414 BC: Siege of Syracuse

Manufacturer: Worthington Publishing

414 BC: The Siege of Syracuse is the second in Worthington Publishing's Great Sieges game series.

In 415 BC, during the Peloponnesian War, Athens launched the most powerful force ever dispatched overseas by a Greek City-state, with 134 Triremes and over 24,000 men against Syracuse. In early 414 the great siege began. The Syracusans were afraid to face the vaunted Athenians in open battle and stayed behind their walls. The Athenians realized they lacked the siege-craft to directly assault the walls of Syracuse. Instead, a war of wall and counter-wallls ensued.

By early fall, Athens had defeated two counter walls and completed the southern section of their wall of circumvallation. Next, the Athenians built north, across the Epipolae Plateau. The doom of Syracuse appeared inevitable. At this critical juncture, Gylippos of Sparta arrived with a small army and took command in Syracuse. After a series of attacks and counter-attacks, Gylippos began a third counter-wall, and the final wall-building race was on.

Syracuse expanded its fleet and achieved naval superiority. Meanwhile, Gylippos had won the building race - his counter-wall blocked any further Athenian progress. Just as defeat appeared nigh, Athens dispatched a second expedition in 413. The stage was set for the climactic showdown. Either the Athenians would prevail or they would meet their historical fate - defeat, surrender, slavery, and death.

Contents:
1 Mounted Game Board
36 Wooden Athenian Markers
35 Wooden Syracusan Markers
1 Solitaire Deck of Cards
1 Two-Player Deck of Cards
1 Six-sided Dice
1 Rule Book
1 Athenian Order Book
1 Syracusan Order Book
1 Battle Tablet

Ages: 14+
Players: 1-2
Game Length: 60 minutes

Mechanisms: