The ternary system water-pentaethylene glycol mono-n-octyl ether-1-octanol (H2O-C(8)E(5)-C(8)E(0)) has been examined as a function of temperature. We found that dilute L(alpha) and L(beta) phases are induced by addition of C(8)E(0) to the simple binary system H2O-C(8)E(5), which does not show these phases in the absence of C(8)E(0). In the pseudo-binary-phase diagram H2O-C(8)E(5)/C(8)E(0), one, accordingly, encounters phases that are usually only found in longer-chain surfactant systems. The combination of two short-chain molecules C(8)E(5) + C(8)E(0) apparently results in a strong synergistic effect. We describe the temperature-dependent evolution of the complex phase behavior with schematic diagrams, which permit us to rationalize how the L(alpha) and L(beta) phases in the isothermal ternary phase diagrams are connected to a multitude of two- and three-phase regions.