During the
Hellenistic Period, Corcyra changed hands several times. In 303 BC, after a vain siege by
Cassander of
Macedon, the island was occupied for a short time by
Cleonymus of Sparta and then regained its independence. Three years later, Cassander besieged it again, but his fleet was destroyed by an intervention of the tyrant
Agathocles of Syracuse. Agathocles added the island to his own domains and in 295 BC offered it as a dowry for his daughter
Lanassa on her marriage to
Pyrrhus of Epirus. When Lanassa left Pyrrhus in 291 BC, she tried to transfer Corcyra to her next husband, King
Demetrius Poliorcetes of
Macedon, but in 274 BC,
Pyrrhus's son Ptolemy recovered Corcyra for his father. Corcyra remained a member of the
Epirote League until 255 BC, when it regained independence after the death of
Alexander II, last King of Epirus. In 229 BC, after a Greek defeat in the naval
Battle of Paxos, the city was briefly occupied by
Illyrians under the command of
Demetrius of Pharos.
Polybius described the incident: :"When the season for sailing had come, [Queen] Teuta sent out a larger fleet of [piratical] galleys than ever against the Greek shores, some of which sailed straight for Corcyra... [Another part of the fleet that had sailed for Epidamnos and was repulsed also went] there, to the terror of the inhabitants, they disembarked and set about besieging the town... the Corcyreans... sent off envoys to the Achaean and Aetolian leagues, begging for instant help... ten decked ships of war belonging to the Achaeans were manned... fitted out in a few days, set sail for Corcyra in hopes of raising the siege. [However,] ...the Illyrians obtained a reinforcement of seven decked ships from the Acarnanians" engaging off the island of Paxi. They bested the Achaeans, capturing four ships and sinking one; the remaining five ran back home... The Illyrians, on the other hand, filled with self-confidence by their success, continued their siege of [Corcyra] in high spirits... while the Corcyreans, reduced to the despair of their safety by what had happened, after sustaining the siege for a short time longer, made terms with the Illyrians, consenting to receive a garrison, and with it Demetrius of Pharos." The
Roman Republic, already engaged in the
First Illyrian War, sent consul
Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus with 200 ships to Corcyra. Demetrius, who had quarreled with the Illyrians, surrendered to the Romans, and Corcyra became a Roman
protectorate,
de facto ending its independence. Around 189 BC it was governed by a Roman prefect, presumably nominated by the consuls, and in 148 BC, it was attached to the
province of Macedonia. ==See also==