66 HISTORY OF GREECE. eailtitl across to offer them battle on the Epirotic coast, they not only refused it, but thought of nothing but immediate retreat, with serious alarm lest the Athenians should now act aggres- sively, treating all amicable relations between Athens and Corinth as practically extinguished by the events of the day before. Having ranged their fleet in line, not far from shore, they tested the dispositions of the Athenian commanders by sending forward a little boat with a few men to address to them the following re- monstrance, the men carried no herald's staff (we should say, no flag of trace), and were therefore completely without protec- tion against an enemy. " Ye act wrongfully, Athenians (they exclaimed), in beginning the war and violating the truce ; for ye are using arms to oppose us in punishing our enemies. If it be really your intention to hinder us from sailing against Korkyra, or anywhere else that we choose, in breach of the truce, take first of all us who now address you, and deal with us as enemies." It was not the fault of the Korkyraeans that this last idea was not instantly realized : for such of them as were near enough to hear, instigated the Athenians by violent shouts to kill the men in the boat. But the latter, far from listening to such an appeal, dismissed them with the answer : " We neither begin the war nor break the truce, Peloponnesians ; we have come simply to aid these Korkyraeans, our allies. If ye wish to sail anywhere else, we make no opposition : but if ye are about to sail against Korkyra, or any of her possessions, we shall use our best means to prevent you." Both the answer, and the treatment of the men in the boat, satisfied the Corinthians that their retreat would be unopposed, and they accordingly commenced it as soon as they could get ready, staying, however, to erect a trophy at Sybota, on the Epirotic coast, in commemoration of their advan- tage on the preceding day. In their voyage homeward, they surprised Anaktorium, at the mouth of the Ambrakio'tic gulf, which they had hitherto possessed jointly with the Korkyraeans ; planting in it a reinforcement of Corinthian settlers as guarantee for future fidelity. On reaching Corinth, the armament was disbanded, and the great majority of the prisoners taken eight hundred slaves were sold ; but the remainder, two hundred and fifty in number, were detained and treated with peculiar kind-
vesj. Many of them were of the first and richest families of
