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When Philomelus had control of the oracle he directed the Pythia to make her prophecies from the tripod in the ancestral fashion. But when she replied that such was not the ancestral fashion, he threatened her harshly and compelled her to mount the tripod. Then when she frankly declared, referring to the superior power of the man who was resorting to violence: "It is in your power to do as you please," he gladly accepted her utterance and declared that he had the oracle which suited him. He immediately had the oracle inscribed and set it up in full view, and made it clear to everyone that the god gave him the authority to do as he pleased. [2] Having got together an assembly and disclosed the prophecy to the multitude and urged them to be of good cheer, he turned to the business of the war. There came to him an omen as well, in the temple of Apollo, namely an eagle which, after flying over the temple of the god and swooping down to earth, preyed upon the pigeons which were maintained in the temple precincts, some of which it snatched away from the very altars. Those versed in such matters declared that the omen indicated to Philomelus and the Phocians that they would control the affairs of Delphi. [3] Elated accordingly by these events, he selected the best qualified of his friends for the embassies, and sent some to Athens, some to Lacedaemon, and some to Thebes; and he likewise sent envoys to the other most distinguished cities of the Greek world, explaining that he had seized Delphi, not with any designs upon its sacred properties but to assert a claim to the guardianship of the sanctuary; for this guardianship had been ordained in early times as belonging to the Phocians. [4] He said he would render due account of the property to all the Greeks and expressed himself as ready to report the weight and the number of the dedications to all who wished an examination. But he requested that, if any through enmity or envy were to engage in war against the Phocians, these cities should preferably join forces with him, or, if not, at least maintain peaceful relations.1 [5] When the envoys had accomplished their appointed mission, the Athenians, Lacedaemonians, and some others arranged an alliance with him and promised assistance, but the Boeotians, Locrians, and some others passed decrees to the contrary intent and renewed the war in behalf of the god upon the Phocians.

Such were the events of this year.

1 See chap. 33.2.

Diodorus Siculus. Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes with an English Translation by C. H. Oldfather. Vol. 4-8. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989.

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