The Twitter Herodotus

3.41 Polycrates accordingly went out on a big boat and threw his gold signet ring into the sea. Then he went home and mourned its loss.

3.42 Some 5 days later a fisherman gave a fish to Polycrates. When it was cut open, the ring was found. Polycrates wrote Amasis about this.

3.43 Amasis, when he heard the news, realized Polycrates was doomed, despite his apparent success. He severed his guest friendship with him.

3.44 So the Spartans attacked this Polycrates. They'd been called in to help by Samian exiles whom Polycrates had shipped off to Egypt.

3.45 There are various stories about what the exiles did after Polycrates sent them to Egypt, but eventually they made their way to Sparta.

3.46 The Samians made a long speech asking for help, but they didn't succeed until they were brief enough to satisfy the "laconic" Spartans.

3.47 According to the Spartans, they helped the exiles because they wanted revenge: the Samians had stolen a breastplate and bowl from them.

3.48 The Corinthians helped too: a generation before the Samians had stopped them from sending 300 Corcyraean boys to Sardis for castration.

3.49 Corinth had colonized Corcyra, and from day one the two states had been at enmity.

3.50 Periander (tyrant of Corinth) wanted revenge against Corcyra. He'd killed his wife Melissa. His son Lycophron found out and was sullen.