CRISSA, or CRISA, in ancient geography, one of the oldest cities of Greece, was situated in Phocis, at the foot of one of the spurs of Mount Parnassus. Its name occurs both in the Iliad and in the Homeric Ilymns, where it is described as a powerful place, with a rich and fertile territory, reaching to the sea, and including within its limits the sanctuary of Pytho. As the town of Delphi grew up around the shrine, and the seaport of Cirrha arose on the Crissean Gulf, Crissa gradually lost much of its importance. By the ancients themselves the name of Cirrha was so often substituted for that of Crissa, that it soon became doubtful whether these names indicated the same city or two different cities. The question was practically settled by the investigations of Ulrichs, who unravelled with much care the history of the towns. From its position Cirrha commanded the approach to Delphi, and its inhabitants became obnoxious to the Greeks from the heavy tolls which they exacted from the devotees who thronged to the shrine. The Amphictyonic Council declared war against the Cirrheans in 595 Ex., and having taken the town, razed it to the ground, and consecrated its territory to the temple at Delphi. The plunder of the town was sold to defray the expenses of the Pythian games. In 339 the people of Amphissa began to rebuild the city, and to cultivate the plain. This act brought on the second Sacred War, the conduct of which was intrusted by the Amphictyons to Philip of Macedon, who took Amphissa in the following year. Cirrha was afterwards rebuilt, but never regained its former importance. Crissa is probably represented by the modern Chryso, and the ruins of Cirrha, including extensive remains of its port, are to be seen in the neighbourhood of the Pleistus.