Peloponnesian War, 425 BC After the outbreak of the pestilence and the death of Pericles, the Athenians, on the initiative of the general Demosthenes, took the opportunity to sail around the Peloponnese towards the Ionian Sea, to set up a garrison and fortify the uninhabited at that time the hill of Coryphasios (today's Paleokastro of Navarino), raising rough wall on the only smooth access to the hill, which until today is at its south-eastern end, towards the beach of Gialova.
The Lacedaemonians, after an initial delay, assess the criticality of the situation created by the presence of the Athenians there as a possible asylum for Helots and decide to immediately occupy the temporary fortification of Demosthenes.
Spartan hoplites land on the island of Sphakteria, a land assault is ordered against the Athenian wall from the side of the beach of Gialova, while at the same time an attempt is made to land south of the Athenians from the side of the open sea, but this fails due to the extremely inaccessible and rocky coastline.
The Spartan General Vrasias, in the attempt of the Spartan fleet to seize Pylos from the sea, urged the captains and helmsmen of the triremes, to crash them on the rocks and venture ashore, rather than save wood and allow the Athenians, construction and maintenance of fortification.
Brasidas forced his helmsman to throw his ship ashore.
Proceeding to the dock of the ship and while attempting to disembark, he was interrupted by the Athenians and injured in several parts of his body, he fainted. As he fell, his shield slipped into the sea, which washed up on the shore.
From there the Athenians took it and used it in the trophy they set up to commemorate the success of repelling this attack.
Today, in the museum in the Stoa of Attalos, this shield is on display, which is believed to have belonged to Brasidas. Fearing the arrival of Athenian reinforcements, the Lacedaemonians began to block the entrance to the bay of Pylos by placing triremes in the two passages south and north of Sphakteria.
The timely arrival of an Athenian naval force led to a decisive victory for the Athenians by sea, cutting off the Spartan hoplites who had landed at Sphakteria.
After a failed capitulation attempt and with the arrival of reinforcements under Cleon, the Athenians would achieve the unconditional surrender of some 300 prominent Spartans of Sphaktiria, whom they transported to Athens and held in public view, debunking the myth he had created for the opinion of the Spartans, the sacrifice of 300 by Leonidas at Thermopylae 55 years earlier.
Under the threat of the now permanent presence of the Athenians in the fortification of Coryphasium, which functioned as a refuge for renegade Helots and as a base for raids in Messenia, but also under the weight of internal political pressures for the release of the captives of Sphakteria, the Lacedaemonians conferred with the Athenians the Niceio Peace in 422-421 BC, according to which the Athenian fortress at Koryphasio of Pylos passed to the Lacedaemonians.
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