Ancient Greece, Classical Period (479-323 BC)

Greece, Thirty Years’ Treaty (446-431 BC): Acarnanian Alliance, Corinth-Corcyra War

Acarnanian Alliance

Phormion first appears in the historical record in 440 BC, when he shared with Pericles and others the command of the Athenian fleet in the latter part of the Samian War. At some time probably during the mid-430s BC he led a naval expedition into the Ambracian Gulf in northwest Greece. The fleet had been sent in response to a request from Acarnania and Amphilochia for help to liberate Amphilochian Argos from some Ambracians who had been welcomed as joint settlers by the Amphilochians and then seized control of the city.

The city was taken and the captured Ambracians were enslaved. Athens and Acarnania then entered into an alliance. This action by Athens was in accordance with the treaty, but Ambracia was a colony of Corinth and the presence of an Athenian fleet in the west was sure to have irritated Corinth.

Corinth-Corcyra War (435-431 BC)

Epidamnus (=Durres) was a town on the northwest coast of Greece and founded by Corcyra (=Corfu), which was itself a colony of Corinth. By 435 BC the commoners had expelled the oligarchs, who then attacked the town from outside its walls. The commoners appealed in vain to Corcyra for help, but Corinth responded and sent new settlers to reinforce the democracy. Corcyra then decided to support the oligarchs and sent a fleet to besiege Epidamnus. In summer 435 BC a Corinthian fleet was heavily defeated by a Corcyraean fleet off Leucimme (=Lefkimo on the southeast coast of Corcyra?), and Epiramnus capitulated on the same day. 

Corinth spent the next two years building new ships and preparing to strike back. When the scale of the Corinthian war effort became apparent, the Athenians concluded a defensive alliance with Corcyra (an offensive alliance would have been against the treaty) to prevent Corcyra’s navy falling into the hands of the Peloponnesians. Athens sent ten ships to reinforce the Corcyraean fleet; Corinth assembled a fleet and prepared to sail to Corcyra. 

In August or September 433 BC the Corinthian fleet engaged the Corcyraean fleet at the Sybota islands, opposite the southern tip of Corcyra. During the resulting battle the left wing of each side was defeated by the right wing of the other, but the Corinthian victory was the more significant. After a pause in the fighting the Corinthians were about to return to the fray when twenty fresh Athenian ships were sighted. Fearing that they were the advance guard of a larger fleet the Corinthians withdrew. Corcyra had been defended, but now there was open hostility between Athens and Corinth. 

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