History of the Peloponnesian War

At this time Demosthenes had finished building the fort in Laconia and was on his way to Corcyra;[*](cf. 7.26.3.) at Pheia[*](The port of Olympia.) in Elis he found lying at anchor a merchant-ship in which the Corinthian hoplites[*](cf. 7.17.3; 7.19.4.) were about to be carried across to Sicily, and destroyed it; but the crew and the hoplites, having escaped, afterwards found another vessel, and continued their voyage.

After this Demosthenes arrived at Zacynthus and Cephallenia, where he took on board some hoplites and sent to the Messenians of Naupactus for others; he then crossed over to the opposite mainland of Acarnania,[*](The scene of his campaign in the summer of 426 B. C. (iii. 94 ff.)) to the ports of Alyzeia and Anactorium, which the Athenians held.

While he was attending to these matters, he was met by Eurymedon, who was returning from Sicily, whither he had been sent during the preceding winter[*](cf. 7.16.2.) with the money for the army; and he reported, among other things, that when he was already on his return voyage he had heard of the capture of Plemmyrium by the Syracusans.

These two were joined by Conon,[*](Prominent toward the end of the Peloponnesian War and, later, restorer of the walls of Athens.) who was in command at Naupactus and brought word that the twenty-five Corinthian ships[*](cf. 7.17.4; 7.19.5.) which were lying at anchor opposite them did not abandon their hostile attitude, but were intending to fight. He therefore begged them to send him some ships, on the ground that his own eighteen ships were too few to contend against the twenty-five of the enemy.

Accordingly Demosthenes and Eurymedon sent with Conon ten ships, the best sailers of all their fleet, to reinforce the ships at Naupactus. They then directed their own attention to the preparations for collecting troops for the expedition, Eurymedon sailing to Corcyra, where he made levies of hoplites and directed the Corcyraeans to man fifteen ships—he was now exercising the joint command with Demosthenes, to which he had been elected, and turned his face again toward Sicily—while Demosthenes gathered slingers and javelin-men from the region of Acarnania.