- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
...Kerkyra would be a prize in the hands of either side of the Peloponnesian War. For Athens it's useful as a counterweight to Corinth (their enemy). For Sparta it's useful because they need all the ships they can get to blunt the Athenian naval advantage.[] Proboulos: Epiktetos Linos (Demos Drakonia)
[] Xenoparakletor: Athenagoras Symmachos (Demos Drakonia)
It's a pity that Drakonia is behind in the votes. Their domestic and foreign policies synergize very well, and they are focused on what really matters for us right now.
Most people seem worried that meddling with Kerkyra is risky. This is true, it is. But are risky plans something for us to avoid entirely, without considering the odds and the benefits?
If we succeed in Kerkyra, Athens is unlikely to complain. They are pressed too much to take on another enemy for no real gain, since what we do in Kerkyra is essentially what they want. Korinth will be angry, but Korinth cannot defeat Kerkyra even in a void, let alone with us in support and a war with Athens ongoing.
If we fail in Kerkyra, then we will take some loss, mostly of face. Athens will still likely interfere, and if they do, that is all that will come of it. If they don't, then Korinth still can't afford to fight us right now, but we will have trouble later. However, if Korinth gets Kerkyra then we will have trouble regardless of whether we try to prevent it or not.
So there are all the risks. They are not so bad as all that. The chances that we take actually significant loss here are small, comparable to the chance we take losses by not acting. But why then would we act, for it carries opportunity costs and costs of the usual kind as well?
The benefits. If we succeed, we will have a neutral and positively inclined Kerkyra. This secures our Western position greatly, for it hinders any attempt by any major power to interfere with us in the Adriatic. It gives us the opportunity to pivot to this sea and make it truly ours. While Korinth is weak and Kerkyra is friendly, we can set up and dig in so that they cannot dig us out again once they are strong once more. For we will also be strong.
This is an opportunity to grasp the Adriatic and its wealth and never let go. Sicily is a sideshow to us in comparison, as long as we can prevent hegemony by any single power there. Which is not even a threat yet, and Carthage will be on our side in that.
Don't purely focus on the doomsayers on Kerkyra. Grasp opportunity, and become rich and powerful.
(meta: besides, I think it'd also be an interesting path.)
Basically, if we have influence over Kerkyra, we become a target, because we have something prized by either side of the war, and we lack the strength to reliably prevent either side from taking it away from us if they choose to do so.
The pivotal question is, will Taras react by thinking "you know, there really isn't much point in fighting Eretria, that's water under the bridge and we have better things to do?"Antipatrid foreign policy is important but is it critical now? Consider: We are safe from Taras for 20 years.
Or by spending the next 20 years building up weapons and training troops to attack us in Sallentine War 2: Muscle-Powered Boogaloo?
The answer to that question will hinge in large part on how we handle the immediate aftermath of the war with them. Four years from now, a lot of their reactions to the war will already be set in stone. Possibly literally if temple carvings or the like are involved.
It's going to be a lot easier to deal with the Sicilian situation before it explodes than to pick up the pieces after it explodes.The situation in Sicily is beginning to fray, but has not exploded yet and we are a secondary actor there compared to the Sikeliotes.
...You do realize that Kerkyra and Korinth have existed for centuries, right? These cities aren't new, and if anything the degree to which they're preoccupied with events in mainland Greece because of the war will make them LESS likely to expand much into the Adriatic.Kerkyra is an opportunity right now that we will not be able to do later. Everything else in the Drakonid slate is also very useful, and colonies in particular need to be started on faster to make them grow strong faster. But if we start colonising later, and don't act on Kerkyra now, we will face tough competition for the Adriatic. Now is our opportunity to truly rule it.
Note that historically, the Kerkyrans and Corinthians did NOT wind up building up stable dominance of the Adriatic during this time frame...