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Athens surrenders and its walls come down

404 BCE, Athens. An event.

Where and when

404 BCEAthens

2,429.2 years ago

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, Athens

Starved by siege, Athens accepts Sparta's terms. Lysander sails into Piraeus and the Peloponnesians begin tearing down the walls to flute music.

After this Lysander sailed into Piraeus, the exiles returned, and the Peloponnesians with great enthusiasm began to tear down the walls to the music of flute-girls, thinking that that day was the beginning of freedom for Greece.

Xenophon, Hellenica 2.2.23Translated by Carleton L. Brownson (1918)Read the full passage (Xenophon, Hellenica 2.2.23, opens scaife.perseus.org)

Background: Peloponnesian War, Wikipedia (opens en.wikipedia.org)

Why it matters

The surrender ended the Peloponnesian War. Athens lost its Aegean empire and its dominance at sea, and Sparta became established as the leading power of Greece.

Based on Wikipedia: Peloponnesian War

Athens fell the following year and the Delian League was dissolved, ending the war.

Athens lost its Aegean empire and its maritime dominance, while Sparta became established as the leading power of Greece.

Wikipedia, Peloponnesian War (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-08-22. Text CC BY-SA 4.0. Our line is checked against these sentences only.

Related moments

In time order, with this one in its place. Each says why it is here.

  1. c. 406 BCEabout 1.6999999999999886 years earlier Euripides and Sophocles die Same years
  2. 405 BCE0.8000000000000114 years earlier The Athenian fleet is lost at Aegospotami Also about war and empire
  3. 404 BCEThis momentAthens surrenders and its walls come down
  4. set in 404–403 BCE0.19999999999998863 years later The Thirty seize Athenians' lands Rests on this eventAlso in Athens
  5. set in 404 BCE0.19999999999998863 years later The walls of Athens come down Rests on this eventAlso in AthensAlso about war and empire
  6. 404 BCE0.19999999999998863 years later The Thirty take power in Athens Same years
  7. set in 404–403 BCE0.19999999999998863 years later Theramenes on his way to execution Also in Athens
  8. 403 BCE1.1999999999999886 years later Democracy returns to Athens, with an amnesty Same years

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