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The Third Sacred War was fought between the
forces of the Delphic Amphictyonic League, principally represented by Thebes,
and then by Philip II of Macedon, and the Phocians. The war was caused by a
large fine imposed in 357 on the Phocians by the Amphictyonic League (dominated
at that moment by Thebes), for the offense of cultivating sacred land; refusing
to pay, the Phocians instead seized the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, and used
the accumulated treasures to fund large mercenary armies. Thus, although the
Phocians suffered several major defeats, they were able to continue the war for
many years, until eventually all parties were nearing exhaustion. Philip II
used the distraction of the other states to increase his power in northern
Greece, in the process becoming ruler of Thessaly. In the end, Philip's growing
power, and the exhaustion of the other states, allowed him to impose a peaceful
settlement of the war, marking a major step in the rise of Macedon to power.
Sources and Chronology:
The ancient sources for the Third Sacred War are scant, and generally lacking
in firm chronological information.The main source for the period is Diodorus
Siculus's Bibliotheca historica, written in the 1st century , which is
therefore very much a secondary source. Diodorus is often derided by modern
historians for his style and inaccuracies, but he preserves many details of the
ancient period found nowhere else. Diodorus worked primarily by epitomizing the
works of other historians, omitting many details where they did not suit his
purpose, which was to illustrate moral lessons from history; his account of the
Third Sacred War therefore contains many gaps. Beyond Diodorus, further details
of the Sacred War can be found in the orations of Athenian statesmen, primarily
Demosthenes and Aeschines, which have survived intact. Since these speeches
were never intended to be historical material, they must be treated with
circumspection; Demosthenes and Aeschines have been described as "a couple
of liars, neither of whom can be trusted to have told the truth in any matter
in which it was remotely in his interest to lie". Nevertheless, their
allusions in speeches to contemporary or past events indicate some of the gaps
in Diodorus's account, and help with the arrangement of a chronology. The
accounts of Diodorus, Demosthenes and Aeschines can be further supplemented by
fragments of otherwise lost histories (such as that by Theopompus) and by
contemporary epigraphic sources.
Modern historians' dates for the war have been hotly debated, with no clear
consensus. It is generally accepted that the war lasted 10 years, and ended in
summer 346 (one of the few firm dates), which yields a date of 356 for the
beginning of the war, with Philomelos's seizure of Delphi. Diodorus's
chronology for the sacred war is very confused—he dates the start and end
of the war a year too late, variously says the war lasted 9, 10 or 11 years,
and included the siege of Methone twice under different dates—and his
dates cannot therefore be relied upon. After Philomelos's defeat at Neon, the
Thebans thought it safe to send the general Pammenes to Asia with 5000
hoplites; Pammenes probably met with Philip at Maroneia in 355 , presumably on
his outward journey.[9] Buckler, the only historian to produce a systematic
study of the sacred war, therefore places Neon in 355 , and suggests after the
meeting with Pammenes, Philip went to begin the siege of Methone. Other
historians have placed Neon in 354 , because Diodorus says that the battle took
place while Philip besieged Methone which Diodorus (at one point) places in
354. Disregarding the dates, most historians agree upon the same sequence of
events for the first phases of the Sacred War. The principal question is
therefore when that sequence started. Thus, Buckler (as well as Beloch and
Cloche) dates Neon to 355 , Methone to 355–354 , Philip's first Thessalian
campaign to 354, and his second to 353. Conversely, Cawkwell, Sealey, Hammond
and others lower all these dates by one year, beginning with Neon in 354.
Background:
Main articles: Delphi and Amphictyonic League
The war was ostensibly caused by the refusal of the Phocian Confederation to
pay a fine imposed on them in 357 by the Amphictyonic League, a pan-Hellenic
religious organisation which governed the most sacred site in Ancient Greece,
the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. The fine was occasioned by the Phocians's
illegal cultivation of sacred land on the Kirrhaean plain, which they did not
deny; the fine was, however, far beyond the Phocians' ability to pay. Under
normal circumstances, refusal to pay the fine would have made the Phocians
religious (and therefore political) outcasts in Greece, and liable to have a
sacred war declared against them. Behind the religious element, there probably
lay a display of realpolitik in bringing charges against the Phocians,
instigated by the Thebans. The Phocians had declined to send troops on the
Mantinea campaign of 362, despite Theban requests, and this appears to have
caused lasting enmity in Thebes.] By 357 , with the Athenians embroiled in the
Social War, and Alexander of Pherae (an erstwhile ally of the Phocians) dead,
the Thebans deemed that the chance to punish Phocis had come. The Amphictyonic
League was composed of 12 Greek tribes, primarily of central Greece (the
Oetaeans, Boeotians, Dolopes, Phthian Achaeans, Locrians, Magnesians, Malians,
Perrhaebians, Phocians, Pythians of Delphi and Thessalians), plus the Dorians
(including Sparta) and the Ionians (including Athens), with each tribe having
two votes in the council of the league. Thebes had effectively become the
'protector' of the league in 360, after the civil war had restarted in
Thessaly; the Thessalians having previously been the dominant power in the
league. Thus, at this time, Thebes controlled a majority of the votes in the
council, and at the autumn meeting in 357, the Thebans were able to have both
the Phocians (for the cultivation of the sacred land) and the Spartans (for
occupying Thebes some 25 years previously) denounced and fined. Since the fines
for both parties were "unjustifiably harsh", the Thebans probably
expected neither party to pay, and thus to be able to declare a sacred war on
either. There seems to have been some sympathy in Greece for the Phocians,
since other states could see that "the Thebans...had used the Amphictyony
to pursue petty and destructive vendettas". The Phocians held a special
conference to decide what action to take. Philomelos, a citizen of Ledon,
advocated a pre-emptive policy of seizing Delphi (which was situated within the
boundaries of Phocis), and asserting the ancient claim of Phocis to the
presidency of the Amphictyonic League. In this way, the Phocians could annul
the judgment against themselves. The Phocians voted in favour of his proposal,
and Philomelos was appointed strategos autokrator (general with independent
powers) by the confederacy, with his chief supporter Onomarchos also elected as
strategos. Philomelos travelled to Sparta to discuss his proposals with the
Spartan king Archidamos III. Archidamos expressed his support, hoping that the
Spartan fine would also be annulled, and gave Philomelos 15 talents to raise
troops with.
Seizure of Delphi:
On his return to Phocis, Philomelos began assembling a mercenary army using the
15 talents from Archidamos, and also raised a force of 1000 peltasts from
amongst the Phocian citizenry. In 356, Philomelos marched on Delphi, just
before the end of the period in which the Phocians had been required to pay
their fine. He easily captured the city of Delphi, along with the sanctuary of
Apollo. Philomelos captured the nobles of the Thrakidai family, who had
probably been involved in imposing the fine on Phocis, and killed them, seizing
their wealth to add to his treasury. He promised the other Delphians that he
would not harm them, although he had initially contemplated enslaving the whole
city.
Ozolian Locrian expedition to Delphi:
The news of Philomelos's move against Delphi resulted in a relief expedition
being mounted by the Ozalian Locrians, probably mainly from Amphissa.
Philomelos's army met the Locrians in open battle on a small plain between the
city of Delphi and the sanctuary, and routed them with heavy losses. Some
prisoners were taken, and Philomelos had them thrown from the cliffs that tower
over the sanctuary (the Phaidriadai rocks). This was the traditional punishment
for sacrilege against Apollo's temple, and through the means of this atrocity,
Philomelos was asserting the Phocian claim to the presidency of the sanctuary.
Buckler observes that "in his first acts, Philomelos set a brutal stamp on
the war".
Fortification of Delphi:
After defeating the Locrians, Philomelos continued to strengthen his position
in Delphi. He destroyed the stones which recorded the verdict against the
Phocians, and abolished the government of the city, installing in its place a
group of pro-Phocian Delphians, who had been in exile in Athens. Philomelos
ordered the sanctuary be fortified on the western side (natural features
defended the other approaches), and a large limestone wall was constructed. He
then demanded that the priestess of Apollo (the Pythia) provide him with an
oracle; she replied that he "could do whatever he wanted". Philomelos
called that an oracle, and had it inscribed in the sanctuary, as was customary.
This pseudo-oracle provided Philomelos with supposed divine justification from
Apollo for his actions. He next sent embassies to all Greek states, asserting
the Phocian claim to Delphi, and promising not to touch the treasury of Apollo.
The Spartans, as expected, endorsed Philomelos's actions, since their fine was
now erased. The Athenians also expressed support, following their general
anti-Theban policies.
Declaration of Sacred War:
However, Philomelos's embassies elsewhere met with failure. The Locrians
demanded that the Amphictyons avenge them and Apollo, and the Thebans sent
embassies to the other council members suggesting that a sacred war should be
declared against Phocis. This was assented to by most Greek states, including
the Amphictyonic council members (minus Sparta and Athens), and those
well-disposed to Thebes; furthermore, otherwise uninvolved states declared
support for the Amphictyonic for reasons of piety.The Amphictyons seem to have
decided that the year was too advanced to begin campaigning, and so agreed to
launch military action the following year. They may have hoped that in the
meantime, the Phocians‘ sacrilegious behaviour would cause them to
reconsider their position.
Start of the War (c. 355 ):
Following the declaration of war against Phocis, Philomelos decided he would
need to substantially increase the size of his army. Rather than levy the
Phocian citizen body, Philomelos decided to hire more mercenaries; the only way
he could afford to do this was by plundering the dedications in the treasury of
Apollo. That the treasury contained much wealth, from years of accumulated
donations, is well-established; it is estimated that the Phocians spent some
10,000 talents of Apollo's treasure during the war. In order to overcome the
reluctance of mercenaries to fight for a sacrilegious cause, Philomelos
increased the rate of pay by half, which allowed him to recruit a force of
10,000 troops over the winter, for the forthcoming war.
Conflict in Epicnemidian Locris and Phocis (c. 355 :
The following spring, possibly upon hearing news that the Boeotians were ready
to march against Phocis, Philomelos took the initiative and marched into
Epicnemidian Locris. Since the Phocian army would be outnumbered by the whole
Amphictyonic levy, it is probable that he sought to defeat his enemies one by
one, starting with the Locrians. If he could defeat the Locrians, then he was
in a position to occupy the narrow pass of Thermopylae and block the union of
the Thessalian and Boeotian armies, the main Amphictyonic contingents.
Philomelos's army thus crossed into Locris, probably using the Fontana pass
from Triteis to Naryx, or possibly the Kleisoura pass from Tithronion to the
same general area of Locris. The Locrians sent a force of cavalry to oppose
him, which the Phocians easily defeated. However, this battle gave the
Thessalians time to pass through Thermopylae and arrive in Locris. Philomelos
immediately attacked the Thessalians, and defeated them near the town of
Argolas, whose location is not definitively known. Philomelos then laid siege
to Argolas, but failed to capture it, and instead pillaged as much Locrian
territory as possible. The Boeotian army, under the command of Pammenes, then
arrived on the scene, and rather than oppose them, Philomelos backed off,
allowing the Boeotians to link up with the Locrians and Thessalians. Philomelos
had thus failed in his strategy of dealing with the Amphictyons separately, and
he now faced an army at least equal in size to his own. He therefore decided to
retreat before the Amphictyons could bring him to battle, and probably using
the Kleisoura pass, he returned with his army to Phocis.
Battle of Neon:
In response to Philomelos's retreat, Pammenes ordered the Amphictyonic force to
cross into Phocis as well, probably by the Fontana pass, in order to prevent
Philomelos marching on Boeotia. The two armies converged on Tithorea (whose
acropolis, Neon, gives the battle its name), where the Amphictyons brought the
Phocians to battle. Details of the battle are scant, but the Amphictyons
defeated the Phocians, and then pursued the survivors up the slopes of Mount
Parnassos, slaying many. Philomelos was injured, and rather than risk capture,
threw himself off the mountain, falling to his death. Onomarchos, who was second
in command, managed to salvage the remainder of the army, and retreated to
Delphi, and Pammenes retired to Thebes with the Boeotian army.
Second phase (c. 354–353):
The Amphictyons seem to have concluded that their victory at Neon had
effectively ended the war, and the Phocians would sue for peace. Otherwise, it
is difficult to understand why Pammenes did not march on Delphi, or even sack
the undefended Phocian cities in the Kephisos valley. In failing to follow up
their victory, the Amphictyons wasted the best opportunity they had during the
course of the war to end it. The Thebans seem to have been so sure that the war
was ended that they agreed to send 5,000 hoplites under Pammenes to help the
rebellion of the Persian satrap Artabazus, shortly after the Battle of Neon.
The Thebans needed the money Artabazos offered them, and although they had
generally been on good terms with the Persian king, they obviously felt the
offer was too good to refuse. It is likely the troops were dispatched before
the Phocian decision to fight on became clear, unless the Thebans thought that
their remaining troops were a match for any army the Phocians could field. This
was to prove a serious mistake for the Thebans, and the Amphictyonic cause in
general. Rather than contemplate surrender after the retreat from Neon,
Onomarchos had rallied the Phocians, and insisted that they should continue the
war. A meeting of the Phocian Confederation was held to discuss the future
course of action, to which their Athenian and Spartan allies were invited. If
they surrendered, the Phocians would face additional fines for their sacrilege,
and for plundering the treasury; however, to fight on meant perpetrating still
further sacrilege, and effectively committed the Phocians to winning a total
victory against the Amphictyons. Although some were inclined towards peace, the
majority were swayed by Onomarchos's orations and policies, quite possibly
backed up by the threat of force from the mercenary army, and voted to continue
the war. The Phocian mercenary force had significant influence on the decisions
made by (or for) the Phocian Confederation during the course of the war, and
also the peculiar consequences it had for the Phocians: "The primary
loyalty of that army would go to its commander and paymaster, not to the
Phocian Confederacy. In effect, continued war forced the Phocians to put their
faith in the hands of a man who could act regardless of their wishes but the
responsibility for whose acts would be theirs." His position now secure,
Onomarchos had his chief opponents arrested and executed, and confiscated their
property to add to his war-chest. He then set about raising a new army,
doubling the size of Philomelos's force, until he had 20,000 men and 500
cavalry at his disposal. Raising such a large force required extensive
depredations of Apollo's wealth; bronze and iron dedications were melted down
and recast as weapons, whilst gold and silver offerings were melted down and
used to make coinage. Although raising such a large army would have taken a
considerable time, Onomarchos had the whole winter after Neon in which to do
so.
The first Phocian campaign in Epicnemidian Locris and Doris, 354:
Phocian campaign in Doris (c. 354 :)
First Phocian campaign in Boeotia (c. 354 )
First and second Phocian campaigns in Boeotia, 354–353
First conflict in Thessaly (c. 354):
The Sacred War appears to have laid way for renewed conflict within Thessaly.
The Thessalian Confederation were in general staunch supporters of the
Amphictyonic League, and had an ancient hatred of the Phocians. Conversely, the
city-state of Pherae had allied itself with the Phocians. In either 354 or 353
the ruling clan of the city of Larissa appealed to Philip II of Macedon to help
them defeat Pherae. Thus, Philip brought an army into Thessaly, probably with
the intention of attacking Pherae. Under the terms of their alliance, Lycophron
of Pherae requested aid from the Phocians, and Onormarchos dispatched his
brother, Phayllos with 7,000 men; however, Philip repulsed this force before it
could join up with the Pheraeans. Onomarchos then abandoned the siege he was
currently prosecuting, and brought his whole force into Thessaly to attack
Philip. It is possible that Onomarchos hoped to conquer Thessaly in the
process, which would both leave the Thebans isolated (Locris and Doris having
already fallen to the Phocians), and give the Phocians a majority in the
Amphictyonic council, thus enabling them to have the war declared over.
Onomarchos probably brought with him 20 000 infantry, 500 cavalry and a large
number of catapults, and outnumbered Philip's army. The exact details of the
campaign that followed are unclear, but Onomarchos seems to have inflicted two
defeats on Philip, with many Macedonians killed in the process. Polyaenus
suggests that the first of Onomarchos's victories was aided by the use of the
catapults to throw stones into the Macedonian phalanx, as it climbed a slope to
attack the Phocians. After these defeats, Philip retreated to Macedon for the
winter.[44] He is said to have commented that he “did not run away but,
like a ram, I pulled back to butt again harder”.
(Polyaenus -in Book 2 Chapter XXXVIII "suggests' but not specificaly
mention catapults, rather that they threw massive stones. His 'strategem' is
ambush. The quote from Philip is in that section.)
Second Phocian campaign in Boeotia (c. 353):
In 353 , Onomarchos took advantage of the fact that Thebes, financially
exhausted, sent out a troop of 5,000 Theban soldiers as mercenaries to support
the revolt of Artabazus, satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia, against the Persian
king. He led an attack against Locris and captured Thronion, which constituted
a key strategic point on the route network of central mainland Greece. He
turned south and invaded Doris and eventually Boeotia, where he was finally
controlled by the allied Boeotians close to Chaeronea.
Second conflict in Thessaly (c. 353):
Philip returned to Thessaly the next summer (either 353 or 352 , depending on
the chronology followed), having gathered a new army in Macedon. Philip
formally requested that the Thessalians join him in the war against the
Phocians; the Thessalians, even if underwhelmed by Philip's performance the
previous year, realistically had little choice if they wanted to avoid being
conquered by Onomarchos's army. Philip now mustered all the Thessalian
opponents of Pherae that he could, and according to Diodorus, his final army
numbered 20,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry.
Pagasae:
At some point during his campaigns in Thessaly, Philip captured the strategic
port of Pagasae, which was in effect the port of Pherae. It is unclear whether
this was during the first or second campaign; both Buckler and Cawkwell suggest
that it took place in the second campaign, before the Battle of Crocus Field.
By taking Pagasae, it is possible that Philip prevented Pherae from being
reinforced by sea during his second campaign. Buckler suggests that Philip had
learnt his lesson from the previous campaign, and intended to cut Pherae off
from outside help before attacking it.
Battle of Crocus:
Field Main article: Battle of Crocus
Field:
Meanwhile, Onomarchos returned to Thessaly to try to preserve the Phocian
ascendancy there, with approximately the same force as during the previous
year. Furthermore, the Athenians dispatched Chares to help their Phocian
allies, seeing the opportunity to strike a decisive blow against Philip.
Subsequent events are unclear, but a battle was fought between the Macedonians
and the Phocians, probably as Philip tried to prevent the Phocians uniting
forces with the Pheraeans, and crucially, before the Athenians had arrived.
According to Diodorus, the two armies met on a large plain near the sea,
probably in the vicinity of Pagasae. Philip sent his men into battle wearing
crown of laurel, the symbol of the Apollo; "as if he was the avenger...of
sacrilege, and he proceeded to battle under the leadership, as it were, of the
god". In the ensuing battle, the bloodiest recorded in ancient Greek
history, Philip won a decisive victory against the Phocians. In total, 6,000
Phocian troops were killed including Onomarchos, and another 3,000 taken
prisoner Onomarchos was either hanged or crucified and the other prisoners
drowned, as ritual demanded for temple-robbers. These punishments were designed
to deny the defeated an honourable burial; Philip thus continued to present
himself as the pious avenger of the sacrilege committed by the Phocians.
Re-organisation of Thessaly:
It was probably in the aftermath of his victory (if not before) that the
Thessalians appointed Philip archon of Thessaly. This was an appointment for
life, and gave Philip control over all the revenues of the Thessalian
Confederation, and furthermore made Philip leader of the united Thesslian army.
Philip was now able to settle Thessaly at his leisure. He first probably
finished the siege of Pagasae, to deny the Athenians a landing place in
Thessaly. Pagasae was not part of the Thessalian Confederation, and Philip
therefore took it as his own, and garrisoned it. The fall of Pagasae now left
Pherae totally isolated. Lycophron, rather than suffer the fate of Onomarchos,
struck a bargain with Philip, and in return for handing Pherae over to Philip,
he was allowed, along with 2000 of his mercenaries, to go to Phocis. Philip now
worked to unite the traditionally fractious cities of Thessaly under his rule.
He took direct control of several cities in western Thessaly, exiling the
dissidents, and in one case refounding the city with a Macedonian population;
he tightened his control of Perrhaebia, and invaded Magnesia, also taking it as
his own and garrisoning it; "when finished, he was lord of Thessaly."
Thermopylae:
Once satisfied with his reorganisation of Thessaly, Philip marched south to the
pass of Thermopylae, the gateway to central Greece. He probably intended to
follow up his victory over the Phocians by invading Phocis itself, a prospect
which greatly alarmed the Athenians, since once he was past Thermopylae, he
could also march on Athens. The Athenians therefore dispatched a force to
Thermopylae and occupied the pass; there is some debate as to whether other
contingents may have joined the Athenians at Thermopylae. The Athenians were
certainly there, since the Athenian orator Demosthenes celebrated the defense
of the pass in one of his speeches. Cawkwell suggests that the Athenian force
was the one that Diodorus says was dispatched under Nausicles consisting of
5,000 infantry and 400 cavalry, and that they were joined by the remnants of
the Phocians and the Pheraean mercenaries. However, Buckler argues that
Diodorus never mentions Thermopylae, and the force under Nausicles was sent to
help the Phocians the following year; instead, he believes that another
Athenian force held the pass unassisted. Although it might have proved possible
to force the pass, Philip did not attempt to do so, preferring not to risk a
defeat after his great successes in Thessaly.
Third phase (c. 352–346 ):
Meanwhile, the Phocians regrouped under Onomarchos's brother, Phayllos. After
the huge Phocian defeats at Neon and Crocus Field, Phayllos had to resort to
doubling the pay for mercenaries, in order to attract enough to replenish his
army. Despite their defeats however, the majority of the Phocians were still in
favour of continuing the war. Over the winter of that year, Phayllos engaged in
diplomatic efforts to gather more support from Phocis's allies, and succeeding
in widening the theatre of conflict in the next campaigning season. Uniquely in
Greek history, the Phocians were able to absorb huge losses in manpower, thanks
to their pillaging of Temple of Apollo, a factor which was to contribute to the
war dragging on indecisively until 346.
Third Phocian campaign in Boeotia (352 ):
Third Phocian campaign in Boeotia, 352 :
First conflict in the Peloponnese (352):
Second Phocian campaign in Epicnemidian Locris (351):
Second conflict in the Peloponnese (351):
Phocian campaign in Boeotia (351 ):
Fourth Phocian campaign in Boeotia, and second, third and fourth Boeotian
campaigns in Phocis, 351–347 :
Second Boeotian campaign in Phocis (349 ):
Fifth Phocian campaign in Boeotia (349 ):
Fifth and sixth Phocian campaigns in Boeotia, 349–347 :
Euboea (349–348 ):
Third Boeotian campaign in Phocis (348 ):
Sixth Phocian campaign in Boeotia (347 ):
Fourth Boeotian campaign in Phocis (347 ):
Philip had not involved himself in the Sacred War since his victory at the
Crocus Field in 352 . In the meantime, it had become clear that the Sacred War
could only be ended by outside intervention. The Phocians had occupied several
Boeotian cities, but were running out of treasure to pay their mercenaries;
conversely, the Thebans were unable to act effectively against the Phocians.
The Phocian general Phalaikos was removed from his command in 347 , and three
new generals appointed, who successfully attacked Boeotia again. The Thebans
appealed to Philip for aid, and he sent a small force to their assistance.
Philip sent force enough to honour his alliance with Thebes, but not enough to
end the war—he desired the glory of ending the war personally, in the
manner of his choosing, and on his terms.
Settlement of the Sacred War:
Preliminaries:
Athens and Macedon had been at war since 356 , after Philip's capture of the
Athenian colonies of Pydna and Potidea. Philip had then been drawn into the
Sacred War, on behalf of the Thessalians, as described above. Since Athens was
also a combatant in the Sacred War, the war between Athens and Macedon was
inextricably linked with the progress of the Sacred War. In 352 , Philip's
erstwhile ally, the Chalkidian League (led by Olynthos), alarmed by Philip's
growing power, sought to ally themselves with Athens, in clear breach of their
alliance with Philip. In response, Philip attacked Chalkidiki in 349 , and by
348 , had completely destroyed the Chalkidian League, razing Olynthos in the
process. The prominent Athenian politician Philocrates had suggested offering
Philip peace in 348 , during the Olynthian war. The war between Athens and
Philip thus continued through 347 , as did the Sacred War.
In early 346 , Philip let it be known that he intended to march south with the
Thessalians, though not where or why. The Phocians thus made plans to defend
Thermopylae, and requested assistance from the Spartans and the Athenians,
probably around 14 February. The Spartans dispatched
Archidamus III with 1,000 hoplites, and the
Athenians ordered everyone eligible for military service under the age of 40 to
be sent to the Phocians' aid. However, between the Phocians' appeal and the end
of the month, all plans were upset by the return of Phalaikos to power in
Phocis; the Athenians and the Spartans were subsequently told that they would
not be permitted to defend Thermopylae. It is not clear from the ancient
sources why Phalaikos was returned to power, nor why he adopted this dramatic
change of policy. Cawkwell suggests, based on remarks of Aeschines, that the
Phocian army restored Phalaikos because they had not been properly paid, and
further that Phalaikos, realizing that the army could not be paid and that the
Phocians could no longer hope to win the war, decided to try to negotiate a
peace settlement with Philip.
Peace between Macedon and Athens:
Main article: Peace of Philocrates:
When the Athenians received this news, they rapidly changed policy. If
Thermopylae could no longer be defended, then Athenian security could no longer
be guaranteed. By the end of February, the Athenians had dispatched an embassy,
including Philocrates, Demosthenes and Aeschines, to Philip to discuss peace
between Athens and Macedon. The embassy had two audiences with Philip, in which
each side presented their proposals for the terms of the peace settlement. The
embassy then returned to Athens to present the proposed terms to the Athenian
Assembly, along with a Macedonian embassy to Athens, empowered by Philip to
finalize an agreement. On 23 April, the Athenians swore to the terms of the
treaty in the presence of the Macedonian ambassadors.
Embassies to Philip:
After agreeing to the peace terms with Macedonian ambassadors in April, the
Athenians dispatched a second embassy to Macedon, to extract the peace oaths
from Philip; this embassy travelled to Pella at a relaxed pace, knowing that
Philip was away on campaign against the Thracian king Kersebleptes
(Cersobleptes). When they arrived, the Athenians (again including Demosthenes
and Aeschines) were rather surprised to find embassies from all the principle
combatants in the Sacred War were also present, in order to discuss a
settlement to the war. When Philip returned from Thrace he received both the
Athenian and other embassies. The Thebans and Thessalians requested that he
take the leadership of Greece, and punish Phocis; conversely, the Phocians,
supported by the Spartans and the Athenian delegations, pleaded with Philip not
to attack Phocis. Philip, however, delayed making any decisions; "[he]
sought by every means not to reveal how he intended to settle things; both
sides were privately encouraged to hope that he would do as they wanted, but
both were bidden not to prepare for war; a peacefully arranged concordat was at
hand"; he also delayed taking the oaths to the Peace of Philocrates.
Military preparations were ongoing in Pella during this period, but Philip told
the ambassadors that they were for a campaign against Halus, a small Thessalian
city which held out against him. He departed for Halus before making any
pronouncements, compelling the Athenian embassy to travel with him; only when
they reached Pherae did Philip finally take the oaths, enabling the Athenian
ambassadors to return home.
Occupation of Thermopylae:
It was in the aftermath of finally ratifying the Peace that Philip applied the
coup de grace. He had persuaded the Athenians and other Greeks that he and his
army was heading for Halus, but it seems certain that he also sent other units
straight to Thermopylae. Thus, when he swore oaths to the Athenian assembly in
Pherae, his troops were already very close to Thermopylae; by the time the
Athenian ambassadors arrived home (9 July), Philip was already in possession of
the pass. By delaying the oaths, and making what was effectively a feint
against Halus, he prevented the Athenians from seeing their imminent danger,
and from having time to garrison the Thermopylae.
Peace settlement:
All of central and southern Greece was now at Philip's mercy, and the Athenians
could not now save Phocis even if they abandoned the peace. However, the
Athenians were still ignorant of this turn of events when Phocian ambassadors
came to Athens to plead for military aid around 9 July. The Athenian council
recommended that the peace be rejected, and Thermopylae be occupied in order to
help save Phocis; since, as far at the Athenian embassy knew, Philip's troops
were still in Pherae, there seemed to be ample time to occupy the pass. By 12
July the news that Philip was "in the gates" arrived in Athens; the
Athenians then knew that the situation was hopeless, and instead of acting on
the previous recommendation of the council, the Assembly instead passed a
motion re-affirming the Peace of Philocrates. Now that he was in control of
Thermopylae, Philip could be certain of dictating the terms of the end of the
Sacred War, since he could now use force against any state that did not accept
his arbitration. He began by making a truce with Phalaikos on 19 July;
Phalaikos surrendered Phocis to him, in return for being allowed to leave with
his mercenaries and go wherever he wished. Cawkwell suggests that Phalaikos
probably collaborated with Philip in 346 , allowing Philip to take Thermopylae
in return for lenience for him and his men. Otherwise, it is difficult to see
how Philip could have advertised his campaign so far in advance (and been so
confident of success), and yet not been stopped at Thermopylae. Philip restored
to Boeotia the cities that Phocis had captured during the war (Orchomenos,
Coroneia and Corsiae), and then declared that the fate of Phocis would not be
decided by him, but by the Amphictyonic Council. This caused great panic in
Athens, since the Phocians could never hope for mercy from the Amphictyons, and
since Athens had also (having allied with Phocis) shared in the same sacrilege.
However, it is clear that Philip was dictating the terms behind the scenes;
allowing the Amphictyons the formal responsibility allowed him to dissociate
himself from the terms in the future. In return for ending the war, Macedon was
made a member of the Amphictyonic council, and given the two votes which had
been stripped from Phocis. This was an important moment for Philip, since
membership of the Ampictyony meant that Macedon was now no longer a 'barbarian'
state in Greek eyes. The terms imposed on Phocis were harsh, but realistically
Philip had no choice but to impose such sanctions; he needed the support of the
Thessalians (sworn enemies of Phocis), and could not risk losing the prestige
that he had won for his pious conduct during the war. However, they were not as
harsh as some of the Amphictyonic members had suggested; the Oeteans had
demanded that the traditional punishment for temple robbers of being pushed
over a cliff be carried out. Aside from being expelled from the Amphictyonic
council, all the Phocian cities were to be destroyed, and the Phocians settled
in 'villages' of no more than fifty houses; the money stolen from the temple
was to be paid back at a rate of 60 talents per year; He did not, however,
destroy the Phocians, and they retained their land. The Athenians, having made
peace with Philip, were not penalised by the Amphictyonic council, and the
Spartans also seem to have escaped lightly. Philip presided over the
Amphictyonic festival in the autumn, and then much to the surprise of the
Greeks, he went back to Macedon and did not return to Greece for seven years.
He did however retain his access, by garrisoning Nicaea, the closest town to
Thermopylae, with Thessalian troops.
Aftermath:
The destruction of the Phocian cities and the heavy fine imposed on the Phocian
confederation certainly caused the Phocians to bear a grudge against Philip II.
Seven years later the Locrians brought charges against the Athenians in the
amphictyonic council and a special session of the council was set in order to
deal with that matter. The Athenians, however, did not send envoys and neither
did the Thebans. This was a clear insult to the council and Philip II
intervened once more as a regulator. The Fourth Sacred War broke out, ending in
the total subjugation of Greece to the kingdom of Macedonia. The Phocians
recovered gradually from the repercussions of the Third Sacred War and managed
to be reinstated in the Amphictyony in 279 , when they joined forces with the
Aetolian League fighting against the Gauls. However, a serious side-loss of the
Third Sacred War remained the destruction of a large number of ex votos and
other precious offerings to the sanctuary of Apollo, which deprived not only
the sanctuary itself but also the later generations of some magnificent pieces
of art.
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The Third Sacred War (355-346) began as a
dispute between Thebes and their neighbours in Phocis over the cultivation of
sacred land, but expanded to include most of the Greek powers and was ended by
the intervention of Philip II of Macedon, helping to confirm his status as a
major power in Greece. The war came at a time when Greece was in turmoil. The
battle of Leuctra in 371 saw the Thebans inflict the first ever battlefield
defeat on the main Spartan hoplite army (earlier defeats had been against small
parts of that army). In the aftermath of that victory the Thebens, led in
particular by Epaminondas and Pelopidas, had invaded the Peloponnese and
liberated Messenia. This permanently reduced the power of Sparta by stripping
her of many of the helots who had supported her army. The period of Theban
dominance was short-lived. Pelopidas was killed in 364, and Epaminondas was
killed while winning another victory at Mantinea (362). Thebes remained a
significant military power, but without truly impressive leaders. Athens had
slowly recovered from her defeat in the Great Peloponnesian War, and had
founded a second Athenian League. At first this had helped boost her power and
the League had been ruled with some moderation, but heavy handed Athenian rule
eventually triggered a series of revolts (Social War, 357-355 BC), which ended
with the loss of much of the league. To the north Philip II of Macedon had only
recently come to the throne, and although he had overcome several threats to
his power and probably greatly reformed the Macedonian army, was not yet seen
as a major player. Battles of the Third Sacred War (356-346) Map of the
battles: The war was triggered by a religious dispute, although at its heart
was a long standing rivalry between Phocis and Thebes. The citizens of Amphissa
in Phocis were accused of cultivating the sacred plain of Crisa by the
Boeotians. The Amphictyonic council, a religious council with responsibility
for defending the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, found the Phocians guilty, and
imposed a heavy fine. The same council meeting also condemned the Spartans for
their actions before the recent Boeotian War, and both accusations were
probably triggered by a Theban desire to secure their dominant position in
Greece. The Phocians responded by appointing a militant anti-Theban,
Philomelus, as commander of their army. He managed to get financial support
from King Archidamus of Sparta, and used it to hire a sizable mercenary army.
He then used that army to capture Delphi (probably in 356), but at this point
he left the treasuries at Delphi alone. Ambassadors were sent across Greece,
and the Phocians gained support from Athens and Sparta. It is possible that the
nearby Locrians, long-term rivals of the Phocians attempted to expel them from
Delphi and suffered a defeat (probably near the cliffs of Phaedriades, on Mt.
Parnassus, 355, a battle that is almost certainly recorded twice within a few
paragraphs by Diodorus Siculus. At this stage Diodorus also records an invasion
of Locris, in which Philomelus unsuccessfully attacked an unnamed fortress,
lost twenty men in a battle, and then won a second battle triggered by the
refusal of the Locrians to return the bodies of the dead from the first one. In
355 Thebes convinced the Council to declare sacred war against Phocis.
Thessaly, Locris and a number of smaller powers decided to support the Council,
while Athens and Sparta were the main supporters of the Phocians. The threat of
a large Theban led army (at a time when Thebes was the main military power in
mainland Greece) forced Philomelus to raid the treasuries at the Sanctuary of
Delphi, and use the money to raise a mercenary arming, paying one and a half
times the normal wages. This gave the Phocians an effective army 10,000 strong.
In 354 the Phocians invaded Locris once again. They defeated a combined Locrian
and Boeotian army in a cavalry battle at an unnamed location, and then defeated
the Thessalians and their allies in battle at an otherwise unknown hill called
Argolas, somewhere in Locris. This run of success came to dramatic end later in
the same year. The Boeotians, led by Thebes, raised 13,000 men, supported by
another 1,500 Achaeans, from the northern coast of the Peloponnese. After a
period of standoff, the two armies clashed in heavy woodland near the village
of Neon. This time the outnumbered Phocians were defeated, and Philomelus threw
himself off a cliff to avoid capture. Command of the army was taken over by
Philomelus's brother Onomarchus, who managed to get the survivors back home. By
now the war had split Greece into two warring camps. Macedonia and Thessaly had
sided with Thebes, while Athens and Sparta (led by King Archidamus III)
supported Phocis. The war came at the same time as the rise of Philip II of
Macedonia. In 354 he captured Methone, on the slopes of Mt. Olympus. This
alarmed the Athenian leader Demosthenes, but despite his best efforts he could
rarely convince his fellow Greeks of the danger from the north. Onomarchus
appears to have been a more radical leader than his brother. He convinced the
Phocians to continue with the war, and plundered the temple goods to increase
the size of his army. He also used some of the money to bride the Thessalians
into temporary neutrality. He then invaded Locris, where he captured the town
of Thronium and forced Amphissa to submit. He then invaded Boeotia, where he
captured Orchomenus, and besieged Chaeroneia. Onomarchus and the Phocians were
now a significant power in Greece. Lycophron, tyrant of Pherae (in Thessaly)
asked for their help against Philip II, who was increasingly involved in the
affairs of Thessaly. Onomarchus sent 7,000 men under his brother Phayllus into
Thessaly, but he was defeated by Philip. This forced Onomarchus to move his
main army into Thessaly. He then inflicted two battlefield defeats on Philip,
including one where he may have lured Philip in an ambush and then used his
siege engines against the Macedonians. Sadly neither of these battles are named
in the survived sources. Philip returned to Macedon, while Onomarchus returned
to Boeotia, defeated the Boeotians at Hermeum and captured Coroneia.
Onomarchus's run of success was ended by Philip, who returned to Thessaly to
avenge his earlier defeat. Both sides brought sizable armies, with Onomarchus
fielding 20,000 infantry and 500 cavalry. Philip's Thessalian cavalry
outperformed the Phocians, and Philip was victorious (battle of the Crocus
Field, c.353). Onomarchus was killed while attempting to escape from the
battlefield, along with thousands of his followers. After this victory Philip
advanced south through Thessaly, and reached Thermopylae, the site of the
famous Greek stand against Xerxes nearly a century and half earlier. Just as in
that earlier war the Athenians and Spartans managed to act together and sent
reinforcements to the Phocians. The allies blocked the pass, and Philip decided
to withdraw. Onomarchus was succeeded by his brother Phayllus. He was able to
recruit fresh troops by offering higher pay. Phayllus also led his troops into
Boeotia, but in his first campaign suffered defeats near Orchomenus, on the
Cephisus River and near Coroneia. An expedition north into Epicnemidian Locris
was more successful, although an attempt to capture the city of Naryx ended as
a costly failure. He was then attacked by the Boeotians in his camp near Abae
and suffered another defeat, which allowed the Boeotians to raid Phocis. They
then attempted to lift a siege of the 'city of the Narycaeans', but were caught
by surprise by Phayllus, who forced them to retreat and then captured and
destroyed the city. Soon after this Phayllus died of an unnamed illness, and
was succeeded by Onomarchus's son Phalaecus. At first the young Phalaecus was
supported by Mnaseas, one of Phayllus's officers. This arrangement would be
short-lived, as Mnaseas was killed in a night battle with the Boeotians. Soon
after this, Phalaecus was defeated in a cavalry battle near Chaeroneia. The
Thebans were then distracted by a conflict in the Peloponnese. Phalaecus
captured Chaeroneia but was then defeated by the returning Thebans, who were
then able to raid into Phocis. In 347 the Boeotians raided the border area of
Phocis around Hya or Hyampolis. They were then defeated in a battle near
Coroneia, and the Phocians were able to capture several Boeotian cities
(Orchomenus, Coroneia and Corsiae are listed). The Boeotians then carried out
another raid into Phocis, but were defeated on the way home. In the aftermath
of these setbacks the Thebens asked Philip II for help. The Boeotians were
still capable of winning victories on their own, including dispersing a Phocian
forced that was building a fortress near their borders at Abae. In the same
year Phalaecus was accused to stealing from the remaining sacred treasures and
was removed from his command. He was replaced with three generals -
Deinocrates, Callias and Sophanes. Our knowledge of this period of the war is
probably distorted by the general hostility of the sources to the Phocians, who
having lost the war were condemned for their sacrilege. Presumably they must
have won some military victories, or the war wouldn't have lasted quite so
long. While this constant low level warfare was going on in Phocis and Boeotia
Philip turned his attention east. He reached the Hellespont and the Chersonese,
and entered into negotiations at Byzantium. This was a crucial area for Athens,
controlling the trade routes into the Black Sea. He also signed an alliance
with the King of the Odrysians in Thrace, removing a major threat to his
eastern flanks. Next Philip began to threaten Chalcidice, three peninsulas that
jut out into the Thracian Sea and sat between Philip's original kingdom and his
conquests in the east. The Chalcidians entered into an alliance with Athens,
and over the next few years the Athenians sent three expeditions to help the
defenders of the city of Olynthus, but they were unable to save it from Philip.
The city surrendered in 348 and was razed to the ground. He destroyed a total
of 33 Chalcidian cities and the area became part of Macedonia. In 347 Philip
received the Theban request for assistance against Phocis, but at first he only
sent a handful of men. In 346 the Phocians requested help from the Spartans,
who according to Diodorus sent 1,000 hoplites under the command of King
Archidamus. They also recalled Phalaecus, who was restored as general. This
proved to be something of a mistake. Philip was now ready to move south. He was
also ready for a more general peace, and entered into peace negotiations. The
Athenians sent an embassy to his court at Pella, led by Aeschines, Demosthenes
and Philocrates. The ambassadors appear to have been rather overwhelmed by the
court, and won over by Philip's charm. When the Macedonian ambassadors returned
to Athens the assembly voted in favour of a peace treaty that acknowledged the
status quo, in effect acknowledging Philip's conquest of Chalcidice and
Amphipolis. Phocia was left out of the treaty, allowing Philip to continue the
Sacred War if he so wished (Peace of Philocrates). The Athenians then had to
send an embassy to Pella to formally sign the treaty. In July 346 the two sides
agreed to the Peace of Philocrates. Philip signed for Macedonia, Thebes and all
of his allies, while Athens pointedly stood alone. Philip brought his army
south, and once again approached Thermopylae, where he had been forced to turn
back earlier in the war. This time the pass was defended by Phalaecus, but he
was no longer willing to fight, and instead negotiated with Philip. Philip
agreed to let Phalaecus leave unhindered, and he took his mercenary force south
into the Peloponnese (a force of 8,000-10,000 men). This left Phocis
undefended, and the Phocians surrendered to Philip. After the surrender Philip
called a meeting of the Amphictyonic Council, and handed over the punishment of
Phocis to the council (although presumably he played a major part in its
decisions). Phocis suffered a comparatively mild punishment (at least compared
to some that were apparently suggested, including one suggestion that they
should be thrown off a cliff, one punishment for temple robbers). The Phocians
were expelled from the Amphictyonic Council, and were forbidden to use the
shrine at Delphi. They were banned from owning horses of weapons, and their
existing weapons were destroyed. Their cities were to be destroyed, and their
population scattered into small villages of no more than fifty houses, each at
least one stade from the next. Finally they were to pay back the money they had
taken from Delphi during the war, at a rate of sixty talents per year. Philip
was rewarded with the two Council votes that had previously been held by the
Phocians. He was also given the right to preside over the Pythian Games, on the
grounds that both Phocis and Corinth, the normal hosts, had committed
sacrilege. Philip also ended the war with control of Thermopylae, meaning that
he had easy access to the heart of Greece from the territory of his Thessalian
allies. Philip would soon return to central Greece, after the outbreak of the
Fourth Sacred War (339-338 BC). This time the war would be decided by a major
battle, at Chaeronea in 338, in which Philip crushed a combined Theban and
Athenian army, giving him effective control of almost all of Greece as head of
the League of Corinth.
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