Today's Passage
This passage describes the origins of the conflict between Corinth and Corcyra that would ultimately draw Athens and Sparta into the Peloponnesian War.
Crawley Translation (1910)
The city of Epidamnus stands on the right of the entrance of the Ionic Gulf. Its vicinity is inhabited by the Taulantians, an Illyrian people. The place is a colony from Corcyra, founded by Phalius, son of Eratocleides, of the family of the Heraclids, who had according to ancient usage been summoned for the purpose from Corinth, the mother country. The colonists were joined by some Corinthians, and others of the Dorian race. Now, as time went on, the city of Epidamnus became great and populous; but falling a prey to factions arising, it is said, from a war with her neighbours the barbarians, she became much enfeebled, and lost a considerable amount of her power. The last act before the war was the expulsion of the nobles by the people. The exiled party joined the barbarians, and proceeded to plunder those in the city by sea and land; and the Epidamnians, finding themselves hard pressed, sent ambassadors to Corcyra beseeching their mother country not to allow them to perish, but to make up matters between them and the exiles, and to rid them of the war with the barbarians. The ambassadors seated themselves in the temple of Hera as suppliants, and made the above requests to the Corcyraeans. But the Corcyraeans refused to accept their supplication, and they were dismissed without having effected anything.
When the Epidamnians found that no help could be expected from Corcyra, they were in a strait what to do next. So they sent to Delphi and inquired of the God whether they should deliver their city to the Corinthians and endeavour to obtain some assistance from their founders. The answer he gave them was to deliver the city and place themselves under Corinthian protection. So the Epidamnians went to Corinth and delivered over the colony in obedience to the commands of the oracle. They showed that their founder came from Corinth, and revealed the answer of the god; and they begged them not to allow them to perish, but to assist them. This the Corinthians consented to do. Believing the colony to belong as much to themselves as to the Corcyraeans, they felt it to be a kind of duty to undertake their protection. Besides, they hated the Corcyraeans for their contempt of the mother country. Instead of meeting with the usual honours accorded to the parent city by every other colony at public assemblies, such as precedence at sacrifices, Corinth found herself treated with contempt by a power which in point of wealth could stand comparison with any even of the richest communities in Hellas, which possessed great military strength, and which sometimes could not repress a pride in the high naval position of an island whose nautical renown dated from the days of its old inhabitants, the Phaeacians. This was one reason of the care that they lavished on their fleet, which became very efficient; indeed they began the war with a force of a hundred and twenty galleys.
Modern Translation
The city of Epidamnus lies to the right as one enters the Ionian Gulf. The surrounding region is populated by the Taulantians, an Illyrian tribe. This city was established as a colony by Corcyra, with Phalius, son of Eratocleides from the Heraclid line, serving as its founder—summoned from Corinth, the mother city, according to traditional custom. The colonial expedition included both Corinthians and other peoples of Dorian origin. Over time, Epidamnus grew into a large and thriving city. However, internal strife—reportedly sparked by conflict with neighboring barbarian peoples—severely weakened the city and stripped it of much of its power. The final crisis before the war began when the common people expelled the aristocrats from the city. These exiled nobles allied themselves with the barbarians and launched raids against the city by both land and sea. Under severe pressure, the Epidamnians dispatched envoys to Corcyra, pleading with their mother city not to abandon them in their hour of need. They asked Corcyra to mediate between them and the exiles and to help end the barbarian war. The ambassadors took their position as suppliants in Hera's temple and presented their requests to the Corcyraeans. However, Corcyra rejected their appeal, and the envoys returned home empty-handed.
Finding themselves without hope of assistance from Corcyra, the Epidamnians faced a difficult decision about their next move. They sent representatives to Delphi to consult the oracle, asking whether they should surrender their city to Corinthian control and seek help from their original founders. The oracle's response directed them to place themselves under Corinthian protection. Following this divine guidance, the Epidamnians traveled to Corinth and formally transferred their colony to Corinthian authority as the oracle had commanded. They reminded the Corinthians that their city's founder had come from Corinth, revealed the oracle's pronouncement, and implored them not to let Epidamnus fall but to provide aid. The Corinthians agreed to help. They considered the colony to be as much theirs as Corcyra's and felt obligated to protect it. Moreover, they harbored resentment toward the Corcyraeans for showing disrespect to their mother city. While other colonies traditionally honored their parent cities at public festivals—granting them precedence in sacrifices and similar privileges—Corcyra had treated Corinth with disdain. This contempt came from a city that rivaled the wealthiest Greek states in resources, commanded significant military power, and occasionally displayed excessive pride in its naval heritage, tracing back to the legendary seafaring Phaeacians who once inhabited the island. This attitude partly explained why the Corcyraeans invested so heavily in their navy, which had become formidable—they entered the war with a fleet of one hundred and twenty warships.
Historical Context
This passage describes the origins of the conflict between Corinth and Corcyra that would ultimately draw Athens and Sparta into the Peloponnesian War. Epidamnus, a colony with ties to both Corcyra (its direct founder) and Corinth (the metropolis of Corcyra), faces civil war between democrats and oligarchs. When the exiled aristocrats ally with local barbarians to attack the city, the democratic government seeks help first from Corcyra, which refuses, then from Corinth, which accepts. This seemingly minor colonial dispute escalates because it activates long-standing tensions between Corinth and its powerful but disrespectful colony Corcyra. The passage illustrates how local conflicts could spiral into larger wars through the complex web of Greek colonial relationships and the role of religious authority (Delphi) in legitimizing political decisions.
Key Themes
Annotations & References
Greek Colonization
Greek colonies maintained formal relationships with their mother cities (metropoleis), including religious obligations and ceremonial honors. The founder (oikistes) was typically summoned from the mother city, establishing sacred ties. This passage shows how these relationships created overlapping claims of authority that could lead to conflict.
Learn more →The Delphic Oracle
The oracle at Delphi served as a crucial arbiter in Greek interstate relations. Cities regularly consulted it for guidance on major decisions, and its pronouncements carried religious authority that could legitimize political actions, as seen here when Epidamnus uses the oracle's response to justify transferring allegiance from Corcyra to Corinth.
Learn more →Corcyra (Corfu)
Ancient Corcyra was a powerful naval state controlling the sea route to Italy and Sicily. Its strategic location and wealth made it unusually independent from its mother city Corinth. The reference to the Phaeacians connects Corcyra to Homer's Odyssey, where they appear as legendary sailors.
Learn more →Stasis (Civil Strife)
Internal conflict (stasis) between oligarchic and democratic factions was endemic in Greek cities. Thucydides presents Epidamnus as a typical case where domestic political conflict invites foreign intervention, demonstrating how internal instability could threaten a city's independence and trigger wider conflicts.
Learn more →Parallel Ancient Sources
Herodotus: Histories (3.48-53)
Herodotus describes earlier conflicts between Corinth and Corcyra, including Periander's attempted conquest of Corcyra, providing historical context for the deep-rooted animosity between the two cities that Thucydides references.
Read passage →Plutarch: Life of Pericles (29)
Plutarch discusses how the Corcyraean affair led Athens into conflict with Corinth, showing how this colonial dispute described by Thucydides ultimately precipitated the larger war between Athens and Sparta.
Read passage →Diodorus Siculus: Library of History (12.30-31)
Diodorus provides a parallel account of the Epidamnian crisis and the subsequent naval battle between Corinth and Corcyra, offering additional details about the military preparations and diplomatic negotiations.
Read passage →Discussion Questions
- How does the complex web of colonial relationships in the Greek world contribute to the escalation of local conflicts into broader wars?
- What role does religious authority (the Delphic oracle) play in legitimizing political decisions, and how might this compare to modern international law?
- Why might Corcyra have refused to help Epidamnus despite being its mother city? What does this suggest about the nature of colonial relationships?
- How does Thucydides use the Epidamnian crisis to illustrate the underlying causes of the Peloponnesian War?