Pelec (military leader)

He inherited the position of an auto-strategist from his uncle Faill , probably at the beginning of 351 BC. e. Since Pelek was still too young, a friend (and, apparently, a relative) Failla Mnasei was appointed guardian and co-ruler. He, however, soon died in battle with the Thebans, and Nearby had to take charge of the hostilities. The war, which continued with varying success for several years, led to the depletion of the resources of Phocis , which suffered from Boeotian invasions. The mercenary army of the Phocis Union was funded from funds taken from the treasury of the Delphic temple , but these resources began to run low.

Pelek even began excavations in the depths of the sanctuary, near the sacred hearth and the pythian tripod, hoping to discover the treasures supposedly hidden there in ancient times, but did not find anything. According to Diodorus , during the excavation, an earthquake occurred, which contemporaries considered a divine sign, indicating what fate awaits the sacrileges ^[1] .

In the position of head of the Fokid Union, Falek made a number of miscalculations that significantly worsened the situation of his state. In particular, for unknown reasons, he sent a detachment of his mercenaries to Euboea in order to support an uprising against Athens , and this despite the fact that the Athenians were his allies ^[2] .

The entry into the war of Philip of Macedon made the situation even more difficult, and the opposition forces removed Pelec from office on formal charges of misappropriation of Delphic treasures (probably in the fall of 347 BC). The actual reason was military failure and widespread public discontent. Instead of Pelec, three ordinary strategists were chosen, who were instructed to investigate the thefts. Apparently, Falek himself did not dare to bring to justice, but his closest employees were executed as sacrileges ^[3] .

The new Fokid government tried to set up a coalition against Macedonia, having entered into an alliance with Athens and Sparta , but at the beginning of 346 BC. e. Pelec, relying on his mercenaries, managed to return to power, after which he canceled the agreements reached and demanded the withdrawal of Athenian and Spartan troops. It is believed that he was afraid of a conspiracy between the allied forces and the opposition, which called them. Left alone, Phocis was doomed to defeat, and Pelek in the spring of 346 BC. e. began secret negotiations with Philip ^[4] .

In the summer of 346 BC e. an agreement was concluded by which the fortifications defending Thermopylae were transferred to Philip, and Pelek and 8 thousand of his mercenaries were given the opportunity to leave the country ^[5] .

Leaving his country at the mercy of the victors, Pelec went to the Peloponnese , becoming the leader of the hired army. He took with him the remains of the Delphic sacred treasury, and for some time kept his army with this money. When the funds began to dry up, and the work for his people on the peninsula was not tied up, Falek decided to try his luck in the Greek West, where he hoped to seize power in some city or engage in the service of Tarentus , who was at war with the Lukans . He announced to his people that he had received an invitation from the Western Greeks and, having chartered several ships in Corinth , sailed to Italy ^[6] .

On the way, the mercenaries had doubts about the veracity of his words, and they rebelled. The expedition had to be interrupted, and the army landed on Cape Maleya , which was one of the main points for recruiting mercenaries. There they were hired by the envoys of the Cretan city of Knossos , who was at war with their neighbors. Having crossed to Crete , Pelek captured the city of Likt and tried to establish tyranny. However, the inhabitants expelled from the city turned for help to the Spartan king Archidam III , who was just about to sail west to help the Tarentines. Archideans landed on Crete and drove Pelek from Likt ^[7] . Then Pelec tried to capture Kydonia , but died during the siege (c. 342 BC)

According to Diodorus:

When he built the siege vehicles and brought them to the city, lightning struck, and divine fire engulfed these structures, and many of the mercenaries, in an attempt to keep the cars dead in the fire. Among them was the strategist Pelec. But some say that he offended one of the mercenaries and was killed by him.

- Diodorus , XVI, 63, 3.

The mercenaries who were left without a leader were hired by the Elean exiles, who tried to regain the city with their help, but their army was defeated by the Arcadians who came to the aid of Elida . Four thousand mercenaries were captured and were divided among the winners, and the Arcadians sold their prisoners into slavery, and the Eleists - they executed them as sacrileges ^[8] .

Some Phocis mercenaries had already been hired by the army of Archidam, and after his death, these people were destroyed by lucans in southern Italy ^[9] . Some of the mercenaries served in the army of Timoleon during his Sicilian campaigns, becoming famous at the same time for high combat qualities and low discipline ^[10] . When these mercenaries tried to rebel, Timoleont expelled them from the island. After crossing to Italy, they plundered the city of Bruttius , but then were overtaken and destroyed by the Brutians, who, according to Diodorus, threw them all with darts ^[11] .

• Frolov E. D. Greece in the era of the late classics (Society. Personality. Power). - St. Petersburg: Publishing Center "Humanitarian Academy", 2001. - ISBN 5-93762-013-5