 At the height of Sparta's power – between the 6th and 4th centuries BC – it was commonly accepted by other Greeks that "one Spartan was worth several men of any other state".According to Thucydides, the famous moment of Spartan surrender on the island of Sphacteria, off Pylos, in 425 BC, was highly unexpected.He wrote that "it was the common perception at the time that Spartans would never lay down their weapons for any reason, be it hunger, or danger."