CHAPTER II: Causes of the War—The Affair of Epidamnus—The Affair of Potidaea

Corcyra, in modern times, called Corfu, and was an important naval installation for the Russian Czars during the Napoleonic Period, had refused to go to the aid of its colony Epidamnus in a war against a faction of its own people and a barbarian enemy. So the Epidamnians beseeched the oracle at Delphi and received the command from Apollo to beseech the mother country of both [as if Canada sought British aid against the Americans in the 1860s. This would cause a war between Corinth and Corcyra and Athens would come into it. The modern parallel here is WWI when a web of alliances triggered a general war amongst polities that were cultural cousins. It was said that Corcyra was originally populated by the Phaeacians, a semi-mythic folk who hosted Odysseus during his wanderings.

Ultimately, the cause of this was factionalism with both sides receiving support from outsiders, much like the outsiders such as NGOs, modern meddling in postmodern nations. The modern analogy would be American democrats importing aliens that are guarantee to side with them at the ballot box, with an election currently what passes for Civil War in America.

“If, in defiance of their protestations, war was appealed to, they should be themselves compelled by this violence to seek friends in quarters where they had no desire to seek them, and to make even old ties give way to the necessity of assistance.”

Thus civil strife among racial cousins served as the ground for recruited racial enemies and even racial aliens in the form of “barbarians.” This would ever by the case, with Europeans in American constantly using Indian allies against one another and Indians faced with tribal enemies always willing to call in alien invaders as allies. Myths of racial and national solidarity will once again be proved false when foreign fighters will be brought into the U.S. as it fractures, to fight on the side of the elite.

A common phrase used in this account is “of their own citizens,” demonstrating a concern for loss of life among community members that would be lost in the wars of Modernity until the 1960s, with nations of all nationalities blithely willing to sacrifice hundreds of thousands and even millions of sons. This changed back to an ancient Hellenic perspective with the Vietnam War.

Was this because Americans had finally achieved a requisite level of prosperity that the prospect of dying in a foreign war seemed pointless?

Or might this have to do with media coverage mimicking the community closeness and concern actually felt by Ancient Greeks?

Might it be both causes?