Episode 3 in the Speeches of the Peloponnesian War series.

Corinth had lost Epidamnus. Failed at Sybota. Watched its volunteers trapped inside the walls of Potidaea while Sparta did nothing. Its patience was gone.

So Corinth called a meeting. And the invitation went wide — any city with a grievance against Athens was welcome. They came from across the Greek world, one by one, each with their own account of Athenian pressure applied quietly, carefully, never quite crossing a line that could be called a line.

Then Corinth rose to speak.

What followed was one of the most devastating pieces of political rhetoric to survive from the ancient world.

Then they turned on Sparta directly. Your caution, they said, has become a strategic liability. Your inaction is the problem. And if you will not lead, we will ...