Online Encyclopedia
Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.
PHOCIS
Online EncyclopediaEncyclopedia Home :: PER-PIG
del.icio.us it!
|
PHOCIS , an See also:ancient See also:district of central See also:Greece (now a See also:department, pop. 62,246), about 625 sq. m. in See also:area, bounded on the W. by Ozolian Locris and See also:Doris, on the N. by Opuntian Locris, on the E. by See also:Boeotia, and on the S. by the Corinthian Gulf. The massive See also:ridge of See also:Parnassus (8o68 ft.), which traverses the See also:heart of the See also:country, divides it into two distinct portions. Between this central barrier and the See also:northern frontier range of Cnemis (3000 ft.) is the narrow but fertile valley of the Cephissus, along which most of the Phocian townships were scattered. Under the See also:southern slope of Parnassus were situated the two small plains of See also:Crisa and See also:Anticyra, separated by Mt Cirphis, an offshoot from the See also:main range. Being neither See also:rich in material resources nor well placed for commercial enterprise, Phocis was mainly See also:pastoral. No large cities See also:grew up within its territory, and its See also:chief places were mainly of strategic importance. The See also:early See also:history of Phocis remains quite obscure. From the scanty notices of See also:Greek See also:legend it may be gathered that an influx of tribes from the See also:north contributed largely to its See also:population, which was reckoned as Aeolic. It is probable that the country was originally of greater extent, for there was a tradition that the Phocians once owned a See also:strip of See also:land See also:round Daphnus on the See also:sea opposite See also:Euboea, and carried their frontier to See also:Thermopylae; in addition, in early days they controlled the See also:great See also:sanctuary of See also:Delphi. The restriction of their territory was due to the hostility of their neighbours of Boeotia and See also:Thessaly, the latter of whom in the 6th See also:century even carried their raids into the Cephissus valley. Moreover the Dorian population of Delphi constantly strove to establish its See also:independence and about 590 B.C. induced a See also:coalition of Greek states to proclaim a " Sacred See also:War " and See also:free the See also:oracle from Phocian supervision. Thus their See also:influence at Delphi was restricted to the See also:possession of two votes in the Amphictyonic See also:Council.
During the See also:Persian invasion of 48o the Phocians at first joined in the See also:national See also:defence, but by their irresolute conduct at Thermopylae lost that position for the Greeks; in the See also:campaign of See also:Plataea they were enrolled on the Persian See also:side. In 457 an See also:attempt to extend their influence to the See also:head See also:waters of the Cephissus in the territory of Doris brought a Spartan See also:army into Phocis in defence of the " See also:metropolis of the See also:Dorians." A similar enterprise against Delphi in 448 was again frustrated by See also:Sparta, but not See also:long afterwards the Phocians recaptured the sanctuary with the help of the Athenians, with whom they
had entered into See also:alliance in 454. The subsequent decline of Athenian land-See also:power had the effect of weakening this new connexion; at the See also:time of the Peloponnesian War Phocis was nominally an ally and dependent of Sparta, and had lost See also:control of Delphi.
In the 4th century Phocis was constantly endangered by its Boeotian neighbours. After helping the Spartans to invade Boeotia during the Corinthian War (395-94), the Phocians were placed on the defensive. They received assistance from Sparta in 380, but were afterwards compelled to submit to the growing power of See also:Thebes. The Phocian See also:levy took See also:part in See also:Epaminondas' inroads into See also:Peloponnesus, except in the final campaign of Mantinea (370-62), from which their contingent was withheld. In return for this See also:negligence the Thebans fastened a religious See also:quarrel upon their neighbours, and secured a penal See also:decree against them from the Amphictyonic See also:synod (356). The Phocians, led by two capable generals, Philomelus and Onomarchus, replied by seizing Delphi and using its riches to hire a See also:mercenary army. With the help of these troops the Phocian See also:League at first carried the war into Boeotia and Thessaly, and though driven out of the latter country by See also: In 339 the Phocians began to rebuild their cities; in the following See also:year they fought against Philip at Chaeronea. Again in 323 they took part in the Lamian War against See also:Antipater, and in 279 helped to defend Thermopylae against the Gauls. Henceforth little more is heard of Phocis. During the 3rd century it passed into the power of See also:Macedonia and of the Aetolian League, to which in 196 it was definitely annexed. Under the dominion of the See also:Roman See also:republic its national league was dissolved, but was revived by See also:Augustus, who also restored to Phocis the votes in the Delphic See also:Amphictyony which it had lost in 346 and enrolled it in the new Achaean synod. The Phocian League is last heard of under See also:Trajan. See See also:Strabo, pp. 401, 418, 424-425; See also:Pausanias x. 1-4; E. See also:Freeman, History of Federal See also:Government (ed. 1893, See also:London), pp. 113–114; G. Kazarow, De foederis Phocensium institutis (See also:Leipzig, 1899); B. Head, Historia numorum (See also:Oxford, 1887), pp. 287–288. (M. O. B. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML. Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide. |
|
|
[back] PHOCION |
[next] PHOCYLIDES |