Third Sacred War
The Third Sacred War (356–346 BC) 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 (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 pre-eminence in Ancient Greece.[1][2]
Sources and chronology[edit]
The ancient sources for the Third Sacred War are scant, and generally lacking in firm chronological information.[3][4] The main source for the period is Diodorus Siculus's Bibliotheca historica, written in the 1st century BC, which is therefore very much a secondary source.[5] Diodorus is often derided by modern historians for his style and inaccuracies, but he preserves many details of the ancient period found nowhere else.[6][7] 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.[3]
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.[3] 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".[8] 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.[3][4]
Modern historians' dates for the war have been hotly debated, with no clear consensus.[9] It is generally accepted that the war lasted 10 years, and ended in summer 346 BC (one of the few firm dates), which yields a date of 356 BC for the beginning of the war, with Philomelus's seizure of Delphi.[9] 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.[9]
After Philomelus'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 BC, presumably on his outward journey.[9] Buckler, the only historian to produce a systematic study of the sacred war, therefore places Neon in 355 BC, and suggests after the meeting with Pammenes, Philip went to begin the siege of Methone.[9] Other historians have placed Neon in 354 BC, because Diodorus says that the battle took place while Philip besieged Methone which Diodorus (at one point) places in 354 BC.[9] 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 BC, Methone to 355–354 BC, Philip's first Thessalian campaign to 354 BC, and his second to 353 BC.[9] Conversely, Cawkwell, Sealey, Hammond and others lower all these dates by one year, beginning with Neon in 354 BC.[9][10]
Settlement of the Sacred War[edit]
Preliminaries[edit]
Athens and Macedon had been at war since 356 BC, 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 BC, Philip's erstwhile ally, the Chalcidian 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 Chalcidice in 349 BC, and by 348 BC, had completely destroyed the Chalkidian League, razing Olynthos in the process. The prominent Athenian politician Philocrates had suggested offering Philip peace in 348 BC, during the Olynthian war.[63] The war between Athens and Philip thus continued through 347 BC, as did the Sacred War.[63]
In early 346 BC, Philip let it be known that he intended to march south with the Thessalians, though not where or why.[61] The Phocians thus made plans to defend Thermopylae, and requested assistance from the Spartans and the Athenians, probably around 14 February.[61] 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.[61] 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.[61] 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.[64]
Aftermath[edit]
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 BC, 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.