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[[File: PEP SIX.jpg|thumbnail|400px|left|Athenian and Syracuse Ships in a battle]]

According to Thucydides ‘this was the greatest Greek achievement of any in this war, or, in my opinion, in Greek history; at once most glorious to the victors, and most calamitous to the conquered.’ <ref>Thucydides,7-85</ref> The entire Athenian army and navy was destroyed. The expedition that had sought to conquer the island of Sicily was a complete disaster. It is impossible to know the extent of the Athenian losses. It is thought that the Athenians lost some one hundred ships. These were expensive to build and would take the Athenians years to replace them.<ref> Bagnall, Nigel. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312342152/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0312342152&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=29e68e8d1bdf4f43dd5ef23496e2ea1c The Peloponnesian War: Athens, Sparta, And The Struggle For Greece]</i> (New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2006), p. 213</ref> As significant as the loss of the ships were the deaths or capture of the many trained oarsmen. The Athenians navy was reliant on these men to power their triremes and again it took years to replace these men. The entire army was annihilated by the Syracuse and their allies. One again exact figures are impossible to determine but the Athenians certainly lost several thousand soldiers and cavalrymen.<ref>Bagnall, p 289</ref> Per one historian ‘The total number of prisoners taken would be difficult to state exactly, but it could not have been less than 7,000.’ <ref> Thucydides, [7-85] </ref>

This was an utter disaster for the Athenians and they were now practically defenseless before the Spartans and their allies. Plutarch stated that when news of the disaster reached the city, the citizens at first were incredulous and then began to panic. The Spartan’s had once again invaded Attica and were camped within miles of the city. The Syracuse Navy was sent east to help the Spartans to defeat Athens. It seemed that the Athenians were on the verge of defeat.<ref> Kagan, p. 215</ref> News of the Sicilian disaster encouraged many of the cities and islands in the Athenian Empire to revolt. However, by a superhuman effort, the Athenians continued with the war against Sparta. Private citizens donated their wealth to the city and the funds were used to build new ships. The citizens also enlisted in the army. Despite the odds, the city survived. It did this by once again returning to the cautious strategy of Pericles. The Athenians to the amazement of all Greece survived.