The meetings, however, were attended not only by the deputies, but by thousands of others who flocked to Delphi or Thermopylæ for religious and mercantile purposes, or only for the sake of amusement. This occasioned popular meetings (εκκλησἰαι) distinct from those of the regular deputies. But we cannot suppose that all the Greeks indiscriminately were allowed to take part in those popular assemblies, which must have consisted of visitors from the states which were members of the Amphictyony.
Wise and humane as were the objects of the Amphictyons, yet wherever they actively interfered in the affairs of Greece during the historical period, we find that they were more powerful for evil than for good; and the holy wars which were carried on by them in the defence of the Delphic temple and the honour of its god, contributed not a little to the demoralisation of the Greeks.
The very first time that the Amphictyons interfered in the affairs of Greece we find them acting in direct opposition to the spirit of their institution. We allude to the Crissæan or first sacred war, which broke out in 594, and lasted till 585 B.C. The inhabitants of Crissa (or Cirrha), on the Corinthian Gulf, were charged with extortion and violence towards the strangers who landed at their port, or passed through their territory on their way to Delphi. For this the Amphictyons declared war against Crissa, and it was vigorously carried on by the Thessalians and Cleisthenes, the tyrant of Sicyon. They even pretended to have the sanction of Apollo to dedicate the Crisssæans and their territory to the god, to enslave them, and make their land a waste for ever. The war is said to have been terminated by a stratagem of Solon, who poisoned the waters of the river Pleistos, from which the town was supplied. When the town was taken, the vow of the Amphictyons was literally carried into effect: Crissa was razed to the ground, its harbour choked up, and its fertile plain changed into a wilderness. Such was the terrible vengeance taken by a body of confederates, whose original object was to prevent those very things which they now perpetrated to uphold the honour of the deity presiding over them. The second sacred war, which likewise lasted for ten years, from 355 to 346 B.C., was carried on with unparalleled exasperation for all that period, and nearly all the Greeks took part in it. The Thebans had set their hearts upon conquering Phocis, but screened their designs behind a charge preferred against the Locrians, alleging that they had robbed the temple of Delphi, because they had taken into cultivation a tract of land belonging to the Delphic temple. The Amphictyonic council, before which the charge was brought, condemned the Phocians to pay a heavy fine, and to destroy the crops of the sacred fields. No sooner was this verdict pronounced than the Thebans, Thessalians, Locrians, and Œteans took up arms to execute it. The Phocians were joined by Athens and Sparta, and took possession of the temple of Delphi and its treasures, which they were obliged to employ in defraying the expenses of the war. The war was carried on with unexampled cruelty, for even the surrender of the dead for burial was refused, and all Phocian captives were put to death. This war also afforded Philip of Macedonia an opportunity to interfere in the affairs of Greece. Being invited by the Thessalians to co-operate with them against the Phocians, Philip and his Macedonians acted as the champions of the god, and defeated the Phocians in a bloody battle near Magnesia. Three thousand captive Phocians were put to death. The latter, however, remained undaunted until at length they were compelled by treachery to surrender. The Amphictyons now excluded them for ever from the league, their arms and horses were to be delivered up, their towns to be destroyed, and the people were henceforth to live in small villages, and to pay annually to the god sixty talents (about £15,000) until the temple should be completely indemnified. Macedonian and Theban troops carried the judgment into execution; twenty-two towns disappeared from the face of the earth, and the otherwise fertile country remained for many years a wilderness. A third sacred war was decreed against the town of Amphissa, because its inhabitants had taken into cultivation the plain of Crissa; but in reality the war was brought about by the venal creatures who endeavoured to promote the ambitious schemes of Philip of Macedon, who was bent upon making himself master of Greece. This war broke out in 338 B.C., and its unfortunate consequences led to the catastrophe which deprived Greece of her independence in the battle of Chæronea. Such is a brief outline of the history of the Delphic Amphictyony, which not only itself violated its first principles, but is not known to have ever raised its voice to condemn the wanton destruction of other Amphictyonic towns, such as Platææ and Thebes.
There were many other confederations of a similar kind, some of which, however, do not bear the name of Amphictyonies in the authorities from which we derive our information regarding them. The following were among the most noted:—
1. The Amphictyony of Calauria, an island near Trœzen, consisted of the seven states of Hermione, Epidaurus, Ægina, Athens, Prasiæ, Nauplia, and the Minyan Orchomenos. These states took part in the sacrifices which were offered up in the temple of Poseidon, situated on the island. Sparta and Argos displaced Nauplia and Prasiæ when these lost their independence. It is difficult to see what object could unite states so widely apart. Some suppose that the tribes forming the league were originally Ionian; others, that they all were interested in the defence of seaports against inland states.
2. Amphictyony of Onchestos, in the territory of Haliartus in Bœotia, was likewise connected with the temple of Poseidon. As at all other Amphictyonies, the meetings of the members were celebrated with various religious rites, solemnities, and public games. We do not know the nations that constituted this league.
3. Amphictyony of Amarynthos, in Eubœa, connected with the temple of Artemis. We know that the two towns of Eretria and Chalcis were members of it, and that there existed an ancient treaty by which these two cities pledged themselves not to use against each other any missiles thrown from afar.
