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The battle of the Crocus Field or of Pagasae in 353 was a significant
victory for Philip
II of Macedon and saw him defeat and kill
Onomarchus, the Phocian
leader, a victory that helped to secure Philip's dominance over Thessaly. At
first Philip hadn't been affected by the Third
Sacred War, which saw the Phocians defy a judgement against them, occupy
the Oracle at Delphi, and inflict a number of defeats on their Locrian,
Thessalian and Boeotian enemies. The two sides eventually came into conflict as
a result of events in Thessaly. In 354 Philip responded to a call for help from
his Thessalian allies, who were threatened by Lycophron, tyrant of Pherae.
Lycophron responded to this threat by asking for help from the Phocians.
Onomarchus, the Phocian leader, sent an army commanded by his brother Phayllus
into Thessaly, but Philip quickly defeated this army. Onomarchus then led the
main Phocian army into Thessaly in person, and inflicted two rare defeats on
Philip.
In the aftermath of these defeats Philip returned to Macedon to regroup, while
Onomarchus moved into Boeotia, where he defeated the Boeotians at the battle of
Hermeum, and captured Coronea. Philip didn't
take long to recover from his defeats. In 353 he led his army back into
Thessaly, where he attacked the port at Pagasae. He was joined by his
Thessalian allies, producing an army that Diodorus reports as containing 20,000
infantry and 3,000 cavalry. Lycophron sent desperate messages to Phocis asking
for help and promising to share the government of Thessaly. Onomarchus led his
army north, bringing 20,000 infantry and 500 cavalry of his own. He was
probably also hoping for Athenian help (in a list of Athenian failures
Demosthenes includes their failure to provide aid to Pagasae in time).
The resulting battle took place on a large plain near the sea, probably the
area known as the Crocus Field. According to Diodorus Philip's Thessalian
cavalry won the day. Onomarchus fled towards the coast, where an Athenian fleet
under Chares was just off
shore. In an attempt to reach the safety of the fleet many of the Phocian
survivors stripped off their armour and attempted to swim out to the ships.
Many of them were killed during this phase of the battle. The Phocians lost
6,000 dead in the battle, while another 3,000 were taken capture and then
thrown into the sea as a punishment for robbing the temples at Delphi. Diodorus
gives contradictory accounts of the death of Onomarchus. In the main account of
the battle he was crucified by Philip. Later on, when summarising the fates of
those involved in the war he reports that Onomarchus was 'cut to pieces' in a
battle in Thessaly and then crucified. Pausanius gives a different account of
Onomarchus's death. In his account Onomarchus was shot down by his own troops
while fleeing to the coast, as they blamed him for the defeat. Once again the
Phocians managed to recover from a potentially crushing defeat. Onomarchus was
replaced by his brother Phayllus, and then by Onomarchus's son Phalacus, and
the war dragged on until 346. Philip may have intended to invade Phocis in the
aftermath of the battle, but he delayed his move south too long, and the
worried Athenians were able to block the pass at Thermopylae. Philip
didn’t want to risk a defeat, and returned home.
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