History of the Peloponnesian War · Chapter
The Corcyraean Revolution and Its Aftermath explained
This chapter details the brutal civil war in Corcyra, where democratic and oligarchic factions engage in a bloody struggle for power.
What happens
This chapter details the brutal civil war in Corcyra, where democratic and oligarchic factions engage in a bloody struggle for power. The Peloponnesian fleet, under Alcidas and urged by Brasidas, defeats the Corcyraean navy but fails to attack the city. The arrival of an Athenian fleet under Eurymedon prompts the Peloponnesians to withdraw, after which the Corcyraean democrats massacre their opponents, including suppliants at sanctuaries. Thucydides reflects on the general breakdown of morality and language across the Hellenic world during such revolutions, attributing the violence to greed, ambition, and the lust for power.
Themes in this chapter
Human Nature and Morality
Thucydides describes how war and revolution strip away civilized restraints, leading to atrocities such as sons killing fathers and suppliants being slain at altars, and notes that such evils will recur as long as human nature remains the same.
War and Its Consequences
The chapter illustrates how war acts as a 'rough master,' bringing men's characters to the level of their fortunes and providing pretexts for revolutionary violence and foreign intervention.
Democracy vs. Oligarchy
The Corcyraean conflict exemplifies the struggle between democratic and oligarchic factions, each invoking Athens or Sparta for support, and the resulting cycle of revenge and atrocity.
Characters to notice
- Brasidas
Urges his superior Alcidas to attack the city of Corcyra after the naval victory, but is overruled.
- Alcidas
Commands the Peloponnesian fleet; decides not to attack Corcyra despite the opportunity, and later retreats upon learning of the approaching Athenian fleet.
- Eurymedon
Leads the Athenian fleet of sixty ships sent to Corcyra; his arrival causes the Peloponnesians to flee, and he remains for seven days while the Corcyraean democrats massacre their enemies.
Key passages
“Death thus raged in every shape; and, as usually happens at such times, there was no length to which violence did not go; sons were killed by their fathers, and suppliants dragged from the altar or slain upon it; while some were even walled up in the temple of Dionysus and died there.”
Every form of death was present; violence knew no bounds—fathers killed their own sons, people seeking sanctuary were dragged from altars or murdered on them, and some were even trapped inside the temple of Dionysus and left to die.
Thucydides emphasizes the complete breakdown of familial and religious bonds during the Corcyraean massacre.
“Words had to change their ordinary meaning and to take that which was now given them. Reckless audacity came to be considered the courage of a loyal ally; prudent hesitation, specious cowardice; moderation was held to be a cloak for unmanliness; ability to see all sides of a question, inaptness to act on any.”
The meanings of words were perverted: reckless daring was praised as loyalty, cautious hesitation was called cowardice, moderation was seen as weakness, and seeing multiple perspectives was considered indecisiveness.
Thucydides describes the moral inversion that accompanies civil war, where traditional virtues are redefined to justify extreme actions.
“The cause of all these evils was the lust for power arising from greed and ambition; and from these passions proceeded the violence of parties once engaged in contention.”
All these disasters stemmed from the desire for power driven by greed and ambition, which then fueled the violent conflicts between factions.
Thucydides identifies the root causes of revolutionary violence as universal human passions, not just local circumstances.