Page 491 ready to fight with any Enemy that appear'd against the Phocians. Upon this the Locrians made out against him, and fought with him at a Place call'd, The Rocks of Phaedra, whom he routed; and kill'd multitudes of them, and took many Prisoners, and forc'd some of them to cast themselves down headlong from the Top of the Rock.
After this Battle, the Phocians grew very high crested upon the account of their prosperous Success. The Misfortune on the other hand, greatly discourag'd the Locrians; they sent therefore an Ambassador to Thebes, to desire them to afford their assistance both to them and the Oracle. The Baeotians both out of their Piety towards the Gods, and for Confirmation of the Decrees of the Amphictyons (wherein they were greatly concern'd) solicited by their Ambassadors, the Thessalians, and others of the Amphictyons to join with them in the War against the Phocians. Upon which (after that the Amphictyons had decreed War to be made upon the Phocians) there arose great Uproars and Factions throughout all Greece. Some were for assisting the Oracle, and for prosecuting the Phocians with Revenge as Sacrilegers; others were for defending them. And while both the Cities and Countries were thus distracted in their Councils, the Baeotians, Locrians, Thessalians, Perrhabeans, the Doreans, Delopians, Athamanes, Achaians, Phthiots, Magnesians, Aenianeans, and some others, resolv'd to assist the God. The Athenians and Lacedemonians, and some other of the Peloponnesians, join'd as Confederates with the Phocians. The Lacedemonians, with some others, readily join'd for these Reasons, viz. When the Thebans had overcome them in the Battel at Leuctra, they prosecuted the Spartans in the high Court of the Amphictyons, because Phaebidas the Spartan had seiz'd upon Cadmea, and demanded Five hundred Talents in compensation of the Injury; but the Lacedemonians being fin'd so much, and not paying the Mulct impos'd, at the time limited by the Law, the Thebans exhibited a new Complaint against them for the double Injury.
The Lacedemonians therefore being condemn'd by the Amphictyons in a Thousand Talents, and being much indebted and behind-hand, made use of the same Pretence the Phocians did before, (that is) That the Amphictyons had pronounc'd an unjust Sentence against them. And therefore (though it was for the Publick Good) yet they forbore to undertake the War of themselves upon the Quarrel of the Condemnation; but judg'd that it might carry a better Face, if they could avoid the Decree of the Amphictyons, under the Covert of the Phocians. For these Reasons they were very forward to Patronize their Cause; and in the mean time contriv'd to gain the Tutelary Right of the Temple to themselves.
And now upon certain Information, that the Thebans had prepar'd a very great Army against the Phocians, Philomelus resolv'd to strengthen his Forces with more Mercenaries: But in regard more Money was requisite for carrying on of the War, he was necessitated to make use of the Sacred Treasures, and therefore rifl'd the Temple. And because he promis'd half as much more as their ordinary Pay to the Mercenaries, a vast Number of Men flock'd in to him, and for the sake of the Largeness of the Pay, multitudes listed themselves: But no moderate and sober Man gave up his Name to be inroll'd in the Lists of the Army, out of a Pious and Religious respect to the Oracle. In the mean time every base Fellow, that for the sake of Gain valu'd not the Gods a pin, but flock'd eagerly to Philomelus: And so in a short time he got together a strong Body of Men, greedy to share in the Sacred Treasures of the Temple. And thus abundance of Wealth was the Means whereby Philomelus presently form'd a compleat Army; and without delay march'd into the Country of Locris, with above Ten thousand Horse and Foot. The Locrians being join'd with the Baeotians, met him; whereupon there hapned a Fight with the Horse on both sides, in which the Phocians were Conquerors.
Not long after, the Thessalians, with the Assistance of them that border'd upon them, to the Number of Six thousand, march'd into Locris, and engag'd with the Phocians at an Hill call'd Argola, and were worsted. Afterwards the Baeotians coming in to their assistance with Thirteen thousand Men, and the Actaeans out of Peloponnesus, in assistance of the Phocians with Fifteen hundred, both Armies near unto one and the same place, Encamp'd one over against the other. It then happen'd that a great number of the Mercenaries as they were foraging, fell into the Hands of the Baeotians, and all of them being brought before the Walls of the City, they commanded a Proclamation to be made, that those Men who had join'd in Arms with the Sacrilegers, were adjudg'd by the Amphictyons to be put to Death, and it was no sooner said but the thing was executed, and all were run through with Spears and Darts. This so exasperated the Mercenaries of the Phocians, that they earnestly press'd Philomelus that the Enemy might be dealt with in the same kind, and would not suffer him by their restless Importunities to be quiet, and presently they took many of the Enemy, as they were dispers'd in the Fields, and brought them
The Histories of Herodotus written in 440 BC is considered to be the founding work of history in Western literature. His history included stories and fables but he claimed to have traveled extensively and learned about many countries through direct observation.
The thesis of Stolen Legacy is that the Egyptians created what is wrongly called Greek philosophy. Dr. James argues that the African origin of Greek Philosophy is well known but rarely discussed. Ancient Greek historians such as Herodotus and Diodorus the Sicilian wrote in significant detail about the contributions of Egypt. Egyptian technology and libraries were unmatched and Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato studied there. The contribution of Africa to the intellectual foundation of modern knowledge is tremendous but unacknowledged.
The Library of History by Diodorus the Sicilian is one of the most highly regarded universal histories in antiquities. His work includes the history of Egypt, Asia, Africa, Greece and Europe. His book is a must read for research of ancient history.
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.