Today's Passage
This passage describes the opening phase of the brutal civil war (stasis) in Corcyra in 427 BCE, one of the most vivid depictions of internal conflict in ancient literature.
Crawley Translation (1910)
The Corcyraean revolution began with the return of the prisoners taken in the sea-fights off Epidamnus. These the Corinthians had released, nominally upon the security of eight hundred talents given by their proxeni, but in reality upon their engagement to bring over Corcyra to Corinth. These men proceeded to canvass each of the citizens, and to intrigue with the view of detaching the city from Athens. Upon the arrival of an Athenian and a Corinthian vessel, with envoys on board, a conference was held in which the Corcyraeans voted to remain allies of the Athenians according to their agreement, but to be friends of the Peloponnesians as they had been formerly. Meanwhile, the returned prisoners brought Peithias, a volunteer proxenus of the Athenians and leader of the commons, to trial, upon the charge of enslaving Corcyra to Athens. He, being acquitted, retorted by accusing five of the richest of their number of cutting stakes in the ground sacred to Zeus and Alcinous; the legal penalty being a stater for each stake. Upon their conviction, the amount of the penalty being very large, they seated themselves as suppliants in the temples to be allowed to pay it by instalments; but Peithias, who was one of the senate, prevailed upon that body to enforce the law; upon which the accused, rendered desperate by the law, and also learning that Peithias had the intention, while still a member of the senate, to persuade the people to conclude a defensive and offensive alliance with Athens, banded together armed with daggers, and suddenly bursting into the senate killed Peithias and sixty others, senators and private persons; some few only of the party of Peithias taking refuge in the Athenian galley, which had not yet departed.
After this outrage, the conspirators summoned the Corcyraeans to an assembly, and said that this would turn out for the best, and would save them from being enslaved by Athens: for the future, they moved to receive neither party unless they came peacefully in a single ship, treating any larger number as enemies. This motion made, they compelled it to be adopted, and instantly sent off envoys to Athens to justify what had been done and to dissuade the refugees there from any hostile proceedings which might lead to a reaction.
Upon the arrival of the embassy, the Athenians arrested the envoys and all who listened to them, as revolutionists, and lodged them in Aegina. Meanwhile a Corinthian galley arriving in the island with Lacedaemonian envoys, the dominant Corcyraean party attacked the commons and defeated them in battle. Night coming on, the commons took refuge in the Acropolis and the higher parts of the city, and concentrated themselves there, having also possession of the Hyllaic harbour; their adversaries occupying the market-place, where most of them lived, and the harbour adjoining, looking towards the mainland.
Modern Translation
The revolution in Corcyra began when the prisoners captured in the naval battles near Epidamnus returned home. The Corinthians had released these men, ostensibly on the guarantee of eight hundred talents provided by their proxenoi, but in truth after securing their promise to win Corcyra over to the Corinthian cause. These men immediately set about lobbying individual citizens and scheming to break the city's alliance with Athens. When ships arrived from both Athens and Corinth carrying ambassadors, a public assembly was convened. The Corcyraeans voted to maintain their alliance with Athens according to the existing treaty, while resuming their former friendship with the Peloponnesians. During this period, the returned prisoners prosecuted Peithias—who served as voluntary proxenos for the Athenians and led the democratic faction—on charges of subjugating Corcyra to Athenian control. After his acquittal, Peithias retaliated by charging five of the wealthiest citizens with illegally cutting stakes from the sacred groves of Zeus and Alcinous. The fine was one stater per stake. When they were convicted and faced with an enormous penalty, they sought sanctuary in the temples as suppliants, hoping to pay in installments. But Peithias, who was a member of the council, persuaded that body to enforce the full penalty. Driven to desperation by this judgment and learning that Peithias, while still serving on the council, intended to convince the people to enter into a full offensive and defensive alliance with Athens, the condemned men armed themselves with daggers. They burst into the council chamber and murdered Peithias along with sixty others—both council members and private citizens. Only a handful of Peithias's supporters escaped by fleeing to the Athenian ship, which had not yet sailed. Following this massacre, the conspirators convened an assembly of Corcyraeans and declared that their actions would prove beneficial, preventing Athens from enslaving them. They proposed that henceforth Corcyra should receive neither Athenians nor Peloponnesians except when they arrived peacefully in a single vessel; any larger force would be treated as hostile. After forcing this measure through, they immediately dispatched ambassadors to Athens to justify their actions and discourage the refugees there from taking any retaliatory steps that might provoke a counter-revolution. When these envoys reached Athens, the Athenians arrested them along with anyone who had listened to their arguments, denouncing them all as revolutionaries and imprisoning them on Aegina. Meanwhile, when a Corinthian ship arrived at Corcyra carrying Spartan ambassadors, the oligarchic faction that now controlled the city attacked the democratic party and defeated them in battle. As darkness fell, the democrats retreated to the acropolis and the elevated districts of the city, where they regrouped and also secured control of the Hyllaic harbor. Their opponents held the agora, where most of them resided, and the harbor facing the mainland.
Historical Context
This passage describes the opening phase of the brutal civil war (stasis) in Corcyra in 427 BCE, one of the most vivid depictions of internal conflict in ancient literature. The strategic island of Corcyra, whose alliance with Athens had been a catalyst for the Peloponnesian War, becomes torn between pro-Athenian democrats led by Peithias and pro-Corinthian oligarchs. The returned prisoners, corrupted by Corinth, orchestrate a violent coup that begins with legal manipulation and escalates to mass murder in the council chamber. This marks the beginning of what Thucydides will describe as one of the most savage civil conflicts of the war, serving as his paradigmatic example of how war corrupts political and moral values. The struggle reflects the larger conflict between Athens and Sparta, with local factions aligning themselves with the great powers.
Key Themes
Annotations & References
Proxenos
A proxenos was a citizen who served as a representative and protector of another city-state's interests in his own polis. Unlike modern ambassadors, proxenoi were locals who voluntarily championed foreign interests, creating networks of interstate diplomacy. Peithias's role as Athenian proxenos made him a natural target for the pro-Corinthian faction.
Learn more →Sacred Groves
The cutting of stakes from sacred groves dedicated to Zeus and Alcinous represents both sacrilege and economic crime. Sacred lands in ancient Greece were inviolable, and their resources protected by religious law. The severity of the fine (one stater per stake) reflects the serious nature of this offense against divine property.
Learn more →Stasis (Civil War)
The Greek term 'stasis' denoted internal conflict or civil war within a polis. Thucydides uses the Corcyraean stasis as a case study for how external war exacerbates internal divisions, leading to the breakdown of traditional values and extreme violence. This became a recurring pattern throughout Greece during the Peloponnesian War.
Learn more →Council Murder
The massacre in the council chamber represents a fundamental violation of political norms. Council meetings were typically considered sacred spaces where political business was conducted peacefully. This breach of sanctuary and mass political assassination marked a point of no return in Corcyra's descent into civil war.
Learn more →Parallel Ancient Sources
Diodorus Siculus: Library of History (12.57)
Diodorus provides a briefer account of the Corcyraean civil war, focusing on the extreme violence and noting how the conflict served as an example of the moral degradation caused by prolonged warfare.
Read passage →Aristotle: Politics (5.3.1303b)
Aristotle cites Corcyra as an example of how constitutional change can arise from private quarrels escalating into public violence, specifically mentioning the conflict between rich and poor that Thucydides describes.
Read passage →Plutarch: Moralia (On the Malice of Herodotus 38)
Plutarch references the Corcyraean civil war when discussing how internal conflicts during wartime lead to unprecedented cruelty, supporting Thucydides' analysis of stasis as a corruption of normal political behavior.
Read passage →Discussion Questions
- How does Thucydides show the escalation from legal proceedings to political violence? What does this suggest about the fragility of political institutions?
- Analyze the role of external powers (Athens and Corinth) in exacerbating internal conflicts. How does this pattern appear in modern international relations?
- What does the manipulation of religious law for political ends reveal about the relationship between sacred and secular authority in ancient Greece?
- How does Thucydides' presentation of both sides' justifications reflect his approach to historical objectivity and the complexity of political motivation?