Third Sacred War
The Third Sacred War was fought between the forces of the Delphic Amphictyonic League, principally represented by Thebes, and latterly by Philip II of Macedon, and the Phocians. The war was caused by a large fine imposed in 357 BC on the Phocians by the Amphictyonic League, 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 central 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 pre-eminence in Ancient Greece.
Background
The war was ostensibly caused by the refusal of the Phocian Confederation to pay a fine imposed on them in 357 BC 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 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 BC, despite Theban requests, and this appears to have caused lasting enmity in Thebes. By 357 BC, with the Athenians embroiled in the Social War, and Alexander of Pherae 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, plus the Dorians and the Ionians, with each tribe having two votes in the council of the league. Thebes had effectively become the 'protector' of the league in 360 BC, 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 BC, the Thebans were able to have both the Phocians and the Spartans 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. Philomelus, a citizen of Ledon, advocated a pre-emptive policy of seizing Delphi, 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 Philomelus was appointed strategos autokrator by the confederacy, with his chief supporter Onomarchos also elected as strategos. Philomelus 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 Philomelus 15 talents to raise troops with.
Seizure of Delphi
On his return to Phocis, Philomelus 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 approximately July 356 BC, Philomelus 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. Philomelus 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 Philomelus's move against Delphi resulted in a relief expedition being mounted by the Ozalian Locrians, probably mainly from Amphissa. Philomelus'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 Philomelus had them thrown from the cliffs that tower over the sanctuary. This was the traditional punishment for sacrilege against Apollo's temple, and through the means of this atrocity, Philomelus was asserting the Phocian claim to the presidency of the sanctuary. Buckler observes that "in his first acts, Philomelus set a brutal stamp on the war".Fortification of Delphi
After defeating the Locrians, Philomelus 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. Philomelus ordered the sanctuary be fortified on the western side, and a large limestone wall was constructed. He then demanded that the priestess of Apollo provide him with an oracle; she replied that he "could do whatever he wanted". Philomelus called that an oracle, and had it inscribed in the sanctuary, as was customary. This pseudo-oracle provided Philomelus 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; Buckler suggests that he did not expect the Greeks to acquiesce to his actions, but hoped to draw support away from the Amphictyons. The Spartans, as expected, endorsed Philomelus's actions, since their fine was now erased, whilst Athens also expressed support, following their general anti-Theban policies.Declaration of Sacred War
However, Philomelus'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, 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 BC)
Following the declaration of war against Phocis, Philomelus decided he would need to substantially increase the size of his army. Rather than levy the Phocian citizen body, Philomelus 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, Philomelus 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 BC)
The following spring, possibly upon hearing news that the Boeotians were ready to march against Phocis, Philomelus 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. Philomelus'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. Philomelus immediately attacked the Thessalians, and defeated them near the town of Argolas, whose location is not definitively known. Buckler suggests, on the basis of topographical considerations, that the modern village of Mendenitsa must be ancient Argolas.Philomelus 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, Philomelus backed off, allowing the Boeotians to link up with the Locrians and Thessalians. Philomelus 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.