Leucadia, now an island, separated from Acarnania by a shallow strait which was dug by the hand, was then a peninsula, united on its eastern side to Acarnania by a narrow isthmus: this isthmus was about five hundred paces in length, and in breadth not above one hundred and twenty.

At the entrance of this narrow neck stands Leucas, stretching up part of a hill which faces the east and Acarnania: the lower part of the town is level, lying along the sea, which divides Leucadia from Acarnania.

Thus it lies open to attacks, both from the sea and from the land; for the channel is more like a marsh than a sea, and all the adjacent ground is solid enough to render the construction of works easy.

In many places, therefore, at once the walls fell down, either undermined, or demolished by the ram.

But the spirit of the besieged was as invincible as the town itself was favourably situated for the besiegers: night and day they employed themselves busily in repairing the shattered parts of the wall; and, stopping up the breaches that were made, fought the enemy with great spirit, and showed a wish to defend the walls by their arms rather than themselves by the walls.
And they would certainly have protracted the siege to a length unexpected by the Romans, had not some exiles of Italian birth, who resided in Leucas, admitted a band of soldiers into the citadel: notwithstanding which, when those troops ran down from the higher ground with great tumult and uproar, the Leucadians, drawing up in a body in the forum, withstood them for a considerable time in regular fight.