At that time, in the early 5th century BC, there was a Peloponnesian war between Athens and the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. In one of the war stories written by Plutarch entitled Life of Lysander, it is told about the use of scytales. The Spartan ephors made two sticks of the same length and diameter. One stick will be handed over to the king or general who will carry out a military expedition, while one stick is used by the ephors to write secret messages again important. That's what they call a scytale.
