Battle of Argolikos Koilpos (Athenian Legacy)

The Battle of Argolikos Koilpos was a major naval engagment during the Third Peloponnesian War. The battle was a consequense of a Corinthian invasion of the Isthmus of Corinth, technically Athenian territory. The battle concluded as a decisive Corinthian victory, allowing the Peloponnesian league to initiate the invasion of Athens.

Overview
The Corinthian invasion of the Isthmus of Corinth in 361 BCE initated a war between Athens and the Peloponnesian League. The Corinthian navy was able to shuttle troops, supplies, and necessities for the army from the Argolikos Koilpos, a body of water east of Corinthian territory.

Due to the fact that the Corinthians had long been planning a invasion, the action was incredibly succesfull as the allied armies were very mobile, covering three times the distance of a standard Athenian army. Because most of the Athenian forces were quelling rebellions in the Aegean, Timotheus sent half of the Navy to defeat the Allied invasion, which relied heavy on naval capabilities. The Corinthians, as part of their battle plan, had postioned themselves near a defensive collection of islands where they could both fight and shuttle supplies. When the Athenian Navy arrived, they were caught between a division of Corinthian war ships and the rocks. The Athenian Navy, unable to maneuver between the rocks, were then suprised attacked by the main Corinthian fleet that encircled the Athenian Navy. The result was a disastrous Athenian defeat, and the eventual surrender of half the Athenian Navy.

With the waters cleared, Corinth was left with a passage to move its allies armies in. Thousands of allied troops marched into the Isthmus and near the border of Attica.