amphictyony

[Greek Amphiktuonia, from amphiktuones, variant of amphiktiones, neighbors : amphi-, on the periphery; see amphi- + ktizein, to settle.]

amphictyony (amphiktyoneia), religious association or league of Greek communities who lived in the neighbourhood of, and had some responsibility for, the shrine of a god (from amphictuones, ‘dwellers around’). The most important amphictyonic league was that of Delphi, whose sanctuaries were the temples of Apollo at Delphi and of Demeter at Thermopylae. Many of the principal peoples of Greece, including Thessalians, Dorians, and Ionians, belonged to it. Sacred wars were occasionally proclaimed against violators of amphictyonic laws. The foundation of the amphictyony was attributed in antiquity to an eponymous Amphictyon, son of Deucalion and brother of Hellen (the ancestor of the Greeks).

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: an association of neighboring states or tribes in ancient Greece; established originally to defend a common religious center