Page 489 Archidomus approv'd well of what he said; but for the present would not appear openly to be aiding in the matter, but assur'd him that he would join in all things privately, in supplying him with Money and mercenary Soldiers. Philomelus then having receiv'd from him Fifteen Talents, and adding as many more to them of his own, rais'd Soldiers from all Parts: A thousand he listed from among the Phocians, whom he call'd Peltastates. And after he had got together a considerable Force, he set upon the Temple: Some of the Delphians call'd Thracidae oppos'd him; but those he slew, and gave up all they had to the Plunder of the Soldiers. He commanded the rest (whom he perceiv'd to be in no small Fright) to be of good Courage, for they should suffer no prejudice.
And now the Report of seizing the Temple was spread far and near; upon which, the Locrians, who were next Borderers, march'd against Philomelus with a considerable Army, and fought him near Delphos, but were routed; and after a great Slaughter made amongst them, fled, and made back to their own Country.
Philomelus puff'd up with this Victory, cut the Decrees of the Amphictyons out of the Pillars, and destroy'd all the Records concerning them that were condemn'd. In the mean time, he caus'd Reports to be spread abroad in every place, that he neither design'd to rob the Temple, nor commit any other Mischief, but only to recover an ancient Right descended to them from their Ancestors; and to that end had a desire to make void the unjust Decrees of the Amphictyons, and so to defend the ancient Laws of the Phocians. But the Boeotians assembled in Council made a Decree to relieve the Temple, and forthwith rais'd an Army.
Philomelus in the mean time drew a Wall round the Temple, and rais'd many Soldiers, and added to their Pay half as much more as their Due amounted unto; and making choice of the best Soldiers among the Phocians, he enroll'd them; and in a short time got together so great an Army, as amounted to no less than Five thousand Men: So that possessing himself of all the Passages to Delphos, he became formidable to his Enemies. Then marching into the Territories of the Locrians, he wasted a great part of the Country; and at length encamp'd near a River that ran close by a very strong Fort, which he besieg'd; but after some Assaults, not being able to take it, he rais'd the Siege, and engag'd with the Locrians, in which he lost Twenty of his Men; whose Bodies not being capable to recover by Force, he sent a Trumpeter to have them deliver'd.
The Locrians deny'd the Bodies, and made answer, That there was a general Law among all the Grecians, that sacrilegious Persons should be cast forth, and not allow'd any Burial. Highly provok'd with this Repulse, he fought again with the Locrians, and with great Valour and Resolution slaughter'd some of his Enemies, and possess'd himself of their Bodies; and so forc'd the Locrians in exchange to deliver the Dead.
And now being Master of the Field, he rang'd up and down, and wasted the Country of Locris; and loading his Soldiers with Plunder, return'd to Delphos.
Afterwards desiring to know from the Oracle what would be the Issue of the War, he forc'd Pythia the Prophetess to ascend the Tripode, and give him an Answer. Since that mention is here made of the Tripode, I conceive it not unseasonable to give an account of what has been handed down to us concerning it from ancient Times. It is reported, that this Oracle was first discover'd by some Goats; for which reason such Creatures are most commonly sacrific'd by the Delphians, when they come to enquire of the Oracle. The Discovery is related in this manner: There was an Opening or Gulf in the Earth in that Place, now call'd the Adytum of the Temple; about this the Goats straggled as they were feeding: For at that time they of Delphos had no Religious Regard to the Place. It often happen'd, that when any Goat came near the Gulf, and look'd down, it would fall a leaping and dancing in a wonderful manner, and make an unusual Noise, far different from that at other times. A Shepherd wondring at the Novelty of the thing, drew towards the Place to learn what was the Cause; and looking down, he acted the same Part with the Goats: For as they were moved and acted as by some Enthusiasm, so he likewise was inspir'd with a Spirit of Prophecy. The News presently spreading abroad among the Inhabitants, how wonderfully they were affected that look'd down into the Chasm, many flock'd to the place, and out of Curiosity made Experiments; and as many as came near, were always acted with a Spirit of Divination. For these Reasons, the Place was counted the Residence of some Oracle: For some time therefore it was a practice, that those who had a desire to know Future Events, would approach to this Denn, and there return Answers of things that were to come one to another. But whereas many through an Excess and Transport of Mind would leap into the Gulf, and so were never seen more; it was judg'd adviseable by the Inhabitants (to avoid the like danger for the future) that some one Woman should be consecrated Prophetess, and that by her the
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Bible Study The King James Bible (kjv), World English Bible (web) and Bible in Basic English (bbe) are all examples of public domain books. The King James Bible (kjv) online uses the content from these books and open source software to enhance Bible study capabilities. The site includes the verse of the day, search tools, christian literature and links to related content. It demonstrates the use of open source to create a valuable service.