and then proceed to
operate on the northern coast of the gulf while an army invaded
the province.

[Illustration: SCENE OF PHORMIO'S CAMPAIGNS]

As it happened, the army moved off without waiting for the cooperation
of the fleet and eventually went to pieces in an ineffectual siege of
an inland city. When the fleet started out from Corinth it numbered
47 triremes. As this was more than twice the number possessed by
Phormio, the Corinthian admiral evidently counted on being secure
from attack. Accordingly he used some of his triremes as transports
and started on his journey without taking the precaution to train
his oarsmen or practice maneuvers. But as he skirted along the
southern coast he was surprised to see the Athenian ships moving in
a parallel course as if on the alert for an opportunity to attack.
When the Corinthian ships bore up from Patrae to cross to the AEtolian
shore, the Athenian column steered directly toward them. At this
threat the Corinthian fleet turned away and put in at Rhium, a
point near the narrowest part of the strait, in order to make the
crossing under cover of night. The Corinthian admiral made the same
fatal mistake committed by the commander of the Spanish Armada
2000 years later in a similar undertaking, that of trying to avoid
an enemy on the sea rather than fight him before carrying out an
invasion of the enemy's coast. This ignominious conduct on the
part of the Corinthian admiral was partly due to the fact that he
was encumbered with his transports, but chiefly to the fact that
he knew that in fighting qualities his men were no match for the
Athenians. The latter had no peers on the sea at that time. Since
Salamis they had progressed far in naval science and efficiency
and were filled with the confidence that comes from knowledge and
experience.

[Illustration: BATTLE OF THE CORINTHIAN GULF, 429 B. C.

Corinthian Formation and Circling Tactics of Phormio.]

All night Phormio watched his enemy and at dawn surprised him in
mid-crossing. On seeing Phormio advance to the attack, the Corinthian
drew up his squadron in a defensive position, ranging his vessels
in concentric circles, bows outward, like the spokes of a wheel.
In the center of this formation he placed his transports, together
with five of his largest triremes to assist at any threatened spot.
The formation suggests a leader of infantry rather than an admiral;
moreover, it revealed a fatal readiness to give up the offens