A Study Of Corcyraean External Policy In Archaic Age And Classical Times

When exploring the foreign policy of the ancient Greek city states,most scholars concerned about the foreign policies of Athens and Sparta and some of the strong states of Greece.Few scholars pay attention to the secondary city states with important status.Especially in the era of Athens and Sparta competing for supremacy,those small city states were often dependent on Athens and Sparta for survival.Therefore,the foreign policies of these small city states are easier to be ignored.But among the many Greek city states,Corcyra’s position is very unique,and its foreign policy is different from those of the small city states,with its own distinct characteristics.Corcyra is located in the Adriatic Sea area.Although it is a remote city state far away from the Greek mainland,but its position is very important.First of all,in terms of regional position,Corcyra is on the commercial route from Greece to Italy and Sicily,which not only has an important business position,but also has an excellent strategic position.Secondly,from the strength of the city states,the prosperous trade of the Corcyra established a strong navy for it.During the period of the Persian war,the Corcyra had more than 100 three row warships.Its naval strength was second only to that of Athens and ranked second in Greece.It is because of its special geographical position and strong naval strength that it decided that most of the time could be independent foreign policy.Without relying on Athens and Sparta,it is precisely because of its strong strength that Corcyra has tried to compete fiercely with Corinth and seek the regional hegemony of the Adriatic Sea area.With the excellent geographical position and strong naval strength,Corcyra has launched a struggle for Adriatic maritime trade with her mother state.In ancient Greek history,Corcyra not only tried to seek the regional hegemony of the Adriatic Sea,but also tried to intervene in the affairs of the Greek continent,which also had a significant impact on the Greek mainland.In addition,we should pay attention to the fact that the history of Corcyra is inseparable from that of Greece.In the Classical Times,the core of Corcyra’s foreign policy was to compete with Corinth for the regional hegemony of the Adriatic Sea,which led to the growing hostility between Corcyra and Corinth.Before the Persian war,Corcyra’s external activities were mainly concentrated in the Adriatic Sea.Until the the Persian war,Corcyra tried to intervene in the affairs of the Greek mainland,which was closely related to the prosperity of Corcyra and the strength of the Navy.Although Corcyra sent out a strong fleet in the war,but because of the strength of Persia,Corcyra finally remained neutral.With the development of Greek alliance politics,Corcyra’s foreign policy had to be adjusted.Corcyra completed the transformation from neutral diplomacy to alliance diplomacy.And during the Peloponnesian War,Corcyca always maintained an alliance with Athens.It was the alliance between Corcyra and Athens that led to the Peloponnesian War.Corcyra was also involved in the long-lasting war,and the Corcyra revolution had a profound impact on it.Since then,Corcyra gradually faded out of the stage of Greek history from a regional power state.By exploring the foreign policy of Corcyca,we find that it is similar to Athens and Sparta,but also has its own distinct characteristics.First of all,as a strict commercial city state,the interests of Commerce and trade are the core of its foreign policy.The formulation of foreign policy is for the development of commercial trade,which is the most distinctive feature of Corcyra’s foreign policy.Secondly,power and strength are the basis of Corcyra’s foreign policy,which is similar to Athens and Sparta.Although for most of the time,Corcyra was able to carry out independent foreign policy,but as a secondary city-state of Greece,its strength could not be compared with that of Athens and Sparta,so in order to maintain the independence of the city state,Corcyra had to implement a more flexible foreign policy.On the eve of the Peloponnesian War,under the coercion of Corinth and his allies,she finally chose to be with Athens Alliance.Even so,the formulation of Corcyra’s foreign policy is bound to be influenced by the strong Greek states.The civil war in Corcyra is the result of the intervention of Athens and Sparta.Therefore,in the era of Greece’s strong states competing for hegemony,those second-class city states and samll city states are difficult to maintain neutrality,either fall to Athens or attach themselves to Sparta.The foreign policies of these city states are very easy to be ignored.Therefore,the analysis of Corcyra’s foreign policy is of great benefit to the exploration of how Greek second-class city states and small city states maintain their independence in front of strong states and how to carry out their own foreign policy.