Page:History of Greece Vol VII.djvu/376

358 358 HISTORY OF GREECE. not attempting to copy Athenian tactics, had studied the best mod* of coping with them, and had modified the- build of their own triremes accordingly, 1 at Corinth as well as at Syracuse. Seven- teen years before, Phormion with eighteen Athenian triremes would have thought himself a full match for twenty-five Corin- thian ; but the Athenian admiral of this year, Konon, also a per- fectly brave man, now judged so differently, that he constrained Demosthenes and Eurymedon to reinforce his eighteen triremes with ten others, out of the best of their fleet, at a time when they had certainly none to spare, on the ground that the Corinthian fleet opposite, of twenty-five sail, was about to assume the offensive against him. 2 Soon afterwards Diphilus came to supersede Konon, with some fresh ships from Athens, which made the total number of tri- remes thirty-three. The Corinthian fleet, reinforced so as to be nearly of the same number, took up a station on the coast of Achaia opposite Naupaktus, at a spot called Erineus, in the territory of Rhypes. They ranged themselves across the mouth of a little indentation of the coast, or bay, in the shape of a crescent, with two projecting promontories as horns : each of these promon- tories was occupied by a friendly land-force, thus supporting the line of triremes at both flanks. This was a position which did not permit the Athenians to sail through the line, or manoeuvre round it and in the rear of it. Accordingly, when the fleet of Diphilus came across from Naupaktus, it remained for some time close in front of the Corinthians, neither party venturing to attack ; for the straightforward collision was destructive to the Athe- nian ships with their sharp, but light and feeble beaks, while it was favorable to the solid bows and thick epotids, or ear-projection?, of the Corinthian trireme. After considerable delay, the Corin- thians at length began the attack on their side, yet not advancing far enough out to sea to admit of the manoeuvring and evolutions of the Athenians. The battle lasted some time, terminating with no decisive advantage to either party. Three Corinthian tri- remes were completely disabled, though the crews of all escaped by swimming to their friends ashore : on the Athenian sids, r.ctf 1 See the preceding chapter.
 * Thiicyd vii. 31. Compare the language of Phormion. ii, 83, 89.