History of the Peloponnesian War

Afterwards some of them, in consequence of not being pleased, withdrew from Syracuse, and occupied a quarter of the city of Leontini, called Phocaeae, and Bricinniae, which was a stronghold in the Leontine country. There the majority of the popular party who had been expelled, came to them, and having thus established themselves, they carried on the war from the fortifications.

The Athenians, hearing this, despatched Phaeax, to try if by any means they might persuade the allies they had there, and the rest of the Sicilians if they could, to join in attacking the Syracusans, on the strength of their gaining such additional power, and thus might save the commons of'

Leontini. So Phaeax came, and prevailed on the Camarinaeans and Agrigentines; but when the question was settled against him at Gela, he did not then proceed to the others, as he found that he should not prevail on them; but having returned through the country of the Sicels to Catana, and having on his route also visited Bricinniae, and encouraged its inhabitants, he sailed back again.

On his course to Sicily and return from it, he also communicated with certain cities in Italy on the subject of friendship with the Athenians. He likewise fell in with the Locrian settlers banished from Messana, who, after the pacification effected by the Sicilians, when the Messanians were divided into factions, and one of them had invited the Locrians to their aid, had been sent out for that purpose; and so Messana came into the hands of the Locrians for some time.

Phaeax then, having fallen in with these men on their way home, did them no harm, as proposals had been made to him by the Locrians for coming to terms with the Athenians.

For they were the only people of the allies who, when the Sicilians were reconciled to each other, did not make peace with the Athenians: nor would they have done it then, had they not been pressed by hostilities with the Itonaeans and Melaeans, who lived on their borders, and were a colony from them. So Phaeax returned, and arrived at Athens some time after.

Now when Cleon, at the lime we last mentioned him, sailed round from Torone to go against Amphipolis, making Eion the base of his operations, he assaulted Stagirus, a colony of the Andrians, but without reducing it; but Galepsus, the Thasian colony, he took by storm.