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Phayllus was the third leader of
the Phocians during the Third Sacred War,
succeeding his brother Onomarchus. After a fairly
unsuccessful period in command he died of natural causes, and was succeeded by
his nephew Phalacus.
Battles of the Third Sacred War (356-346):
Phayllus served as a general before coming to power. His brother gave him
command of a 7,000 strong army that was sent to Thessaly to support Lycophron,
tyrant of Pherae against Philip II of Macedon. Phayllus was defeated by Philip,
and Onomarchus was forced to intervene in person. He was more successful, and
inflicted two very badly documented defeats on Philip. This was only a
temporary setback for Philip. In 352 he led his army back into Thessaly and
defeated the Phocians and their allies at the battle of the
Crocus Field. Onomarchus was killed after
the battle. Phayllus succeeded his brother as leader of the Phocians. In the
aftermath of the destruction of their army at the Crocus Field he had to spend
a large proportion of the treasures of Delphi. According to Diodorus he had
turned 120 gold bricks donated by Croesus, 360 golden goblets and golden
statues of a lion and of a women into coins worth 4,000 silver talents, and had
also spent part of 6,000 talents worth of silver. This allowed him to double
the pay he offered to mercenaries. He was also sent reinforcements by the
Achaeans (2,000 men), Athenians (5,000 infantry and 400 cavalry) and Spartans
(1,000 men). Finally the defeated tyrants of Pherae, Lycophron and Peitholaus
went into exile in Phocis with their remaining 2,000 troops.
Phayllus was less successful as a general. His first campaign took him into
Boeotia, where he was defeated in three battles. At Orchomenus he lost 'a great
number of men', at the Cephisus River
he lost 500 dead and 400 prisoners and near Coronea he lost 50 dead and 130
prisoners. His next campaign was an invasion of Epicnemidian Locris, where he
was able to take most of the city, but failed at Naryx. He captured the place by treachery one
night, but was then expelled having lost 200 men. He was then attacked by the
Boeotians at Abae, and lost yet again. The Boeotians then carried out a raid
into Phocis, before moving to the 'city of the Narycaeans', which was then
being besieged by the Phocians.
Phayllus's military career ended with a rare success. He appeared unexpectedly
outside the city, drove off the Boeotians, captured the city and razed it to
the ground. Phayllus died in 351 after a long illness, which his enemies saw as
a divine punishment for the Phocian seizure of Delphi. He was also accused of
giving some of the treasures to his wife and mistresses, Phayllus was succeeded
by his nephew Phalacus (the son of Onomarchus), although at first the young
Phalacus ruled alongside one of Phayllus's friends, Mnaseas. Phalacus wasn't
much more successful in battle, but he did manage to survive the war,
eventually dying in exile, probably in 338.
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