The Third Sacred War (356–346 BC) was fought between the forces of the Delphic and Amphictyonic Leagues, 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 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.
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 BC, 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 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. 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 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. 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. 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. 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. Conversely, Cawkwell, Sealey, Hammond and others lower all these dates by one year, beginning with Neon in 354 BC.
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 (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 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 (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 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 (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. Philomelus, 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 Philomelus was appointed strategos autokrator (general with independent powers) 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 (the Phaidriadai rocks). 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 (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". 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 (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 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.