Battle of Crocus Field
The Third Sacred War (often just called 'the' Sacred War) broke out in 356 BC, and would present Philip with his first real opportunity to expand his influence into the affairs of central and southern Greece. The war was caused by the refusal of the Phocian Confederation to pay a fine imposed on them in 357 BC by the Amphictyonic League, a pan-Greek religious organisation which governed the most sacred site in Ancient Greece, the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Behind the religious element, there probably lay a display of "realpolitik" in bringing charges against the Phocians, instigated by the Thebans. At this time, Thebes controlled a majority of the votes in the council, and at the autumn meeting in 357 BC, the Thebans were able to have both the Phocians (for the cultivation of the sacred land) and the Spartans (for occupying Thebes some 25 years previously) denounced and fined. Since the fines for both parties were "unjustifiably harsh", the Thebans probably expected neither party to pay, and thus to be able to declare a "sacred war" on either.
Myke Cole
After completing a second trilogy in the Shadow Ops series with the publication of "Siege Line" in October 2017, Myke Cole is now working on the Sacred Throne trilogy, a new epic fantasy series unconnected to the Shadow Ops series. The first volume, "The Armored Saint", was released in February 2018. He is one of the investigators on the CBS reality show "Hunted".This is a prequel to the Shadow Ops trilogy.