , along with a force of land troops under Chaereas , set out to the Hellespont to challenge Mindarus . The battle . The Athenian force entered the Hellespont , and , passing the Spartan base at Abydos by night so as to conceal their numbers , established a base on the island of Proconnesus ( modern - day Marmara ) , just northwest of Cyzicus . The next day , they disembarked Chaereas ' s force near Cyzicus . The Athenian fleet then divided , with 20 ships under Alcibiades advancing towards Cyzicus while two other divisions under Thrasybulus and Theramenes lurked behind . Mindarus , seeing an opportunity to attack what appeared to be a vastly inferior force , set out towards them with his entire force . Alcibiades ' s force fled , and Mindarus ' s ships gave chase . When both forces had gotten well out from the harbor , however , Alcibiades turned to face Mindarus , and Thrasybulus and Theramenes appeared with their forces to cut off his retreat . Mindarus , seeing the trap , fled in the one open direction , towards a beach south of the city , where Pharnabazus was located with his troops . The Spartan fleet suffered losses in the flight , and reached the shore with the Athenians right behind them . Alcibiades ' s troops , leading the Athenian pursuit , landed and attempted to pull the Spartan ships back out to sea with grappling hooks . The Persian troops under Pharnabazus , however , entered the fighting on the shore and began to drive the Athenians , who were outnumbered and fighting against opponents on firmer ground , into the sea . Seeing this , Thrasybulus landed his force as a diversion and ordered Theramenes to combine his troops with those of Chaereas and join the battle . For a time , Thrasybulus and Alcibiades were both driven back by superior forces , but the arrival of Theramenes and Chaereas turned the tide ; the Spartans and Persians were defeated , Mindarus was killed . All the Spartan ships were captured save for those of the Syracusan allies , who burned their ships as they retreated . Aftermath . In the wake of this dramatic victory , the Athenians had full control of the waters of the Hellespont . The next day , they took Cyzicus , which surrendered without a fight . An intercepted letter from the Spartan troops stranded near Cyzicus reads “ The ships are gone . Mindarus is dead . The men are starving . We know not what to do . " Demoralized by the devastation of their fleet , the Spartans sent an embassy to Athens seeking to make peace ; the Athenians rejected it . At Athens , the oligarchic government that had ruled since 411 gave way to a restored democracy within a few months of the battle . An expeditionary force under Thrasyllus was prepared to join the forces in the Hellespont . This force , however , did not depart until over a year after the battle , and although the Athenians eventually recaptured Byzantium and resumed collecting tribute from Chalcedon , they never truly pressed the advantage that Cyzicus had given them . Largely , this was a result of financial inability ; even after the victory , the Athenian treasury was hard pressed to support large - scale offensive operations . Meanwhile , the Spartans , with Persian funding , quickly rebuilt their fleet , and would go on to undermine the Athenian advantage . Athens would win only one more naval battle in the war , at Arginusae , and their defeat at Aegospotami in 405 BC would bring the war to a close . Cyzicus , although a dramatic victory , failed to bring any lasting advantage to the Athenian side , and only served to postpone the eventual outcome of the war .