History of The Peloponnesian War - Book VII   

meanwhile prepared for the muster of their forces; Eurymedon, who
was now the colleague of Demosthenes, and had turned back in
consequence of his appointment, sailing to Corcyra to tell them to man
fifteen ships and to enlist heavy infantry; while Demosthenes raised
slingers and darters from the parts about Acarnania.
Meanwhile the envoys, already mentioned, who had gone from
Syracuse to the cities after the capture of Plemmyrium, had
succeeded in their mission, and were about to bring the army that they
had collected, when Nicias got scent of it, and sent to the Centoripae
and Alicyaeans and other of the friendly Sicels, who held the
passes, not to let the enemy through, but to combine to prevent
their passing, there being no other way by which they could even
attempt it, as the Agrigentines would not give them a passage
through their country. Agreeably to this request the Sicels laid a
triple ambuscade for the Siceliots upon their march, and attacking
them suddenly, while off their guard, killed about eight hundred of
them and all the envoys, the Corinthian only excepted, by whom fifteen
hundred who escaped were conducted to Syracuse.
About the same time the Camarinaeans also came to the assistance
of Syracuse with five hundred heavy infantry, three hundred darters,
and as many archers, while the Geloans sent crews for five ships, four
hundred darters, and two hundred horse. Indeed almost the whole of
Sicily, except the Agrigentines, who were neutral, now ceased merely
to watch events as it had hitherto done, and actively joined
Syracuse against the Athenians.
While the Syracusans after the Sicel disaster put off any
immediate attack upon the Athenians, Demosthenes and Eurymedon,
whose forces from Corcyra and the continent were now ready, crossed
the Ionian Gulf with all their armament to the Iapygian promontory,
and starting from thence touched at the Choerades Isles lying off
Iapygia, where they took on board a hundred and fifty Iapygian darters
of the Messapian tribe, and after renewing an old friendship with
Artas the chief, who had furnished them with the darters, arrived at
Metapontium in Italy. Here they persuaded their allies the
Metapontines to send with them three hundred darters and two
galleys, and with this reinforcement coasted on to Thurii, where
they found the party hostile to Athens recently expelled by a
revolution, and accordingly remained there to muster and review the
whole army, to see if any had been left behind, and to prevail upon
the Thurians resolutely to join them in their expedition, and in the
circumstances in which they found themselves to conclude a defensive
and offensive alliance with the Athenians.
About the same time the Peloponnesians in the twenty-five ships
stationed opposite to the squadron at Naupactus to protect the passage
of the transports to Sicily had got ready for engaging, and manning
some additional vessels, so as to be numerically little inferior to
the Athenians, anchored off Erineus in Achaia in the Rhypic country.
The place off which they lay being in the form of a crescent, the land
forces furnished by the Corinthians and their allies on the spot
came up and ranged themselves upon the projecting headlands on
either side, while the fleet, under the command of Polyanthes, a
Corinthian, held the intervening space and blocked up the entrance.
The Athenians under Diphilus now sailed out against them with
thirty-three ships from Naupactus, and the Corinthians, at first not
moving, at length thought they saw their opportunity, raised the
signal, and advanced and engaged the Athenians. After an obstinate
struggle, the Corinthians lost three ships, and without sinking any
altogether, disabled seven of the enemy, which were struck prow to
prow and had their foreships stove in by the Corinthian vessels, whose
cheeks had been strengthened for this very purpose. After an action of
this even character, in which either party could claim the victory
(although the Athenians became masters of the wrecks through the
wind driving them out to sea, the Corinthians not putting out again to
meet them), the two combatants parted. No pursuit took place, and no