Siege of Kirrha (nonfiction)

Kirrha, Fokida, Greece: Foundation walls of ancient shipyards at the main square.

The siege of Kirrha was a siege of the city of Kirrha by the Amphictyonic League of Delphi during the First Sacred War.

The Amphictyonic army poisoned the city's water supply with hellebore, notable as an early example of chemical warfare.

The leader of the attack was the Tyrant Cleisthenes of Sicyon, who used his powerful navy to blockade the city's port before using an allied Amphictionic army to besiege Kirrha.

The Athenians participated as well with a contingent led by Alcmaeon. On the Thessalian side, the leaders were Eurylohos and Hippias.

What happened after this is a matter of debate.

The earliest, and therefore probably most reliable, account is that of the medical writer Thessalos.

He wrote, in the 5th century BC, that the attackers discovered a secret water-pipe leading into the city after it was broken by a horse's hoof.

An asclepiad named Nebros advised the allies to poison the water with hellebore. The hellebore soon rendered the defenders so weak with diarrhea that they were unable to continue resisting the assault.

Kirrha was captured and the entire population was slaughtered.

Nebros was considered an ancestor of Hippocrates, so this story has caused many to wonder whether it might not have been guilt over his ancestor's use of poison that drove Hippocrates to establish the Hippocratic Oath.

Fiction cross-reference

• Helleborus (criminal)
• The Eel

Nonfiction cross-reference

• Hellebore (nonfiction)

External links:

• Siege of Kirrha @ Wikipedia