Page:History of Greece Vol XI.djvu/287

 PHI. IP MARCHES INTO THESSALY. 261 hardly be accurate, since we know that there were Athenian citi- zens among them sold as slaves, some of whom were ransomed by Demosthenes with his own money. 1 Being now master of the last port possessed by Athens in the Thermaic Gulf an acquisition of great importance, which had never before 2 belonged to the Macedonian kings Philip was enabled to extend his military operations to the neighborhood of the Thracian Chersonese on the one side, and to that of Thermo- pylae on the other. How he threatened the Chersonese, has been already related ; and his campaign in Thessaly was yet more im- portant. That country was, as usual, torn by intestine disputes. Lykophron the despot of Phera3 ^possessed the greatest sway; while the Aleuadas of Larissa, too weak to contend against him with their own forces, invited assistance from Philip ; who en- tered Thessaly with a powerful army. Such a reinforcement so completely altered the balance of Thessalian power, that Lyko- phron in his turn was compelled to entreat aid from Onomarchus and the Phokians. So strong were the Phokians now, that they were more than a match for the Thebans with their other hostile neighbors, and had means to spare for combating Philip in Thessaly. As their force of Demosthenes (Olynth. i. p. 12. s. 13), we see that Philip did not attack Thessaly until after the capture of Methone. Diodorus as well as Strabo (vii. p. 330), and Justin (vii. 6) state that Philip was wounded and lost the sight of one eye in this siege. But this seems to have happened afterwards, near the Thracian Methone. Compare Justin, vii. 6; Polysenus, iv. 2. 15. Under the year 354-353 B. c., Diodorus mentions not only the capture of Methone by Philip, but also the capture of Payee. Ilaydf tie ^etfiwb'd/zevof, qvdyKaaev vnoTa-yijvai. Parja: is unknown, anywhere near Macedonia and Thessaly. Wesseling and Mr. Clinton suppose Pagasce in Thessaly to be meant. But it seems to me impossible that Philip, who had no considerable power at sea, can have taken Pagasse, before his wars in Thessaly, and before he had be- come master of Pherae, which events did not occur until one year or two years afterwards. Pagasae is the port of Pherae, and Lykophron the despot of Phcrs was still powerful and unconqnered. If, therefore, the word intended by Diodorus be flayaauf instead of Ila/uf, I think the matter of fact as- serted cannot be correct. 1 This fact is mentioned in the public vote of gratitude passed by tho Athenian people to Demosthenes (Plutarch, Vitce X. Orat. p. 851). Thucy I. vi. 7. ]S.&L>vi)v r>/i> dfj.opoi> Mancdoviy,, etc.