How did the Spartan scytale conceal messages between military commanders?

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A Vigenere cipher table displays the alphabet in both the top row and left column, with rows shifted to create a grid for encryption and decryption. Highlighted letters illustrate how to use the table. An explanation and example using the words cipher, key, and plaintext appears to the right. — cryptology In encrypting plaintext, the cipher letter is found at the intersection of the column headed by the plaintext letter and the row indexed by the key letter. To decrypt ciphertext, the plaintext letter is found at the head of the column determined by the intersection of the diagonal containing the cipher letter and the row containing the key letter.

The Spartan scytale functioned as an early transposition cipher used to secure military communications.1

To conceal a message, a sender would spirally wrap a narrow strip of parchment or leather around a tapered baton (the scytale). The message was then written across the length of the wrapped strip. When the strip was unwrapped from the baton, the letters appeared in a scrambled, unintelligible order, forming the cipher.12

The message could only be read by a recipient who possessed a baton of identical proportions to the original. By wrapping the strip around this matching rod, the letters were realigned, allowing the original plaintext to reappear.1