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The battle of Neon in 354 was a battle of the
Third Sacred War, and was notable for the death of the Phocian leader
Philomelus. Philomelus was the Phocian leader at the start of the war. Early in
the war Philomelus captured the sanctuary at Delphi, and he used the money to
pay for a powerful mercenary army. In 355 he defeated a Locrian invasion at the
Phaedriades cliffs, near Delphi. In 354 he invaded Locris, where he had some
successes, defeating a joint Locrian and Boeotian army in an unnamed cavalry
battle, and then defeating a Thessalian army in a battle at the Argolas Hill.
Philomelus's run of success ended at the battle of Neon. The Boeotians had been
slow to move, but they now appeared with an army 13,000 strong. Philomelus had
his Phocians, his mercenaries, and 1,500 Achaeans who had arrived from the
Peleponnese. The two armies settled down into a standoff in the area north of
Mount Parnassus, near the Phocian town of Tithorea (also known as Neon).
Regions of Ancient Greece Regions of Ancient Greece The Phocians probably
occupied the city. During the standoff the Boeotians captured a number of the
Phocian mercenaries, who were out foraging. They were then paraded in front of
'the city', and executed as temple robbers. Unsurprisingly this angered the
Phocian mercenaries, and they convinced Philomelus to respond in kind. He sent
out raids that captured a number of Boeotians, who were then executed. This
ended this brief exchange of atrocities. Battles of the Third Sacred War
(356-346 BC) Battles of the Third Sacred War (356-346 BC) The standoff must
have ended soon after this, as Diodorus informs us that the battle began as
both armies were 'invading another district'. The two vanguards clashed while
passing through heavily wooded rough country. This encounter battle drew in
more troops, but the Phocians were outnumbered, and suffered a heavy defeat.
The awkward terrain made it difficult for the defeated Phocians and their
mercenaries to escape, and many of them were killed in the retreat. Philomelus
himself was eventually trapped at the top of a cliff, and in order to avoid
being tortured threw himself off the cliff. Command of the Phocian army passed
to Philomelus's brother Onomarchus, who managed to rally the survivors. The
Boeotians decided that the death of Philomelus, who they blamed for plundering
the oracle at Delphi, was enough punishment, and would deter the Phocians from
further attacks, returned home without taking advantage of their victory.
Instead they chose to send an army, commanded by Pammenes, to Asia to support
the Persian satraps in their revolt against Artaxerxes III (Satrap's Revolt).
The Third Sacred War was thus allowed to drag on for several more years.
Diodorus provides us with the description of the battle (16.31.3), while
Pausanias (10.2.4) gives us the location, and repeats Diodorus's version of the
death of Philomelus.
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