History of the Peloponnesian War

These sailed and at day-break landed midway between the peninsula Chersonesus and the stream Rheitus, at a point on the beach over which rises the Solygeian hill-the hill where the Dorians in olden times[*](At the time when the Dorians, under the leadership of the Heracleidae, got possession of the Peloponnesus (cf. 1.12.3). See Busolt, Gr. Gesch. i. 208, ed. 2.) established themselves when they made war upon the Corinthians in the city, who were Aeolians; and there is still on the hill a village called Solygeia. From this point on the beach where the ships put in to shore this village is twelve stadia distant, the city of Corinth sixty, and the Isthmus twenty.

But the Corinthians, having previous information from Argos that the Athenian army would come, had long before occupied the Isthmus with all their forces, except those who dwelt north of the Isthmus and five hundred Corinthians who were away doing garrison duty in Ambracia[*](Three hundred of these had been sent the previous winter to Ambracia, which was a Corinthian colony; cf. 3.114.4.) and Leucas; all the rest to a man were now there, watching to see where the Athenians would land.

But when the Athenians eluded them by making their landing by night and the Corinthians were notified by the raising of fire-signals, these left half of their troops at Cenchraeae,[*](The Corinthian eastern haven, seventy stadia from the city.) in case the Athenians should after all go against Crommyon,[*](The chief place on this coast-line between the Isthmus and Megara, some 120 stadia from Corinth, known as the haunt of the wild boar killed by Theseus (Paus. I. xxvii. 9; II. i. 3).) and in haste rushed to the defence.

Thereupon Battus, one of the two Corinthian generals present at the battle, took a company and went to the village of Solygeia, which was unwalled, to guard it, while Lycophron attacked with the remainder of their troops.

Now at first the Corinthians assailed the right wing of the Athenians, which had just disembarked in front of Chersonesus, and afterwards engaged the rest of the army also. The battle was stubbornly contested throughout and fought at close quarters.

The Athenian right wing, at whose extremity were stationed the Carystians, received the charge of the Corinthians and drove them back, though with difficulty; but the latter retreated to a stone fence and, since the ground was everywhere a steep slope, pelted the Athenians with stones, being on higher ground, and then, raising the paean, charged a second time. The Athenians received the charge and the battle was again waged at close quarters.