Page:Greece from the Coming of the Hellenes to AD. 14.djvu/186

158 and other islands, which was also offensive to the ideas and habits of the Greeks, who understood the sending of colonists to unoccupied lands, there to form a new and independent state; but neither understood nor liked the idea of the citizens of one state having lands assigned them by their own government in the territories of another. The subject allies were also annoyed at being obliged to go to Athens for the decision of certain suits by the Attic courts, which was the cause both of delay and expense. In the continent a standing grievance was a decree passed, it was alleged, owing to a private grievance of Pericles or Aspasia forbidding the people of Megara the use of the harbour and markets in Attica and its dependencies.

It only required a spark to set the smouldering disloyalty of her allies and the growing envy and dislike of her neighbours on fire. This spark was supplied by a quarrel with Corinth. In B.C. 435 one of the ordinary revolutions occurred at Epidamnus (Dyrrachium). The nobles were expelled by the popular party, and tried to effect their destruction by enlisting neighbouring barbarians. In their terror the popular party of Epidamnus applied for help to their mother state, Corcyra, and were refused. They then applied to Corinth, the mother city of Corcyra. The Corinthians sent a fleet which was defeated off Actium by the Corcyreans, who then forced Epidamnus to surrender. The Corinthians resolved to renew the war and spent nearly two years in making preparations. Meanwhile both they and the Corcyreans applied to Athens for aid. Under the influence