A small Athenian fleet under Phormio defeated a much larger Peloponnesian force, preserving Athenian naval dominance in the Gulf of Corinth.
Key Facts
- Athenian ships
- 20 ships
- Peloponnesian ships
- 77 ships
- Athenian ships grounded
- 9 ships
- Peloponnesian ships seized
- 6 ships
- Athenian commander
- Phormio
- Peloponnesian commander
- Cnemus
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A week after the Athenian victory at Rhium, the Peloponnesian fleet of seventy-seven ships under Cnemus sailed into the Gulf of Corinth, feigning an attack on the vital Athenian base at Naupactus to draw Phormio's twenty ships away from their anchorage at Antirrhium.
The Peloponnesians attacked suddenly, driving nine Athenian ships ashore and pursuing the rest toward Naupactus. At the harbor entrance, the last surviving Athenian ship circled an anchored merchant vessel to ram its leading pursuer, throwing the Peloponnesians into confusion. The emboldened Athenians counterattacked and routed the larger fleet.
Athens recaptured all but one of its grounded ships and seized six Peloponnesian vessels. The victory preserved Athenian naval dominance in the region and secured Naupactus; the subsequent arrival of twenty additional Athenian ships ended Sparta's attempt to seize the offensive in the northwest.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Phormio.
Side B
1 belligerent
Cnemus.