Greece -- History -- Peloponnesian War, 431-404 B.C.
The Corinthians on the voyage home took Anactorium, which stands at the
mouth of the Ambracian gulf. The place was taken by treachery, being
common ground to the Corcyraeans and Corinthians. After establishing
Corinthian settlers there, they retired home. Eight hundred of the
Corcyraeans were slaves; these they sold; two hundred and fifty they
retained in captivity, and treated with great attention, in the hope
that they might bring over their country to Corinth on their return;
most of them being, as it happened, men of very high position in
Corcyra. In this way Corcyra maintained her political existence in the
war with Corinth, and the Athenian vessels left the island. This was
the first cause of the war that Corinth had against the Athenians,
viz., that they had fought against them with the Corcyraeans in time of
treaty.
Almost immediately after this, fresh differences arose between the
Athenians and Peloponnesians, and contributed their share to the war.
Corinth was forming schemes for retaliation, and Athens suspected her
hostility. The Potidæans, who inhabit the isthmus of Pallene, being a
Corinthian colony, but tributary allies of Athens, were ordered to raze
the wall looking towards Pallene, to give hostages, to dismiss the
Corinthian magistrates, and in future not to receive the persons sent
from Corinth annually to succeed them. It was feared that they might be
persuaded by Perdiccas and the Corinthians to revolt, and might draw
the rest of the allies in the direction of Thrace to revolt with them.
These precautions against the Potidæans were taken by the Athenians
immediately after the battle at Corcyra. Not only was Corinth at length
openly hostile, but Perdiccas, son of Alexander, king of the
Macedonians, had from an old friend and ally been made an enemy. He had
been made an enemy by the Athenians entering into alliance with his
brother Philip and Derdas, who were in league against him. In his alarm
he had sent to Lacedaemon to try and involve the Athenians in a war
with the Peloponnesians, and was endeavouring to win over Corinth in
order to bring about the revolt of Potidæa. He also made overtures to
the Chalcidians in the direction of Thrace, and to the Bottiaeans, to
persuade them to join in the revolt; for he thought that if these
places on the border could be made his allies, it would be easier to
carry on the war with their co-operation. Alive to all this, and
wishing to anticipate the revolt of the cities, the Athenians acted as
follows. They were just then sending off thirty ships and a thousand
heavy infantry for his country under the command of Archestratus, son
of Lycomedes, with four colleagues. They instructed the captains to
take hostages of the Potidæans, to raze the wall, and to be on their
guard against the revolt of the neighbouring cities.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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