They were, in fact,
superior to the Corinthians in wealth and power, and their fleet,
numbering a hundred and twenty triremes, was second only to that of
Athens. Corcyra was famous in legend as the seat of the Phaeacians, a
heroic sailor race, whose deeds are sung by Homer in the
_Odyssey_; and the Corcyraeans regarded themselves as the lawful
inheritors of their fame. For all these reasons they despised the
Corinthians, and made no secret of their contempt. Remembering the
many occasions on which they had been publicly insulted by Corcyra,
the Corinthians lent a favourable ear to the petition of Epidamnus,
and determined to appropriate the colony to themselves. Accordingly
they invited all who chose to go and settle at Epidamnus, and sent the
new colonists under a military escort, with instructions to proceed by
land to Apollonia, for fear lest they should be obstructed by the
Corcyraean fleet, if they went by sea.
Great was the indignation at Corcyra when the news arrived that her
colony had been surrendered to Corinth, and a force of forty ships was
sent off in haste, bearing a peremptory demand to the Epidamnians that
they should receive back their exiles and send away the new colonists.
As the citizens refused to obey their mandate, they prepared to lay
siege to the town, which is situated on an isthmus.
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