ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐς τὴν Εὐρώπην ὁ Περσῶν στρατὸς διέβη, λέγεται τοὺς Φωκέας φρονῆσαι μὲν ὑπὸ ἀνάγκης τὰ βασιλέως, αὐτομολῆσαι δὲ ἐκ τῶν Μήδων καὶ ἐς τὸ Ἑλληνικὸν παρὰ τὸ ἔργον τὸ Πλαταιᾶσι παρατάξασθαι. χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον κατέλαβεν αὐτοὺς ζημιωθῆναι χρήμασιν ὑπὸ Ἀμφικτυόνων· οὐδὲ ἔχω τοῦ λόγου τὸ ἀληθὲς ἐξευρεῖν εἴτε ἀδικήσασιν ἐπεβλήθη σφίσιν εἴτε Θεσσαλοὶ κατὰ τὸ ἐκ παλαιοῦ μῖσος γενέσθαι τὴν ζημίαν τοῖς Φωκεῦσιν ἦσαν οἱ πράξαντες.
ἐχόντων δὲ ἀθύμως αὐτῶν πρὸς τῆς ζημίας τὸ μέγεθος, Φιλόμηλος σφᾶς ὑπολαβὼν ὁ Θεοτίμου, Φωκέων οὐδενὸς ἀξιώματι ὕστερος—πατρὶς δὲ αὐτῷ Λέδων τῶν ἐν Φωκεῦσιν ἦν πόλεων—οὗτος οὖν ὁ Φιλόμηλος τήν τε ἔκτισιν αὐτοῖς ἀδύνατον ἀπέφηνε τῶν χρημάτων καὶ ἀνέπειθε τὸ ἱερὸν καταλαβεῖν τὸ ἐν Δελφοῖς, λέγων καὶ ἄλλα ἐπαγωγὰ καὶ ὡς τὰ Ἀθηναίων καὶ ἐκ Λακεδαίμονος ἐπιτήδεια ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐστιν αὐτοῖς, Θηβαίων δὲ καὶ εἴ τις ἄλλος κατασταίη σφίσιν ἐς πόλεμον, περιέσεσθαι καὶ ἀρετῇ σφᾶς καὶ δαπάνῃ χρημάτων.
ταῦτα τοῦ Φιλομήλου λέγοντος οὐκ ἐγίνετο ἀκούσια τῷ πλήθει τῶν Φωκέων, εἴτε τὴν γνώμην σφίσι τοῦ θεοῦ βλάπτοντος εἴτε καὶ αὐτοῖς πεφυκόσιν ἐπίπροσθεν εὐσεβείας τὰ κέρδη ποιεῖσθαι. τὴν δὲ τῶν Δελφῶν κατάληψιν ἐποιήσαντο οἱ Φωκεῖς Ἡρακλείδου μὲν πρυτανεύοντος ἐν Δελφοῖς καὶ Ἀγαθοκλέους Ἀθήνῃσιν ἄρχοντος, τετάρτῳ δὲ ἔτει πέμπτης Ὀλυμπιάδος ἐπὶ ταῖς ἑκατόν, ἣν Πρῶρος ἐνίκα Κυρηναῖος στάδιον.
καταλαβοῦσι δὲ αὐτοῖς τὸ ἱερὸν ξενικά τε αὐτίκα τὰ ἰσχυρότατα τῶν ἐν Ἕλλησιν ἠθροίσθη καὶ οἱ Θηβαῖοί σφισιν ἐς πόλεμον ἐκ τοῦ φανεροῦ καθεστήκεσαν, διάφοροι καὶ τὰ πρότερα ὄντες. χρόνος μὲν δὴ ἐγένετο ὃν ἐπολέμησαν δέκα ἔτη συνεχῶς, καὶ ἐν τοσούτῳ πολέμου μήκει πολλάκις μὲν οἱ Φωκεῖς καὶ τὰ παρʼ αὐτοῖς ξενικὰ ἐνίκησε, πολλάκις δὲ ἦν τὰ τῶν Θηβαίων ἐπικρατέστερα· γενομένης δὲ κατὰ Νεῶνα πόλιν συμβολῆς ἐτράποντο οἱ Φωκεῖς, καὶ ὁ Φιλόμηλος ῥίπτει τε αὑτὸν ἐν τῇ φυγῇ κατὰ ὑψηλοῦ καὶ ἀποτόμου κρημνοῦ καὶ ἀφίησιν οὕτω τὴν ψυχήν· ἐτέτακτο δὲ καὶ ἄλλως τοῖς Ἀμφικτύοσιν ἐς τοὺς συλῶντας αὕτη ἡ δίκη.
μετὰ δὲ Φιλόμηλον τελευτήσαντα Ὀνομάρχῳ μὲν τὴν ἡγεμονίαν διδόασιν οἱ Φωκεῖς, ἐς δὲ τῶν Θηβαίων τὴν συμμαχίαν προσεχώρησε Φίλιππος ὁ Ἀμύντου· καὶ —ἐκράτησε γὰρ Φίλιππος τῆς συμβολῆς—φεύγων ὁ Ὀνόμαρχος καὶ ἐπὶ θάλασσαν ἀφικόμενος ἐνταῦθα ὑπὸ τῶν στρατιωτῶν κατηκοντίσθη τῶν οἰκείων, ὡς τὴν ἧσσάν σφισιν ὑπὸ ἀτολμίας συμβᾶσαν τῆς ἐκείνου καὶ ἐς τὸ στρατηγεῖν ἀπειρίας.
Ὀνομάρχῳ μὲν τέλος τοῦ βίου τοιοῦτον ἐπήγαγεν ὁ δαίμων, στρατηγὸν δὲ αὐτοκράτορα εἵλοντο ἀδελφὸν τοῦ Ὀνομάρχου Φάυλον. λέγουσι δὲ τοῦτον τὸν Φάυλον παρεληλυθέναι τε δὴ ἄρτι ἐπὶ τῶν Φωκέων τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ ὄψιν ὀνείρατος ἰδεῖν τοιάνδε. ἐν τοῖς ἀναθήμασι τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος μίμημα ἦν χαλκοῦν ἀνδρὸς χρονιωτέρου, κατερρυηκότος τε ἤδη τὰς σάρκας καὶ τὰ ὀστᾶ ὑπολειπομένου μόνα· ἀνάθημα δὲ ὑπὸ Δελφῶν Ἱπποκράτους ἐλέγετο εἶναι τοῦ ἰατροῦ. τούτῳ δὴ ἑαυτὸν ἐοικέναι τῷ ἀναθήματι ἔδοξεν ὁ Φάυλος· αὐτίκα δὲ ὑπολαβοῦσα αὐτὸν φθοώδης νόσος ἐπετέλει τοῦ ἐνυπνίου τὴν μαντείαν.
Φαύλου δὲ ἀποθανόντος ἐς Φάλαικον τὸν παῖδα αὐτοῦ περιεχώρησεν ἡ ἐν Φωκεῦσι δυναστεία· καὶ ἐπεὶ ἔσχεν ὁ Φάλαικος αἰτίαν ἰδίᾳ περιποιεῖσθαι τῶν ἱερῶν χρημάτων, ἐπαύθη τῆς ἀρχῆς. διαβὰς δὲ ναυσὶν ἐς Κρήτην ὁμοῦ Φωκέων τοῖς ᾑρημένοις τὰ ἐκείνου καὶ μοίρᾳ τοῦ ξενικοῦ, Κυδωνίᾳ προσκαθήμενος— οὐ γάρ οἱ διδόναι χρήματα ἐβούλοντο αἰτοῦντι— τῆς στρατιᾶς τὸ πολὺ ἀπόλλυσι καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπώλετο.
When the Persian army crossed into Europe, it is said that the Phocians were compelled to side with the Persian king, but that they deserted from the Medes and ranged themselves on the Greek side at the battle of Plataea. At a later time it came to pass that they were fined by the Amphictyons. I am unable to discover the truth of the matter, whether the fine was really incurred by misconduct, or whether the Thessalians wreaked their old grudge by causing the fine to be inflicted on the Phocians. The amount of the fine dismayed them; but Philomelus, son of Theotimus, a Phocian of the highest rank, a native of Ledon in Phocis, took them in hand, showed that to pay the money was beyond their power, and endeavoured to persuade them to seize the sanctuary at Delphi. Amongst other specious arguments he asserted that Athens and Lacedaemon had always been favourable to them, and that if the Thebans or any one else went to war with them, their valour and treasures would secure them the victory. The majority of the Phocian people listened without reluctance to the proposals of Philomelus, perhaps because God had unsettled their judgment, or because it was their nature to think more of gain than godliness.
The seizure of Delphi by the Phocians took place when Heraclides was president at Delphi, and Agathocles was archon at Athens, in the fourth year of the hundred and fifth Olympiad, in which Prorus of Cyrene won the foot-race. No sooner had they seized the sanctuary than the best mercenary troops in Greece flocked to their standards; and the Thebans, who had been estranged from them before, now openly declared war. They fought for ten years without a break; and in this long war the Phocians and their mercenaries were often victorious, and often victory inclined to the side of Thebes. But in an engagement at the town of Neon the Phocians were routed, and in the flight Philomelus cast himself down a high precipice and expired. It chanced that this was the very punishment to which the Amphictyons had condemned the robbers of the temple.
After his death the command was conferred by the Phocians on Onomarchus. But Philip, son of Amyntas, joined the Thebans, and was victorious in the engagement. Onomarchus fled and made his way to the sea, where he was shot down by his own men, who imputed their defeat to his cowardice and incapacity.
Such was the end of the ill-starred Onomarchus. His brother Phaylus was elected to the supreme command. Scarcely, it is said, had he entered on the command when he saw a vision in a dream, and it was this. Amongst Apollo’s votive offerings was a bronze effigy of a mouldering corpse, the flesh all wasted away, nothing left but the bones. It was said by the Delphians to be an offering of Hippocrates the physician. Now, in his dream Phaylus thought that he resembled this effigy ; and immediately he was attacked by a wasting sickness that fulfilled the augury of the dream.
On his death the supreme power in Phocis devolved on his son Phalaecus, who being accused of embezzling some of the sacred treasures was deposed. He sailed to Crete with a detachment of the mercenaries and with such of the Phocians as cast in their lot with him. There he sat down before Cydonia, which had refused his demand for money. But he lost most of his army and perished himself.
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