ng from the
decks that they had boarded.

Thus far victory was with the Peloponnesians, and the Athenian fleet
destroyed; the twenty ships in the right wing being meanwhile in chase
of the eleven Athenian vessels that had escaped their sudden movement
and reached the more open water. These, with the exception of one
ship, all outsailed them and got safe into Naupactus, and forming close
inshore opposite the temple of Apollo, with their prows facing the
enemy, prepared to defend themselves in case the Peloponnesians should
sail inshore against them. After a while the Peloponnesians came up,
chanting the paean for their victory as they sailed on; the single
Athenian ship remaining being chased by a Leucadian far ahead of the
rest. But there happened to be a merchantman lying at anchor in the
roadstead, which the Athenian ship found time to sail round, and struck
the Leucadian in chase amidships and sank her. An exploit so sudden and
unexpected produced a panic among the Peloponnesians; and having fallen
out of order in the excitement of victory, some of them dropped their
oars and stopped their way in order to let the main body come up--an
unsafe thing to do considering how near they were to the enemy's prows;
while others ran aground in the shallows, in their ignorance of the
localities.

Elated at this incident, the Athenians at one word gave a cheer, and
dashed at the enemy, who, embarrassed by his mistakes and the disorder
in which he found himself, only stood for an instant, and then fled for
Panormus, whence he had put out. The Athenians following on his heels
took the six vessels nearest them, and recovered those of their own
which had been disabled close inshore and taken in tow at the beginning
of the action; they killed some of the crews and took some prisoners.
On board the Leucadian which went down off the merchantman, was the
Lacedaemonian Timocrates, who killed himself when the ship was sunk, and
was cast up in the harbour of Naupactus. The Athenians on their return
set up a trophy on the spot from which they had put out and turned the
day, and picking up the wrecks and dead that were on their shore, gave
back to the enemy their dead under truce. The Peloponnesians also set
up a trophy as victors for the defeat inflicted upon the ships they
had disabled in shore, and dedicated the vessel which they had taken at
Achaean Rhium, side by side with the trophy. After this, apprehensive of
the reinforcement expec