There is no doubt that an important source of income for the victorious armies was the booty. This category comprised the captives and the andrapoda, that is persons that had been captured during warfare and plunders in different cities and regions and were destined mainly for enslavement. Apart from the "animate material", there was a variety of objects that ended up in the hands of the winners. A prominent place among them had the "dactylioi" (golden and silver jewellery), the "ekpomata" and the "poteria" (drinking cups made of precious metals), furniture (constructions made of precious metals) and clothing (fabrics and luxury clothes).
A part of the booty ended up in sanctuaries in the form of private or public offerings. The defeated army's weapons were some of the most typical objects the winners offered to the gods as a sign of gratitude for the victory that they gave them. Herodotus mentions that the Phocians, in only one occasion, dedicated to the sanctuary of Delphi 2000 enemy shields after a victory (Historia 8.27). There are even cases where the winners dedicated entire rams of warships, after naval battles. Pausanias informs us that the Megarians, after the war against Athens for the possession of Salamis, celebrated their victory by offering a copper ram of an Athenian ship, which they had seized in the Olympieum of Megara (Attica 1.40.5).

By increasing their treasures certain sanctuaries acquired economic as well as political power. That way, they became the target of warfare among cities which wanted to gain control over them and consequently over their treasures. It is known that in Greece applied in general the principle of the sacrosanct of sanctuaries and of their property, a principle which was revoked during wartime.