The Fourth Sacred War was between King Philip II of Macedon and Athens. The Macedonian king's troubles emboldened his enemies, who were preparing for war. In Macedonia, Filipo, during the summer of the year 339, found himself with a new situation that allowed him to intervene again in the affairs of Greece.
During a meeting of the Council of the Delphic Amphictynia, Aeschines proposed declaring a holy war , against the inhabitants of the city of Anfisa accusing them of taking advantage of some land in the plain of Cirra, considered sacred because it belongs to the sanctuary of Delphi.
At the following meeting, it was resolved to ask Philip of Macedon for help , who occupied the city of Phocidía de Elatea, threatening Thebes, an ally of Anfisa.
The Athenians considered that the occupation of Elatea also threatened them and sent delegates to Thebes, where they met the Macedonian envoys.
Both delegations tried to attract Thebes to their side, Athens obtaining their support in exchange for numerous compensation . Thus, a coalition against Macedonia was formed. , although the most powerful Greek states, such as Arcadia, Argos, Elis, Sparta and Messenia remained on the sidelines and only Euboea, Megara, Achaea, Acarnania, Corcyra and Lefkade sent reinforcements.
Battle of Chaeronea
The course of events gave Philip the victory , who, after defeating the allies in Quereto and occupying the cities of Anfisa and Naupactus, in the spring of the year 338, defeated the anti-Macedonian coalition formed by Athenians and Boeotians in the battle of Chaeronea, on April 2 . In this battle he took part, commanding the Macedonian cavalry, the son of Philip, the future Alexander the Great . This battle was won by Philip by a mock retreat. The Macedonian king regrouped his forces and defeated the Athenians who had followed him too far.
Consequencesofthebattleofchaeronea
As a consequence of this Macedonian victory, Thebes capitulated, establishing an oligarchic government . Although Philip, in his political setting, did not generally impose pro-Macedonian regimes, Thebes was an exception, as the city was garrisoned and forced to receive his political exiles, i.e. power was returned, to Macedonian supporters.
Thebes of Boeotia was the great loser of this war , going from being a
great hegemonic power to occupy a position of second or third rank in Greek politics, so great was the loss of its power and prestige that a Macedonian garrison occupied its fortress, the Cadmea. Macedonian garrisons were also installed in Chalcis and Corinth. For Athens, an honorable peace treaty was procured , in the absence of Demosthenes, who had gone to seek reinforcement against Philip. In reality, the city only had to give up the Thracian Chersonese and the cities of Chalcidica , at the same time that the Second Delian League was officially declared dissolved, although Athens maintained its jurisdiction over the cleruchies mentioned above.
Evidently the Macedonian king, with these mild conditions, did not want to tarnish his victory over Hellas by destroying one of his most famous cities. Athens thanked him, Demosthenes was politically isolated and had to cede his land to his old antagonist, Aeschines. The Athenians granted Philip and his son Alexander the citizenship of their city and raised a statue of Philip in the Agora, while the Philippeion of Olympia united Zeus and Hercules to the heroized members of the Macedonian royal family. Inside, five chryselephantine statues could be seen:Three men:Philip, his father, Amyntas, and his son, Alexander, and two women:Euridice, Philip's mother, and Olympias, his wife.