Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of Delium

Battle of Delium was a battle fought in 424 BC at Delium, in what is now Greece. It was part of the Peloponnesian War, which ran from 431 BC to 404 BC. The recorded result: Boeotian victory.

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Socrates at the Battle of Delium (Thomas Couture, 1843)
Socrates at the Battle of Delium (Thomas Couture, 1843). Thomas Couture, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought424 BC
WhereDelium, Greece38.348N, 23.649E
OutcomeBoeotian victory
BelligerentsAthensagainstBoeotia
Casualties and lossesAbout 1,200andAbout 500
Part ofPeloponnesian War431 BC to 404 BC

Where it sits in the Peloponnesian War

Battle of Sybota, 433 BCBattle of Potidaea, 432 BCBattle of Plataea, 431 BCBattle of Naupactus, 429 BCBattle of Spartolos, 429 BCBattle of Rhium, 429 BCSiege of Plataea, 429 BCBattle of Corcyra, 427 BCBattle of Tanagra, 426 BCBattle of Sphacteria, 425 BCBattle of Pylos, 425 BCBattle of Solygeia, 425 BCBattle of Delium, 424 BCBattle of Megara, 424 BCBattle of Mantinea, 418 BCBattle of Orneae, 417 BCBattle of Melos, 415 BCBattle of Milet, 412 BCBattle of Abydos, 411 BCBattle of Cynossema, 411 BCBattle of Syme, 411 BCBattle of Eretria, 411 BCBattle of Cyzicus, 410 BCBattle of Ephesus, 409 BCSiege of Chalcedon, 409 BCSiege of Byzantium, 408 BCSiege of Andros, 408 BCBattle of Notium, 406 BCSiege of Athens, 404 BC433 BC404 BCBattle of Delium, 424 BC
29 placed engagements of the Peloponnesian War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date424 BC (year precision)
PlaceDelium, Greece
38.348N, 23.649E
KindBattle, ancient
Strength18,000 total; 7,000 hoplites; 10,000 Meticsmost of the Metics and other non-citizens that served with the army were sent back to Attica some time before the battle – how many is unknown; 1,000 cavalry18,500 total; 7,000 hoplites; 10,000 light infantry; 1,000 cavalry; 500 peltasts
Casualties and lossesAbout 1,200About 500
Commanders
  • Hippocrates of Athens
  • Pagondas
Battle of DeliumBattle of DeliumBattle of OenophytaBattle of TanagraSiege of EuriposSiege of NegroponteSiege of EretriaBattle of OenophytaBattle of TanagraSiege of EuriposAthensPatraTripoliErmoupoliVolosLamia100 km38.348N, 23.649E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Delium
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Delium today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-08-22. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 47 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 176 m, 176 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 30% tree cover, 28% water, 22% grassland.

tree cover: 30%water: 28%grassland: 22%built-up: 8%cropland: 8%shrubland: 5%tree cover 30%water 28%grassland 22%built-up 8%cropland 8%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 175 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 160 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Battle of Delium is one of 99 engagements of the 5th century BC in the atlas and one of 493 in present-day Greece.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1424844, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Delium, revision 1384054270, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.