Start of The War (c. 355 BC)
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.
Read more about this topic: Third Sacred War
Famous quotes containing the words start and/or war:
“A really tight friendship is when you start to really care about the person. If he gets sick, you kind of start worrying about him—or if he gets hit by a car. An everyday friend, you say, I know that kid, he’s all right, and you don’t really think much of him. But a close friend you worry about more than yourself. Well, maybe not more, but about the same.”
—Anonymous Fifteen-Year-Old Boy. As quoted in Children’s Friendships by Zick Rubin, ch. 3 (1980)
“Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore.”
—Apocrypha. Ecclesiasticus, 44:14.
The line “their name liveth for evermore” was chosen by Rudyard Kipling on behalf of the Imperial War Graves Commission as an epitaph to be used in Commonwealth War Cemeteries. Kipling had himself lost a son in the fighting.