History of the Peloponnesian War

Thucydides

Thucydides. The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury. Hobbes, Thomas. translator. London: John Bohn, 1843.

But the Athenians with their galleys ordered one after one in file went round them and shrunk them up together by wiping them ever as they past and putting them in expectation of present fight. But Phormio had before forbidden them to fight till he himself had given them the signal.

For he hoped that this order of theirs would not last long, as in an army on land, but that the galleys would fall foul of one another and be troubled also with the smaller vessels in the midst. And if the wind should also blow out of the gulf, in expectation whereof he so went round them, and which usually blew there every morning, he made account they would then instantly be disordered. As for giving the onset, because his galleys were more agile than the galleys of the enemy, he thought it was in his own election and would be most opportune on that occasion.

When this wind was up and the galleys of the Peloponnesians, being already contracted into a narrow compass, were both ways troubled, by the wind and withal by their own lesser vessels that encumbered them, and when one galley fell foul of another and the mariners laboured to set them clear with their poles and, through the noise they made keeping off and reviling each other, heard nothing neither of their charge nor of the galleys' direction, and through want of skill unable to keep up their oars in a troubled sea, rendered the galley untractable to him that sat at the helm, then and with this opportunity he gave the signal. And the Athenians, charging, drowned first one of the admiral galleys and divers others after it in the several parts they assaulted and brought them to that pass at length that not one applying himself to the fight they fled all towards Patrae and Dyme, cities of Achaia.

The Athenians, after they had chased them and taken twelve galleys and slain most of the men that were in them, fell off and went to Molycreium; and when they had there set up a trophy and consecrated one galley to Neptune, they returned with the rest to Naupactus.

The Peloponnesians with the remainder of their fleet went presently along the coast of Cyllene, the arsenal of the Eleians; and thither, after the battle at Stratus, came also Cnemus from Leucas and with him those galleys that were there and with which this other fleet should have been joined.