History of the Peloponnesian War

for it was now growing dark, and the Corinthians by turning back had occasioned the suspension of hostilities.

In this way they parted from each other, and the battle ceased at night. And when the Corcyraeans were encamped on Leucimna, these twenty ships from Athens, which were commanded by Glauco, the son of Leager, and Andocides, the son of Leogoras, coming on through the dead bodies and the wrecks, sailed up to the camp not long after they had been descried.

Now the Corcyraeans (it being night) were afraid they might be enemies; but afterwards they recognised them, and they came to anchor.

The next day the thirty Athenian ships, and as many of the Corcyraean as were sea-worthy, put out and sailed to the harbour at Sybota, in which the Corinthians were anchored, wishing to know whether they would engage.

But they, having put out with their ships from the land, and formed them in line at sea, remained quiet; not intending voluntarily to begin a battle, since they saw that fresh ships from Athens had joined them; and that they themselves were involved in many difficulties, with regard to the safe keeping of the prisoners they had on board, and because there were no means of refitting their ships in so deserted a place.

Nay, they were thinking of their voyage home, how they should return; being afraid that the Athenians might consider the treaty to have been broken, because they had come to blows, and not allow them to sail away.

They determined therefore to put some men on board a skiff and send them without a herald's wand to the Athenians, and make an experiment.