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Chapter 658

Agesilaus's brother, Teleutias, died in battle on the Carchia Peninsula. Agesilaus was devastated and fell ill once again.

In the end, another Sparta king, Agesilaus, gathered a large army from his allies on the Peloponnesus Peninsula and once again headed to Northern Greece to attack the Carchia League.

When Agesilaus arrived in Northern Greece, it was the height of summer. Unfortunately, he caught a fever from the intense heat and died before he could engage the enemy in battle.

After the Sparta Council of Elders hastily held the king's funeral, they once again sent out an expedition against the successor of the Carchia League. After a series of bitter battles, in the spring of the third year (that is, the 13th year of Diónia, 380 BC), Olympus was forced to surrender and disband the league. At the same time, the other city-states on the Carchia Peninsula were forced to join the Sparta League. The coastal cities of Macedonia were also returned to King Amyntas of Macedonia, and Sparta gained the supremacy of Northern Greece in one fell swoop.

During the fierce battle in Northern Greece, the Sparta people adopted a high-handed policy in the Peloponnesus Peninsula. They forced Phoeus, a city-state in the middle of the peninsula, to recall the previously exiled nobles. As a result, a war broke out between the nobles and the commoners, and Sparta supported the nobles. After half a year of siege, Phoeus was forced to surrender. Then, according to the wishes of Sparta, a new system of government was implemented.

In central Greece, after Sparta controlled the Thebes and supported Plataea, it gained the support of the other city-states in Pioscia. Sparta's power began to expand from the Pioscia region in central Greece to the Attica region in the east, and the Phocis region in the west …

After the rainy spring came the hot summer. The commander of Sparta's northern expedition, Polybiadas, led his army back from Northern Greece in victory. Before entering the flat and fertile Pioscia region, they first had to pass through Thessaly, Maris, Doris, Phocis, and other regions. There were many places here that were worthy of being worshipped by the victorious Sparta generals.

The first was Oeta. Legend had it that the ancestor of the Sparta royal family, Hercules, sacrificed himself on a pyre on this mountain and ascended to heaven in the flames to join the family of the Olympian gods.

Secondly, when crossing the narrow pass, the narrowest passage could only accommodate two four-wheeled carriages side by side. This passage was called the Hot Spring Pass. Its name resonated strongly with the Sparta soldiers. A hundred years ago, Leonidas, the Sparta king, led his 300 guards to fight against the Persia army here. All of them died in battle, winning eternal glory for the Sparta warriors. Almost every time the Sparta army passed through this place, they would worship it.

At the end of the rugged path they came to a little fertile lowland, called the plain of Doris, from which the name of the Greek race, the Dorians, is derived (the Spartans were Dorians). Hundreds of years ago, the Greeks who migrated from the desolate north first rested in the Doris Plain. Eventually, they invaded the lowland surrounded by mountains and scattered along the coastline. After hundreds of years, they had forgotten their barbarian identity. For example, the Spartans had always claimed that they were the blood of Hercules, and that they were the descendants of Menelaus, the former king of Sparta.

To the south of the Doris Plain, near the Gulf of Corinth, there was also a mountain famous throughout Greece called Parnassus. Legend had it that the steep mountain was occupied by a gigantic python named Pidon, which was known for eating humans. Under the instruction of Hera, it had hunted down Apollo, Arthenis, and their mother, Leto, when they were young. When Apollo grew up, he came to the mountain and found the giant monster that was devouring eagles in a lonely and gloomy canyon. He shot the monster with a deadly arrow and became the ruler of this area.

Apollo planted the laurel tree to purify this sacred land. Later, people cut down the branches of the laurel tree and built temples of Apollo one after another. This became the holy land of the Greeks — Delphi.

It was a place with high mountains and dense forests. The soil was barren, making it difficult for the local people to make a living.

Apollo said to them, "Guard my temple and receive the people who come to visit with hospitality."

So the people of Delphi became priests of Apollo. They built huge temples of Apollo and fairly charged everyone who came to seek oracle and worship the same fee. Because of the justice of the Delphic priests, more and more Greeks believed in the oracle of Delphi, and believed that Apollo would live on Mount Parnassus for nine months every year, where the air was pure.

It was also rumored that when Zeus first ascended the throne to rule the world, he wanted to measure the land he inherited, so he released two eagles to the east and west to observe the flight of the two eagles to determine the center of the world. As a result, the two eagles met at Delphi, where Zeus left a huge stone egg — Omphale — as a mark (this stone egg has been preserved to this day). As a result, Delphi became even more famous, surpassing the Greek race and becoming famous throughout the Mediterranean Sea. For this reason, the priests of Delphi also welcomed foreigners to come here to pray for oracle.

When the warring city-states came to seek the judgment of the oracle of Delphi, they completely believed in the oracle's judgment. Therefore, the neutrality of Delphi must be guaranteed, otherwise no one could bear the consequences.

Two hundred years ago, when a neighboring and powerful city-state, Crisa, tried to annex Delphi, the whole of Greece was shocked and launched an angry counterattack. Many city-states formed a coalition to defend this sacred land. They even violated Greek tradition by poisoning the river that the Crisans drank. The city of Crisa was conquered, and this impious city was razed to the ground. The bay that separated the Greek mainland from the Peloponnesus Peninsula was originally called the Gulf of Crisa because of the great city-state of Phocis. After the war, it was named after the important city-state on the isthmus, Corinth. More than two hundred years later, the field where Crisa used to live was still a barren land. No one dared to live there because it was a place cursed by the gods.

After the most tragic lesson, the city-states around Delphi established a close neighbor alliance, the Amphictyone Alliance. It included the people of Thessaly, Photiotis, Locris, Phocis, Pioscia, Athens … Later, the city-states on the Peloponnesus Peninsula also joined in under the leadership of Sparta.

The main purpose of this alliance was to protect Delphi's neutrality and not allow any forces to harm or annex Delphi. Therefore, this alliance was also called the Sacred Alliance. Each alliance provided two representatives as a member of the entire alliance. Every spring and autumn, a meeting was held in Delphi to discuss the governance of the Delphi region, the maintenance of the temples, the hosting of the Pythian Games, and the management of the sacred products of Apollo. In this way, the oracles and the nobles of Delphi were given an independent status, and Delphi became more prosperous.

On this day, the nobles and priests from all over Delphi walked up the winding stone steps to a steep hillside. The main temple of Apollo, built from giant stones, was located here. It was backed by the straight and bare cliffs of Mount Parnassus, overlooking the deep and serene Pleasus Valley in front of it. It gave off a cold and solemn feeling.

The nine powerful priests of Apollo were the representatives of the nine Greek tribes that had lived in Delphi for hundreds of years. There was also a woman sitting in the temple with the nine priests.

She was a shriveled old woman with sagging skin and a face full of wrinkles. She did not have a striking appearance, but she had great prestige among the Greeks. She was the one who walked into the oracle office and delivered the oracles of Apollo to the people in the sulfurous smell of smoke. She did not have a name of her own. She was called the Pythia. Every oracle issued by Apollo was called the Pythia.

Ten people sat in a circle in the temple with solemn expressions.

The old priest in the lead was the chief priest of the main temple of Apollo, Syrsitas. He said, "An hour ago, I sent off the Sparta general Polybiadas, who conquered Calgidia. Before the Sparta's northern expedition, Agesilaus, the king of Sparta, sent someone to seek an oracle for his expedition. He came this time to thank Apollo for his guidance. The sincerity of the Sparta people toward Apollo is amazing! But — "

Syrsitas changed the topic and said in a low voice, "He brought four fully armed soldiers and let them set foot on the sacred Mount Parnassus. After I protested, he let them go down the mountain!"

"This is blasphemy! It is common knowledge that people with sharp weapons are not allowed to enter this sacred area. These Sparta people should be severely punished! "a priest shouted angrily.

"Severely punished? The Sparta people are known for their barbarism and rudeness. If they cause trouble, we will be the ones to suffer. You should know that their army is stationed in the Dolis Plains not far to the north, "another priest said helplessly.

"Do you think the Sparta people dare to lead their army into Delphi?! If they dare to do that, the whole of Greece will form another Anti- Sparta Alliance and completely destroy Sparta, just like how they destroyed Klissa! "another priest said angrily.