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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §16.29.1-16.29.4

Division of Greek Alliances and Sparta's Reason for War

Passage 537 of 723 · Greek

Summary

The Greek city-states and nations split into two alliances over the Third Sacred War. The Lacedaemonians, motivated by resentment over a heavy fine previously imposed on them by the Amphictyons, zealously allied with the Phocians to invalidate the council's decisions.

§16.29.1σχιζομένης δὲ τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ πόλεων αἱρέσεως τῷ μὲν ἱερῷ βοηθεῖν ἔγνωσαν Βοιωτοὶ καὶ Λοκροὶ καὶ Θετταλοὶ καὶ Περραιβοί, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις Δωριεῖς καὶ Δόλοπες, ἔτι δὲ Ἀθαμᾶνες καὶ Ἀχαιοὶ Φθιῶται καὶ Μάγνητες, ἔτι δὲ Αἰνιᾶνες καί τινες ἕτεροι, τοῖς δὲ Φωκεῦσι συνεμάχουν Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ Λακεδαιμόνιοι καί τινες ἕτεροι τῶν Πελοποννησίων.
As the allegiance of the nations and cities was split, those who decided to aid the temple were the Boeotians, Locrians, Thessalians, and Perraebians, and in addition to these, the Dorians and Dolopes, and furthermore the Athamanes, the Achaeans of Phthiotis, and the Magnetes, and furthermore the Aenianes and certain others, while those who allied with the Phocians were the Athenians, Lacedaemonians, and certain others of the Peloponnesians.
§16.29.2προθυμότατα δὲ συνέπραττον οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι διὰ τοιαύτας αἰτίας.
The Lacedaemonians co-operated most zealously for the following reasons.
ἐν τῷ Λευκτρικῷ πολέμῳ Θηβαῖοι καταπολεμήσαντες τοὺς πολεμίους δίκην ἐπήνεγκαν εἰς Ἀμφικτύονας κατὰ τῶν Σπαρτιατῶν, ὅτι Φοιβίδας ὁ Σπαρτιάτης κατελάβετο τὴν Καδμείαν, καὶ διετιμήσαντο τὸ ἀδίκημα ταλάντων πεντακοσίων.
In the Leuctrian War, the Thebans, having defeated their enemies, brought a suit before the Amphictyons against the Spartans because Phoebidas the Spartan had seized the Cadmeia, and they assessed the penalty of the offense at five hundred talents.
καταδικασθέντων δὲ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων καὶ τὴν δίκην οὐκ ἐκτινόντων κατὰ τὸν ὡρισμένον ἐκ τῶν νόμων καιρὸν οἱ Θηβαῖοι πάλιν δίκην ἐπήνεγκαν διπλοῦ τοῦ ἀδικήματος.
When the Lacedaemonians were condemned and did not pay the fine within the time prescribed by the laws, the Thebans again brought a suit for double the amount of the offense.
§16.29.3τῶν δʼ Ἀμφικτυόνων χιλίοις ταλάντοις καταδικασάντων οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι διὰ τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ ὀφλήματος ὁμοίας τοῖς Φωκεῦσι τὰς ἀποφάσεις ἐποιοῦντο, λέγοντες ἀδίκως ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀμφικτυόνων καταδεδικάσθαι.
When the Amphictyons condemned them to pay a thousand talents, the Lacedaemonians, because of the magnitude of the debt, made declarations similar to those of the Phocians, asserting that they had been unjustly condemned by the Amphictyons.
§16.29.4διόπερ κοινοῦ ὄντος τοῦ συμφέροντος οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι κατʼ ἰδίαν μὲν ὤκνουν ὑπὲρ τῆς καταδίκης ἄρασθαι πόλεμον, διὰ δὲ τοῦ προσώπου τῶν Φωκέων εὐσχημονέστερον ἔκρινον ἀκυρῶσαι τὰς κρίσεις τῶν Ἀμφικτυόνων.
Therefore, since their interest was common, although the Lacedaemonians hesitated to undertake a war on their own account on behalf of the condemnation, they decided that it was more decent to invalidate the decisions of the Amphictyons through the person of the Phocians.
διὰ δὴ ταύτας τὰς αἰτίας ἑτοιμότατα συνεμάχουν τοῖς Φωκεῦσι καὶ τὴν προστασίαν τοῦ ἱεροῦ συγκατεσκεύαζον αὐτοῖς.
For these very reasons they allied themselves most readily with the Phocians and joined them in securing the control of the temple.

Notes

  1. §16.29.1σχιζομένης ... αἱρέσεως — Genitive absolute construction. The noun αἵρεσις here means "choice," "stance," or "allegiance/alignment." Combined with the present middle-passive participle σχιζομένης, it describes the situation in which the political attitudes of the cities and nations were divided.
  2. §16.29.2δίκην ἐπήνεγκαν εἰς Ἀμφικτύονας κατὰ τῶν Σπαρτιατῶν — The idiom δίκην ἐπιφέρειν means "to bring a suit" or "to prefer charges." The prepositional phrase εἰς Ἀμφictύονας indicates the court or adjudicating body (the Amphictyonic Council) where the suit was brought, and κατά with the genitive (τῶν Σπαρτιατῶν) specifies the target of the accusation (the defendants).
  3. §16.29.4διὰ δὲ τοῦ προσώπου τῶν Φωκέων — While πρόσωπον literally means "face" or "dramatic mask," here it is used in the sense of "persona," "agency," or "front." It expresses the political strategy of the Lacedaemonians, who, rather than acting directly in their own name, sought to achieve their goal indirectly by using the Phocians as a front (or shield).

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §16.29.1-16.29.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:16.29.1-16.29.4

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