History of the Peloponnesian War

They then sailed to the island of Cephallenia, and brought it over to their side without fighting. Cephallenia lies opposite Acarnania and Leucas, and consists of four states, the Paleans, Cranians, Samaeans, and Pronaeans. Not long after, the ships returned to Athens.

About the autumn of this summer, the Athenians invaded the Megarid with all their forces, themselves and the resident aliens, under the command of Pericles son of Xanthippus. And the Athenians in the hundred ships around the Peloponnese, (for they happened at this time to be at Aegina on their return home,) finding that the men of the city were in full force at Megara, sailed and joined them. And this was certainly the largest army of the Athenians that ever assembled together;

as the city was at the height of its strength, and not yet afflicted with the plague; for of the Athenians themselves there were not fewer than ten thousand heavy-armed, (besides which they had the three thousand at Potidaea,) and of resident aliens who joined them in the incursion not fewer than three thousand heavy-armed; and added to these, there was all the crowd of light-armed in great numbers. After ravaging the greater part of the territory, they returned.

Other incursions into the Megarid were also afterwards made annually by the Athenians in the course of the war, both with their cavalry and with all their force, until Nisaea was taken by them.

Moreover Atalanta, the island near the Opuntian Locrians, which had previously been unoccupied, was fortified by the Athenians as a stronghold at the close of this summer, to prevent privateers from sailing out from Opus and the rest of Locris, and plundering Euboea. These were the events which occurred in the course of this summer, after the return of the Peloponnesians from Attica.

The following winter Evarchus the Acarnanian, wishing to return to Astacus, persuaded the Corinthians to sail with forty ships and fifteen hundred heavy-armed and restore him, he himself hiring some auxiliaries besides : the commanders of the army were Euphamidas son of Aristonymus, Timoxenus son of Timocrates, and Eumachus son of Chrysis. So they sailed and restored him;

and wishing to gain certain places in the rest of Acarnania, along the coast, and having made an attempt without being able to succeed, they sailed back homeward.

Having landed, as they coasted along, on Cephallenia, and made a descent on the territory of the Cranians, they were deceived by them after an arrangement that they had come to, and lost some of their men in an unexpected attack of the Cranians; then, having put out to sea with some precipitation, they returned home.