Page:History of Greece Vol XI.djvu/319

PHILIP IN THESSALY. 293 was exerting himself to regain that ascendency over the whole, which had once been possessed by Jason and Alexander. Philip now marched into the country and attacked him so vigorously aa to constrain him to invoke aid from the Phokians. Onomarchus, at that time victorious over the Thebans and master as far as Thermopylae, was interested in checking the farther progress of Philip southward and extending his own ascendency. He sent into Thessaly a force of seven thousand men, under his brother Phayllus, to sustain Lykophron. But Phayllus failed altogether; being defeated and driven out of Thessaly by Philip, so that Lykophron of Pherse was in greater danger than ever. Upon this, Onomarchus went himself thither with the full force of Pho- kians and foreign mercenaries. An obstinate, and seemingly a protracted contest now took place, in the course of which he was at first decidedly victorious. He defeated Philip in two battles, with such severe loss that the Macedonian army was withdrawn from Thessaly, while Lykophron with his Phokian allies remained masters of the country. 1 This great success of the Phokian arms was followed up b) farther victory in Boeotia. Onomarchus renewed his invasion of that territory, defeated the Thebans in battle, and made himself master of KoroneSa, in addition to Orchomenus, which he held be- fore. 2 It would seem that the Thebans were at this time deprived of much of their force, which was serving in Asia under Arta- bazus, and which, perhaps from these very reverses, they present- ly recalled. The Phokians, on the other hand, were at the height of their power. At this juncture falls, probably, the aggressive combination of the Spartans against Megalopolis, and the debate, before noticed, in the Athenian assembly. Philip was for some time in embarrassment from his defeats in Thessaly. His soldiers, discouraged and even mutinous, would hardly consent to remain under his standard. By great pains, and animated exhortation, he at last succeeded in reanimating them. After a certain interval for restoration and reinforcement, he ad- vanced with a fresh army into Thessaly, and resumed his opera- tions against Lykophron ; who was obliged again to solicit aid from Onomarchus, and to promise that all Thessaly should hence- ' Diodor. xvi. 35. z Diodor xvi. 85. 25*